A Cypriot priest who openly criticised the Archbishop of Cyprus and the Holy Synod during a church hearing has been suspended for six months.

Father Demos Serkelides appeared last Friday before the Episcopal Court, a special church tribunal, where he was expected to respond to serious complaints. Instead, according to reports, he reacted angrily and accused the Archbishop and Synod members of wrongdoing.

According to a report on Philenews, Archbishop Georgios, acting as both Archbishop of Cyprus and temporary overseer of the Paphos Diocese, asked Serkelides who he was commemorating during services in Thessaloniki. One of the complaints against him was that he failed to mention his local bishop — Metropolitan of Neapolis — during the Divine Liturgy, as required by Orthodox tradition. Instead, he was accused of naming the then-Metropolitan of Paphos, Tychikos, who had no authority in Thessaloniki.

In response, Serkelides reportedly said he was not commemorating anyone at all. When asked how that was possible, he claimed he had not served any liturgies.

The Archbishop replied:

“What kind of priest are you if you haven’t served in a year?”

Later, Serkelides admitted that he had been performing liturgies but only mentioned “all Orthodox bishops” in a general sense. This vague answer did not satisfy the church court. The Episcopal Court released a brief statement after the session, confirming that Father Serkelidis was being suspended from active priestly duties for six months. Serkelidis himself later posted on social media that he had been told he could no longer serve within the Paphos Diocese.

In a public message, Serkelides claimed he had gone to the Archbishop expecting a private meeting — but found himself on trial instead. He also accused Archbishop Georgios of unjustly condemning Metropolitan Tychikos without a proper legal or canonical process, saying this was done without a formal investigation or defence. Addressing the faithful, Serkelides urged people to demand answers from the bishops who had, in his view, knowingly condemned an innocent bishop.

“Go to your priests, to your parishes, and wake them up,” he said.

“They are sleeping on their feet, and their snoring has woken the whole Mediterranean.”