“Today there are many serious problems in Africa. Christians are persecuted and murdered. The Russian Orthodox Church will deal with these issues, said Metropolitan Leonid of Klin, Head of the Patriarchal African Exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church, while discussing the situation on Wednesday, February 16. 

He also pointed out that the condition of the church buildings in Africa — after one hundred years of the Alexandrian Patriarchate’s jurisdiction — is deplorable.

Another problem is a lack of a comprehensive mission, and a lack of close attention for the needs of the Orthodox community, on the part of the Greek hierarchs,” the metropolitan said.    

Even if Alexandria reconsiders its decision of support for the schism, the African Exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church will not be abolished.

Metropolitan Leonid also noted that “now our priority consists in training more members of the clergy for African parishes – we have already started to work on that.”

From January 31 to February 16, a missionary group led by Archpriest Andrei Novikov worked in Tanzania. They visited six cities and villages in the Eastern, Northern, and South-Eastern parts of the country. Another missionary group, led by Priest George Maximov, worked in Uganda from February 12 to February 16. They visited six cities and villages in the Northern, Central, and Eastern parts of the country. 

Russian priests celebrated Divine Liturgies together with the local priests, bringing Antimins, Holy Chrism, pectoral crosses, and sacred objects for the Eucharist, and hundreds of icons and crosses to be distributed among the laity.