A peaceful protest by Paphians in support of deposed Metropolitan Bishop Tychikos called for revised proceedings by the Holy Synod over the matter.

The crowd on Sunday initially gathered in front of the Paphos town hall and then marched to the entrance of the bishopric. 

Representatives of the faithful read an open letter addressed to the Holy Synod and the media. In the letter, the bishop’s supporters argued that Tychikos had been given unfair and inadequate consideration by the church authorities, and that the decision against him had been hasty and out of context of the cleric’s beneficial pastoral works for the community.

They appealed for “sobriety, discrimination and humane judgment” on the part of the Holy Synod as well as the press.

“Circles are attempting to create the impression that the Metropolitan committed a serious ecclesiastical offense,” with repercussions even at the level of dialogue with the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Church of Greece and the Vatican, Tychikos’ supporters said.

The signatories of the letter addressed several issues which had been raised over the bishop’s alleged faulty conduct as regards church protocols, including his having ordained a priest who was later excommunicated.

“Is it ever possible for a bishop to be held responsible because someone [he] ordained, years later, distanced himself from the Church and joined excommunicated circles?” Tychikos’ supporters demanded in the letter.

“Is it possible to [expect] a bishop to know where, spiritually or physically, all the priests he ordained are?”

Another point of breach of church protocol of crucial significance for the Holy Synod’s deposition proceedings was also raised, that of the bishop having promoted the veneration of an icon of a saint not officially canonised by the Greek Orthodox Church.

The controversial icon, of Saint Ephraim of Nea Makri, had been placed by Tychikos in a local church during its inauguration in 2008, before he was officially canonised.

“Why is our Metropolitan being called out [now] because in a chapel dedicated to Saints Epiphanius and Nektarios, an image of the elder Nektarios Vitalis, a person who is considered a saint [by] the people, was also placed?” the bishop’s supporters asked.

Commenting on the third charge against the former bishop, regarding his refusal to perform mixed marriages, the letter said the claim was overblown without attention paid to the specifics of cases.

The bishop’s supporters challenged the notion that Tychikos had any systematic prejudice against non-Cypriots, saying “there are signed licences from his hand for 19/2023, 15/2024, 6/2025, of mixed marriages, some even accompanied by anointing ceremonies.”

The authors of the letter called on the country’s media to inform on the matter with objectivity and to “not succumb to the temptation of creating [false] impressions.” They asked the Holy Synod for “[a] fair judgment […] in the spirit of the Gospel and a rejection of any malicious or instrumental approach.”

Last week various parties had countered the idea that the bishop’s removal had been sudden, including Paphos mayor Phedonas Phedonos, who said issues with the Bishop’s behaviours had been longstanding and complaints against him had been mounting both from within and without his congregation.