The Russian Orthodox Church has received more than a hundred clergy of the Patriarchate of Alexandria under its jurisdiction
The Synod of the ROC at its meeting on December 29 decided to accept under the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate one hundred and two clergy of the Patriarchate of Alexandria, serving in eight African countries. In this way, the ROC established a patriarchal exarchate in Africa, consisting of two dioceses – North and South Africa.
The decision of the Moscow Synod is a punishment against the Patriarchate of Alexandria, which recognized the autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ukraine, and Patr. Theodore began to mention Metropolitan Epiphanius of Kiev during the service. With today’s decision of Moscow Patriarch Kirill, a rift is actually created in Africa – between local clergy who will not have Eucharistic communion with each other. The official reason for the creation of a parallel church structure in the diocese of the Patriarchate of Alexandria is the mention of Mitr. Epiphanius at the service on November 8, 2019 by the Patriarch of Alexandria, as well as his fellowship with Mitr. Epiphanius on August 13 this year
“To date, at least one hundred parishes of the Patriarchate of Alexandria, led by their priests, have asked to join the Russian Orthodox Church. Many of them turned to His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow in 2019, after the recognition of the schismatic group by the head of the Orthodox Church of Alexandria, “said Vladimir Legoida, spokesman for the Ministry of Justice. The ROC has decided that it is “no longer possible” to deny the clergy of the Church of Alexandria, who have applied for admission under the omophorion of the Moscow Patriarchate.
Archbishop of Yerevan and Armenia Leonid (Gorbachev) has been appointed head of the African Exarchate of the Moscow Patriarchate, with the title of Klinski, Cairo and North African, patriarchal exarch for all of Africa. He will also continue to perform his duties in Yerevan temporarily.
According to the Orthodoxia news agency, the exact number of local clerics who have joined the Moscow Patriarchate is unclear. For the most part, these are clergymen who have received various church punishments for transgressions, or those who have personal conflicts with the local episcopate
Patriarchate of Alexandria: We mourn the decision of the Russian Church
The Patriarchate of Alexandria reacted to the decision of the Russian Church, taken in the last days of this year, to establish its diocese on the African continent, violating the jurisdiction of the Church of Alexandria. The statement says that St. Synod of the Church of Alexandria to deal in detail with what happened after the holidays. In particular, the statement said:
The ancient Patriarchate of Alexandria expresses its deepest sorrow for the synodal decision of the Russian Patriarchate to establish an exarchate within the canonical boundaries of the jurisdiction of the ancient Church of Alexandria – a decision taken on Christmas and Epiphany, when the King of Peace is revealed Christ.
The Patriarchate of Alexandria will continue to fulfill its pastoral duties to the flock entrusted to it by the Lord, following the spiritual covenants of the great Greek fathers of the Church, who according to the unforgettable modern Russian theologian Archpriest Georgi Florovsky have left an indelible mark on Orthodox theology and the Church.
The decision of the Russian Patriarchate will be discussed at the upcoming meeting of St. Synod of our patriarchate, when the relevant decisions will be made. “
Metropolitan of Cameroon Gregory: Old Calendars join Moscow Patriarchate
The Metropolitan of Cameroon Gregory of the Patriarchate of Alexandria commented on the decision of St. Synod of the ROC yesterday to establish its African Exarchate, satisfying the requests of one hundred and two clerics to move to the Moscow Patriarchate.
“Several factions of the Old Calendarists, who had settled in Africa for a long time, created church communities and” monasteries “together with those local Christians and clergy who had been removed from the local missions’ Orthodox missions for various reasons. As expected, all these movements disintegrated in the Protestant pattern of countless self-proclaimed “Orthodox churches.”
And these fragmented structures today find an opportunity to join the canonicity of the Russian Patriarchate. Of course, it is still unknown on what criteria they were accepted into communion and under what conditions. Will they be ordained again? Will they be accepted in the same rank? On what canonical grounds?
Judging by similar moves of the Moscow Patriarchate of the past, it will implement a full economy, driven by its own internal causes, which remain unexplained, as always.
Finally, Mitr. Gregory ironically adds: “At the same time, given the unsuitability of the African mentality of the so-called” Africa Corp “cadres, which engaged in the implementation of the plan” Africa “… I anticipate the failure of the entire Russian theological arsenal used until this moment for propaganda purposes against the recognition of the autocephaly of the Church of Ukraine and against the Ecumenical Patriarch, as well as the fall of the generals. Even Rommel was defeated in Africa, having one of the most disciplined and organized armies in the world. Lucky are those who have already decided to write a doctorate on the Russian operation. “
The official decision of the ROC for the establishment of a Russian diocese in Africa says that the affiliated clergy are from the “Alexandrian Orthodox Church”, and no mention is made of old calendars.
There is still no official reaction from the Patriarchate of Alexandria to the Moscow Patriarchate’s demonstrative invasion of its jurisdiction and the creation of a parallel Russian church structure that will not be in Eucharistic communion and will effectively split the local Orthodox Church.
The end of the concept of “World Orthodoxy”: the split between the ROC and the Ecumenical Patriarchate becomes irreversible
All year Moscow and Constantinople sluggishly exchanged threats. In August, Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople arrived in Ukraine, and the UOC-MP led (https://t.me/orthozombies/471) 350 thousand people to the procession. In the Serbian Church, the patriarch was replaced, the new one is considered more pro-Greek than pro-Russian, which undoubtedly shifted the alignment of forces.
At the end of the year, a powerful salvo came from the MP. The decision (https://www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/5877464.html) of the Synod on December 29 to create the African Exarchate of the ROC finally formalized the split between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Greek churches. More than a hundred African clerics have now been accepted into the jurisdiction of the ROC.
The conflict with one of the oldest Orthodox churches – the Alexandria – began when the Patriarch of Alexandria Theodore II at the end of 2019 recognized the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. The ROC Synod then reacted to this by a hybrid break in Eucharistic communion with the bishops of the Alexandrian Church (not with all bishops, but only with those who recognized the OCU). The current decision abolished this hybridity, now even on the territory of those bishops who did not recognize the OCU, there are parallel dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Of course, the current system of Orthodox jurisdictions is outdated. It was criticized (https://www.odinblago.ru/shmeman_bura/) by Archpriest Alexander Schmeman, one of the most authoritative theologians of the 20th century. Archimandrite Kirill Govorun is trying to find positive in the current situation and discusses (https://t.me/cyrilhovorun/1021) about post-jurisdictional Orthodoxy, when each local church will have jurisdiction over the entire globe, creating a kind of “market jurisdictions “with a choice. Andrey Desnitsky writes (https://t.me/desnitsky/180) that it is logical now if Alexandria or Constantinople open their parishes on the territory of Russia.
What does this decision mean for the Russian Church? Natalla Vasilevich recalls (https://t.me/burbalka/239) that at one time the opening of parallel jurisdictions by the bishops of the ROCOR in Africa in the first half of the 20th century led eventually to their marginalization and the flourishing of obscurantism and fundamentalism in it. The ROC is also consistently moving along the path of isolation.
The cherry on the cake is the fact that the ROC has recruited schismatics and marginalized people into its African ranks. Most of the priests who transferred to the ROC are old calendarists who are in schism with world Orthodoxy, as well as various violators of canonical norms, previously banned from ministry or defrocked.
This was told (https://fosfanariou.gr/index.php/2021/12/29/kameroun-grigorios-gia-rosiki-eisboli-sto-patr-alexandreias/) by Metropolitan Gregory of Cameroon from the APTs. He ironically that Moscow now resembles Rommel in Africa: it has poked itself where it does not understand anything, and therefore it will collapse.
Against the background of their African counterparts, the OCU clerics, whose consecration the ROC considers invalid, is simply the ideal of canonicity. DECR strategists planted a time bomb on Patriarch Kirill: he is already actively criticized by internal church fundamentalists and anti-ecumenists, who have become (https://t.me/orthozombies/405) an important force in recent years, and here is a new cause for unrest and protests.
In fact, the split in world Orthodoxy has already overturned (https://t.me/orthozombies/482) inside the ROC. Several dioceses of the ROCOR (autonomy in the ROC) this year broke off communion with the Paris Archdiocese (also autonomy in the ROC). The formal reason was the acceptance of a Greek Catholic into the clergy of the Archdiocese. For lovers of “canonical purity” from the ROCOR, accepting African clerics with a dubious canonical past must be a real nightmare. Will ROCOR sever communion with the new African exarchate? Although the ROCOR also had attempts to unite with the Old Calendarists in history.
In addition, there are rumors that the Russian Orthodox Church receives great support, including financial, from the Russian Foreign Ministry in the development of Africa. It is interesting how the foreign policy of the Russian Federation is combined with the interests of the Russian Orthodox Church. Perhaps a spiritual and educational center will appear in Africa, both in Paris and Singapore. For example, based on the Russian parish in Johannesburg.
