With the blessing of the Patriarchal Exarch of Africa, Metropolitan Constantine of Cairo and North Africa, the Spiritual and Educational Center of the Apostle and Evangelist Mark of the Patriarchal Exarchate of Africa launched online courses for catechists and candidates for ordination from French-speaking African countries on March 2, 2026.
Opening the meeting, the head of the center, Archpriest Tigri Khachatryan, addressed the audience and spoke about the organization of the courses.
Metropolitan Konstantin then addressed the participants with an archpastoral address.
An employee of the center, Priest Anatoly Slobodchikov, gave a lecture on the introduction to the Old Testament and answered questions from the audience. At the end of the lecture, the participants received audio and text versions of the lesson and control questions for homework.
The courses are taught by Archimandrite Vasily (Pasquier), rector of the Holy Trinity Monastery in Cheboksary, staff of the Apostle Mark Spiritual and Educational Center and teachers of theological schools. The participants of the course were residents of Burundi, Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Madagascar, Rwanda and the Central African Republic.
During the course, students will deepen their knowledge of the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, the Orthodox faith, as well as in the fields of apologetics, liturgics, pastoral theology and ethics. Earlier, on February 20, the course organizers conducted an interview with prospective students, summed up the preparatory work and survey results, and discussed current issues.