On Cyprus, the enthronement of the new Metropolitan of Paphos took place amid protests
The enthronement ceremony of the new Pafos hierarch was performed by Archbishop George of Cyprus in the cathedral of Saint Theodore.
The Cyprus Orthodox Church performed the enthronement of the new Metropolitan of Paphos Gregory on June 12, 2026, in the Cathedral of Saint Theodore in Paphos. This is reported by the Union of Orthodox Journalists in Greece.
The ceremony was led by Archbishop of Cyprus George in the presence of hierarchs, clergy, state and local officials.
At the same time, supporters of the former Metropolitan of Paphos Tychicus gathered outside the perimeter of the church. At the moment of the Archbishop's and the new metropolitan's arrival, the protesters shouted "Unworthy!" and "Out!" Police formed cordons and did not allow them onto the cathedral grounds. According to available information, believers who were supposed to support the new metropolitan were brought to the celebration by buses from Nicosia. They were the ones allowed into the church.
According to information from the Union of Orthodox Journalists, the clergy of the Paphos Metropolis ignored the celebration. Only about 10% of priests attended the enthronement.
The protesters did not disperse throughout the entire ceremony – the shouts intensified when official persons arrived and departed, creating, according to eyewitness descriptions, a picture of acute schism in the local church community.
As the Union of Orthodox Journalists reported, the Archbishop of Cyprus prohibited Metropolitan Tychicus from celebrating divine services. The conflict around the Paphos cathedra has been ongoing for a considerable time: Metropolitan Tychicus insisted on the legitimacy of his tenure and appealed to Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, however, the Synod of the Cyprus Church decided on his replacement.
