Metropolitan Tychikos' lawyers respond to media accusations
The hierarch's lawyers called the television stories targeted harassment.
On April 20, 2026, legal representatives of Metropolitan Tychikos published an official statement in connection with the slanderous campaign on Cypriot television, reports UOJ in Greece.
The lawyers called false the journalists' claims that the hierarch allegedly plans to create his own "true church" with financial support from foreign patrons.
The reason for the reaction was a morning broadcast of a program on the Sigmalive channel featuring Theodoros Kyriakos. During the program, statements were made claiming that Metropolitan Tychikos promised loyal priests to organize a separate jurisdiction in opposition to the official Church.
The television channel informed viewers that the salaries for clerics initially were to be paid by a certain "Russian magnate." To give weight to these rumors, the broadcast mentioned Archbishop George of Cyprus's awareness of these plans.
The hierarch's legal defenders categorically refuted this information. The lawyers called the accusations groundless and aimed at publicly discrediting the archpastor. The statement pointed to the television channel's gross violation of basic journalistic standards.
The program's authors completely ignored the position of the other side and made no attempt to contact the metropolitan himself to verify the facts. This is despite the fact that the hierarch spent all the Paschal days in Paphos and openly communicated with believers in the churches.
The lawyers characterized this as targeted persecution of the metropolitan. The hierarch's representatives reserved the right to appeal to state or European judicial authorities to restore justice and punish those guilty of slander.
The legal defenders emphasized the legitimacy of appealing to secular court to protect honor and dignity. The protection of legal rights safeguards the Church from lawlessness and does not violate church unity at all.
Earlier, UOJ wrote that believers wrote a letter to the Archbishop of Cyprus in defense of Metropolitan Tychikos.
