Priests of Alexandrian Church ask to reconsider the recognition of OCU

Priests from Africa disagree with the recognition of the OCU. Photo: Romfea

A group of African priests of the Alexandrian Patriarchate object to the recent decision of Patriarch Theodore II of Alexandria to recognize the OCU, the website Pravoslavie.ru reports.

In particular, Orthodox priests in Africa note that "with great surprise and embarrassment they learned about the decision of Patriarch Theodore of Alexandria to recognize the so-called ‘Orthodox Church in Ukraine’."

They emphasize that "this sudden decision runs counter to the position that our patriarch (Theodore – Ed.) used to have, and it jeopardizes good relations of our Church with the Russian Orthodox Church that have developed in recent decades."

In addition, the priests recall that "the recognition of yesterday's Ukrainian schismatics is criticized in many Local Churches and involves the rupture with the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church, to which most Orthodox Ukrainians belong."

The authors of the letter report that "such a responsible decision was made without asking the opinion of African clergy, although it is the Africans who make up the majority of clergy and parishioners of the Patriarchate of Alexandria."

In this regard, the clergy declare that they "do not agree with the above decision."

African priests emphasize that they respect their patriarch and obey their bishops. But, according to them, "as in the Church of Greece many priests and even bishops expressed their disagreement with the similar decision on the recognition of Ukrainian schismatics, we also believe that we have no less rights to express our opinion."

The authors of the letter say that they regret "the unexpected decision of the Patriarch of Alexandria and would like it to be revised."

The letter was signed by 27 priests from Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

Earlier, the UOJ wrote that the bishop of the Church of Alexandria supported the convening of the Council on the issue of the OCU.

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