Paphos flock accuses Archbishop of creating "spiritual desert"
The Paphos faithful sharply criticized the leadership of the Church of Cyprus, alleging serious canonical and institutional violations.
The Paphos community has published an open letter to the head of the Cyprus Orthodox Church Archbishop Georgios. In the appeal, the authors claim that the Primate of the Church of Cyprus unilaterally makes important decisions, bypassing the Holy Synod. This is reported by the editorial office of the UOJ in the USA.
The main cause of concern for the faithful was the initiative to transfer Metropolitan Tychikos to the Archdiocese, where he would reportedly reside in the former suite of the late Abp. Chrysostomos and be assigned duties directly by the Archbishop. The faithful claim this would constitute an unprecedented canonical irregularity.
The faithful claim that this would represent an unprecedented violation of canons. As the letter states, “This is not a renewal. It is institutional and spiritual desertification” or barrenness. They warn that unilateral action by the Archbishop has created “personalized power” and effectively abolished synodality, undermining centuries of ecclesial tradition.
The letter also stresses the moral dimension of the dispute, noting that the Archbishop “acted as prosecutor, investigator, judge and ultimate beneficiary” in the case of Met. Tychikos, which, according to the authors, is unacceptable in church practice.
The authors conclude: “The Church of Cyprus is not anyone’s property. Nor a field of personal strategies. . . . The problem will be, if this course continues, with the Archbishop's arbitrariness.”
As the UOJ reported, Greek media wrote that the Cyprus Church is facing a crisis of synodality.
