The enthronement of Metropolitan Gregory brings to the fore the Metropolis of Paphos itself, which is the oldest and "first in rank" in the Church of Cyprus. The Metropolis of Paphos is also called "protothrone", because hierarchically it is the first episcopal see in the Church of Cyprus, of course, after the archbishop's throne.
Due to this precedence, the respective Metropolitan of Paphos assumes the position of Locum Tenens of the throne when the Archbishop's throne becomes vacant and has the responsibility of initiating the procedures for the election of a new Archbishop.
The diocese of Paphos was one of the first to be founded in Cyprus in the 1st century and it was there that the apostles Paul and Barnabas taught Christianity in 45 AD. The history of the heads of the metropolitan region of Paphos in the last 157 years, which include the last years of the Turkish occupation until the beginning of the period of British rule and up to the present day, is also interesting.
Based on the data of the diocese of Paphos itself (which were recorded by Archbishop George himself when he was Metropolitan of Paphos), in broad outlines the administration and the action of its respective heads evolved as follows:
The Metropolitan of Paphos, Neophytos, was the last Metropolitan of Paphos during the Turkish occupation and the first during the British occupation (1869 – 1888). In addition to the care he showed for the Greek schools in Paphos, he also supported the Greek Schools of Nicosia with 100,000 piastres of the time.
The Church of Paphos suffered from a long vacancy (1899 – 1910), due to the Archbishop's issue. Subsequently, Metropolitan Iakovos Antzoulatos (1910 – 1929) took over. Iakovos developed significant activity both in the religious, national and educational fields. Despite the lack of financial resources, approaching the well-to-do inhabitants of Paphos, he succeeded in adorning the city with marble neoclassical schools as well as a stadium that bears his name.
The only bishop in Cyprus
Equally dynamic and highly educated was Iakovos' successor, Leontios (1930 – 1947). However, the year after his election (1931), due to the October riots, the Metropolitans of Kition and Kyrenia were exiled from Cyprus and a little later (1933) Archbishop Kyrillos III died. Thus, Leontios remained the only bishop in Cyprus and at the same time the Locum Tenens of the Archbishop's throne. At a time when there was an upsurge in the efforts of the English colonial government to subjugate Greek Education and de-Hellenize the country, Metropolitan Leontios threw his weight on the national issue, putting the affairs of the diocese of Paphos in second place.
In 1946 he went to London to ask for the union of Cyprus with Greece, but was met with the refusal of the British. It is estimated that if he were alive, he might have led the Liberation Struggle. However, he died in 1947, at the age of just 50, a few days after his election as Archbishop of Cyprus.
After Leontios, the circumstances were such that led the metropolis of Paphos to wither. Cleopas (1948 – 1951) who succeeded Leontios (at the age of 70) was suffering both mentally and physically from his long-term conflict with the brotherhood of the monastery of Kykkos, from the abbotship of which he had distanced himself in 1937. In the short period of his hierarchy he was charged with the election of an Archbishop as Locum Tenens of the Archbishop's throne.
Photios (1951 – 1959) shortly after his accession to the throne, faced the catastrophic earthquakes of 1953 with great damage to both the city and the province of Paphos. The building of the metropolis had suffered a lot of damage at that time and services were offered for a long time by tents that had been set up in the adjacent garden. Due to the special conditions that prevailed during the EOKA struggle, Fotios was forced to leave Paphos in 1956. In 1959, after the end of the Liberation Struggle, he resigned from the metropolitan throne.
The case of Gennadiou
Gennadios (1959 – 1972) was elected Metropolitan of Paphos at the age of 66. Previously, he had served as Chorbishop of Salamis (1948 – 1959), assistant to Archbishops Makarios II and Makarios III. Along the way, he was seduced by clergy and laity circles into the conspiracy against Makarios and by extension Cyprus. The people of Pafia, even before the results of the conspiracy with the coup d'état and the Turkish invasion were seen, deposed Gennadius (March 1972), who was later (July 1973) deposed by a Grand Council. A new Grand Synod, which convened in Nicosia in 1982 (after an expression of repentance and an apology on his part) reinstated Gennadius to the hierarchical office.
The last five metropolitans
Gennadius was succeeded by Chrysostomos I (1973 – 1977) who served as assistant to Archbishop Makarios with the title of Chorbishop of Constance. The unstable situation that prevailed due to the action of EOKA B and the subsequent Turkish invasion, turned attention to other priorities, leaving the intellectual work in second place.
Chrysostomos I, who was elected Archbishop of Cyprus in succession to Archbishop Makarios, was succeeded by the until then abbot of the holy monastery of Agios Neophytos, Chrysostomos II. The episcopate of Chrysostomos II was long (1978 – 2006). During his days, more than 30 parish churches were built in the city and the entire metropolitan region of Paphos. The Youth Center of the Metropolis of Paphos was also erected and put into operation. With his proposal to the Holy Synod, in 1996, Metropolitan Chrysostomos II reconstituted the diocese of Arsinoe with the election of George Papachrysostomos as the first in recent centuries.
Chrysostomos II was succeeded, in 2006, by George, who remained on the throne of Paphos until December 24, 2022, when he was elected Archbishop.
Metropolitan George was succeeded by Metropolitan Tychikos, who was elected on February 23, 2023. He was enthroned on March 12, 2023 and declared deposed on May 22, 2025, and on January 8, 2026, he was put on holiday for walling. He was succeeded by Archimandrite Gregory, who was elected Metropolitan of Paphos on May 26, 2026 and was ordained and enthroned on June 11, 2026.
