Church of Cyprus proceeds with election for new Metropolitan of Paphos

The Church of Cyprus has announced it is moving forward with the process to elect a new Metropolitan of Paphos. Christakis Efstathiou, spokesperson for the Holy Archdiocese of Cyprus, stated that the Church has moved past issues concerning the former Metropolitan, Tychikos. The focus is currently on the administrative and institutional restructuring of the church's charter. The Church maintains that the legal appeal filed by Tychikos to the Ecumenical Patriarchate is a personal matter that does not impact the Church’s internal planning. On February 3, 2026, the Supreme Court rejected Tychikos's request to extend the deadline for filing an application for prerogative writs against decisions made by the Holy Synod. The Church plans to conduct the election process for the new Metropolitan strictly according to established ecclesiastical provisions. The Archdiocese emphasized that the ongoing institutional updates take precedence in the current governance agenda.