Hierarch of the Church of Cyprus: The procedure by which I was removed from the department of the Paphos Metropolis has nothing to do with “righteous judgment”

The media published details of the appeal that the hierarch of the Church of Cyprus, Metropolitan Tykhikos of Paphos, sent to Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople in connection with his removal from office. The appeal states that the Synod of the Church of Cyprus, by removing Metropolitan Tikhon from his see, grossly violated a number of its own rules set forth in the Statute of the Church of Cyprus. This was reported by the Union of Orthodox Journalists in Greece.

It is reported that the appeal is based on Article 81 of the Statute of the Church of Cyprus and indicates that during the consideration of the charges against Metropolitan Tykhikos, not only canonical norms were grossly violated, but also the basic principles of fair trial accepted in states governed by the rule of law.

According to available information, the text of the appeal was sent to all hierarchs of the Church of Cyprus. Many of those who previously supported the removal of Metropolitan Tykhikos are now reportedly experiencing doubts and regret about the decision and the procedure itself.

«The procedure by which I was removed from the See of Paphos has nothing to do with the ‘righteous judgment’ referred to in the Law of Moses (Deut. 16:18) and required by the modern legal order (Art. 6 of the ECHR). It is more reminiscent of the mocking ancient Greek proverb, ‘to judge in the manner of the Scythians and the Samosatians’…,» — said Metropolitan Tykhikos.