A new development has emerged in the ecclesiastical dispute involving suspended Bishop of Paphos Tychikos, who arrived at the Archbishopric of Cyprus on Friday morning and was taken to the office of Archbishop Georgios.
The visit follows the expiry of a ten-day ultimatum issued by the Archbishop, with the possibility of Tychikos being defrocked still on the table.
According to information obtained by Politis, Tychikos was seen entering the Archbishopric building shortly before the meeting, accompanied by three men and a woman. He was subsequently taken to the Archbishop's office, where discussions between the two clerics appear to have begun.
There is currently no information about the precise content of the meeting or whether Tychikos arrived with specific proposals to resolve the deadlock.
The development is particularly significant because, in recent days, the Archbishopric had said that its attempts to contact Tychikos to arrange a meeting with Archbishop Georgios had gone unanswered.
The ultimatum and the profession of faith
Archbishop Georgios had given Tychikos ten days, until 11 November, to clarify his position and comply with the decisions of the Church.
At the centre of the dispute is the signing of a so-called profession of faith, which the Archbishopric considers a necessary condition for restoring Tychikos's ecclesiastical relationship with the Holy Synod.
The suspended bishop, however, had expressed reservations about the procedure, arguing that an ecclesiastical solution cannot be pursued under the pressure of ultimatums.
The Archbishopric had left open the possibility of convening an extraordinary session of the Holy Synod if Tychikos failed to respond, with the possible next step being consideration of his defrocking.
Tychikos's appearance at the Archbishop's office on Friday marks the first substantive development since the deadline expired.
