On May 10, 2026, Metropolitan Rostislav of Tomsk and Asinovsky ordained Neophyte Kipkemboi, a 3rd-year student at Tomsk Theological Seminary from Kenya, as a deacon at the Epiphany Cathedral in Tomsk.
The young man followed in his father's footsteps. The father of the Neophyte is Priest Titus Kipngeni, dean of the Nandi ecclesiastical district of the Patriarchal Exarchate of Africa. Neophyte's sister, Matrona (Jepchirchir)— is the first Kenyan woman to become a monk in the Patriarchal Exarchate of Africa.
Deacon Neophyte will continue his studies at the Tomsk Theological Seminary, after which he will return home to Kenya, where he will serve in the parish of the Patriarchal Exarchate of Africa.
Currently, 60 seminarians from sixteen African countries are studying in nine theological schools in Russia.
For the first time in the history of the Patriarchal Exarchate of Africa, the ordination of a seminarian from Kenya took place
11.05.2026, 14:00
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