The self-proclaimed patriarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate, Nikodim, has moved to establish a vicariate in Cyprus, in a development expected to draw attention within ecclesiastical circles.
According to decrees signed on 28 May 2026, Nikodim appointed Nektarios Georgiou, the former abbot of the Monastery of Saint Avvakoum in Fterikoudi, which falls under the Metropolis of Tamasos and Orinis, as secretary of the newly created vicariate.
The same decrees reportedly provide for the inclusion in the Kyiv Patriarchate’s structure of Archimandrites Avvakoum Christofis and Porfyrios Ttoulos, as well as monks Timotheos Flourentzou, Spyridon Pittaras and Isaias Christofis.
The parish of Archangel Michael in Nicosia and the brotherhood of the Monastery of Saint Avvakoum were also brought under the same structure, with the monastery being granted stauropegial status.
In total, Nikodim accepted six clerics and monks, along with two ecclesiastical entities, creating for the first time an organised presence of this church structure in Cyprus.
The move is notable because key figures in the new vicariate were at the centre of one of the most widely discussed ecclesiastical and criminal cases to affect Cyprus in 2024.
The ecclesiastical court of the Church of Cyprus had defrocked Nektarios Georgiou, Avvakoum Christofis and Porfyrios Ttoulos. They had faced a total of 19 allegations, including conspiracy to commit fraud, money laundering and tax evasion, in a case said to involve around €1.1 million.
In a post on Telegram, Nikodim described the development as part of a broader effort to establish the Kyiv Patriarchate’s presence abroad, writing that the Kyiv Patriarchate was being established “step by step”.
The development comes days after reports that a parish in the Spanish city of Denia had left the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and joined the same church structure, indicating a continued effort to expand its presence in several European countries.
