The Archon of the Phanar has proven that the election of the new Metropolitan of Paphos was illegitimate

Archon of the Phanar Anastasios Vavouskos published a legal analysis demonstrating that the election of the new Metropolitan of Paphos was conducted in violation of both the former and the new Statutes of the Church of Cyprus. The procedure for filling the Paphos See was violated at several stages.

According to , Archbishop George of Cyprus unlawfully delayed the election process, violating the deadlines set by the 2010 Statute. Instead of holding the election within 40 days with the participation of the faithful, the process was postponed for half a year, thereby depriving the laity of their right to vote. Furthermore, even after the adoption of the new Statute in May 2026, the election procedure remained invalid due to non-compliance with the document’s requirements.

Specifically, according to the new Statute, the Archbishop of Cyprus was personally required to convene the candidates and open the election process by publishing an official circular letter. However, instead, the Synod announced the procedure in the form of a collective communiqué. The Synod also set an arbitrary and extremely short deadline for submitting applications, which contradicts the provisions of the Statute. Vavouskos emphasized that his criticism concerns exclusively legal and institutional issues, and not the person of the elected metropolitan.

In conclusion, the Archon of the Phanar stated that the election of the new Metropolitan of Paphos is legally invalid and illegitimate, regardless of which Statute is applied to it.

As a reminder, we previously reported that the Supreme Court of Cyprus had partially granted the appeal of the former Metropolitan of Paphos, Tichikos, thereby allowing him to challenge in court the decision of the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Constantinople regarding his removal. At the same time, the court denied a request to extend the deadline for appealing the decision of the Holy Synod of the Church of Cyprus.