By Priest George Maximov, head of the Missionary Department of the Patriarchal Exarchate of Africa of the Russian Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church is strict about schism. Saint Ignatius of Antioch wrote: “If any man follows him that makes a schism in the Church, he shall not inherit the Kingdom of God.” Similarly, Saint John Chrysostom stated: “The sin of schism is not washed away even by the blood of martyrdom.”
This context is critical for an event recently unfolding in Africa. While it may not draw attention from secular observers, it holds significance for devout Christians.
In late July, a delegation from the schismatic Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) visited the Metropolis of Nairobi of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria. Under the “blessing” of Metropolitan Epiphanius Dumenko, OCU representatives including Metropolitan Eustratiy Zoria and Archpriest Vitaly Danchak traveled to Kenya.
On July 25, they were hosted at Archbishop Makarios (Tillyrides)’ residence, where the delegation presented a bishop’s panagia among other gifts. The next day, with the archbishop’s blessing, the OCU delegates celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the Orthodox Patriarchal Cathedral of Sts. Cosmas and Damian, presided over by Eustratiy Zoria with local African clergy assisting.
This event confirms that the establishment of the Russian Orthodox Church’s Patriarchal Exarchate of Africa was timely. Created after Patriarch Theodore of Alexandria recognized the OCU in 2019 (contrary to his earlier position), the Exarchate initially formed for those from the Church of Alexandria who wished to avoid communion with schismatics.
The fact that Ukrainian groups forming the OCU are schismatic is not a matter of opinion within the Russian Orthodox Church alone. It was the common stance of all regional Orthodox Churches from the 1990s through 2018, and it is confirmed by official church documents. The defrocking and excommunication of Filaret Denisenko, self-proclaimed Patriarch of Ukraine, was recognized by all major Orthodox churches, including Constantinople and Alexandria.
Patriarch Theodore of Alexandria once stated that when he served as archimandrite in Odessa and learned Ukrainian schismatics intended to enter his church, he barred them from entry—a practice he later cited as an example of his firm stance on schism. In 2018, Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople announced recognition of two Ukrainian schismatic groups, the largest being Denisenko’s faction. This was presented as a benefaction to Orthodox Ukrainians. However, at that time, the majority of Orthodox believers in Ukraine belonged to the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), which did not request this recognition.
The schismatics have consistently targeted the UOC through physical assaults, church seizures, and beatings of clergy and laypeople. Their actions caused suffering among Orthodox Ukrainians within the canonical UOC. After Constantinople recognized OCU, its adherents intensified attacks on the UOC. Patriarch Bartholomew’s act legally sanctioned this aggression, which continues today—constituting not merely a canonical breach but an immoral act that has exacerbated suffering for Orthodox Ukrainians.
The overwhelming majority of regional Orthodox Churches did not support Patriarch Bartholomew’s decision. Only Constantinople and Alexandria fully recognized the schismatics as the true “Orthodox Church of Ukraine.” Churches in Greece and Cyprus recognized OCU partially (with some bishops refusing). The remaining ten regional churches, including the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, have not officially recognized OCU in nine years.
This is not a “Greek-Russian dispute” but a question of whether one sides with schismatics or the Church. When the Russian Orthodox Church’s Patriarchal Exarchate of Africa was established in December 2021, many African Orthodox Christians who sought to avoid spiritual contact with schismatics defected from Alexandria. Skeptics questioned this move, noting Ukraine is distant and the schism occurred elsewhere.
However, events in Kenya at the end of July have confirmed that those who joined the Exarchate had valid reasons. The threat is real—and now it has escalated: Greek Orthodox leaders permitted schismatic Ukrainians to celebrate Liturgy alongside African Christians. Patriarch Theodore of Alexandria, who once barred Ukrainian schismatics from his church in Ukraine, now permits them to conduct Liturgy in Africa.
Self-proclaimed Metropolitan Eustratiy Zoria, ordained by the excommunicated Filaret Denisenko (and thus considered a layman by most Orthodox), was permitted to preside as bishop. Kenyan clergy participated in the service.
Canon 33 of the Council of Laodicea states: “No one shall join in prayers with heretics or schismatics.” Canon 10 of the Apostolic Canon decrees: “If any one shall pray, even in a private house, with an excommunicated person, let him also be excommunicated.” Additionally, Canon 2 of the Council of Antioch forbids communion with excommunicated persons.
The OCU is not in communion with most Orthodox Churches. The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria has thus forced Orthodox Africans into a grave canonical violation by permitting schismatic Ukrainians to celebrate Liturgy alongside them. Notably, Metropolitan Makarios refused to concelebrate with the schismatics that day. He knew what they were and the shame of such communion—instead sending his flock to commit this violation. This is precisely what Orthodox Africans who joined the Russian Orthodox Exarchate sought to avoid: preserving their souls from schismatic communion and maintaining the purity of their faith.
