Patriarchal Exarchate of Africa formed in the Russian Orthodox Church

102 clerics of the Patriarchate of Alexandria from Africa joined the ROC. Photo: foto.patriarchia.ru

Among its decisions made on December 29, 2021, the Synod of the ROC resolved to receive 102 African priests into its jurisdiction at their request, reports Patriarchia.ru.

The Synod heard a report from His Eminence Archbishop Leonid of Yerevan and Armenia on the appeals of numerous clergy from throughout Africa who reject Patriarch Theodoros of Alexandria’s recognition of the Ukrainian schismatics and therefore want to come under the Russian Church.

With the blessing of Pat. Kirill, Abp. Leonid recently travelled to Africa and met with many of the appealing priests. Today, at least 100 parishes of the Patriarchate of Alexandria, together with their priests, have declared their desire to move to the Russian Church. Many of them first appealed in 2019, after Pat. Theodoros first began commemorating the schismatic head of the OCU, “Metropolitan” Epiphany Dumenko.

After Pat. Theodoros liturgically concelebrated with Dumenko in August, the Russian Synod decided it could no longer ignore the priests’ appeals.

Thus, having heard Abp. Leonid’s report today, the Synod officially resolved “to accept 102 clerics of the Patriarchate of Alexandria from eight African countries into the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church, according to the petitions submitted.”

Further, it resolved to form the Patriarchal Exarchate of Africa, consisting of the Diocese of North Africa and the Diocese of South Africa. Abp Leonid has been named the Patriarchal Exarch of Africa.

The pastoral responsibility of the Diocese of North Africa includes the Central African Republic, the Republic of Cameroon, the Republic of South Sudan, the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, the Federal Republic of Somalia, the Republic of Seychelles and all other African states north of them. It also includes the stauropegic parishes of the Moscow Patriarchate in the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Tunisian Republic and the Kingdom of Morocco. The Diocesan Bishop of the North African Diocese should have the title "of Cairo and North Africa". 

The pastoral responsibility of the Diocese of South Africa includes the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, the Gabonese Republic, the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, the Republic of Kenya, the Republic of Uganda, the Republic of Madagascar and all other African states south of them. The stauropegic parishes of the Moscow Patriarchate in the Republic of South Africa also became part of the South African Diocese. The Diocesan Bishop of the Diocese of South Africa should have the title "of Johannesburg and South Africa".

Theologian Priest Georgy Maksimov, in an article on the Pravoslavie.Ru website, explained why the entry of the Alexandrian Patriarch into church communion with schismatics from the OCU on November 8, 2019, allowed the ROC to open its jurisdiction in Africa. It is worth noting that, unlike the Greek and Cypriot Churches, the decision to recognize the OCU was made by the ruling and vicar bishops of the AOC relatively unanimously (although the sole decision of Patriarch Theodore II received full approval a little later), with disagreement of many clerics, as well as individual bishops at rest.

The UOJ wrote that dozens of clergymen of the Alexandrian Church asked to be admitted to the ROC after they unsuccessfully requested that the decision to recognize the OCU be reconsidered. Now their petitions have been granted.

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