Met. Seraphim: Russian Exarchate in Africa resulted from recognition of OCU

Metropolitan Seraphim of Piraeus of the Greek Orthodox Church believes that the creation of the Patriarchal Exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church in Africa is a consequence of the recognition of the OCU, reports agapotonxristo.blogspot.com.

Vladyka said that in the Alexandrian Patriarchate, some bishops and a rather large number of priests and believers were against the recognition of the OCU. However, Patriarch Theodore ignored their position and agreed to the "autocephaly" granted to the Ukrainian schismatics by the Phanar, which was the reason for the creation of the Exarchate.

As evidence, Metropolitan Seraphim cited the words of Metropolitan Gregory of Cameroon of the Alexandrian Church, who stated that one of the factors that contributed to the creation of the Russian Exarchate in Africa was the negative attitude of some metropolitans of the Patriarchate of Alexandria to the recognition of the OCU.

According to the Metropolitan of Piraeus, Patriarch Theodore “transferred the Ukrainian problem both to the Church of Alexandria and to the sensitive African continent”, and the creation of the Patriarchal Exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church “became an occasion to identify the problem” within the Church of Alexandria.

Earlier, the UOJ wrote that, according to the Metropolitan of Piraeus, Patriarch Bartholomew caused an unprecedented crisis to Orthodoxy.

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