Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew criticized the Moscow Patriarchate and made a number of sharp remarks about Serbian Patriarch Porfiriy during his address on August 12 at the Church of St. George on his native island of Imbros.
This was reported by The Orthodox Times.
In his address, Patriarch Bartholomew spoke warmly of the missionary activities of Patriarch Theodore II and the Patriarchate of Alexandria on the African continent, emphasizing the difficult conditions under which this ministry is carried out.
Against this backdrop, he sharply criticized the Moscow Patriarchate, accusing it of having encroached on the canonical territory of the Patriarchate of Alexandria in recent years and established parallel church structures.
According to the Ecumenical Patriarch, instead of helping Patriarch Theodore and his fellow workers in their missionary efforts among the peoples of Africa, the Russian Orthodox Church chose to act in a spirit of rivalry with them. “Our Ecumenical Patriarchate supported the Church of St. Mark, the Church of Alexandria,” Patriarch Bartholomew emphasized.
The Ecumenical Patriarch also made remarks about another Orthodox primate, without naming him directly but referring to Serbian Patriarch Porfiriy. Bartholomew criticized his “unwillingness” to make an official visit to the Ecumenical Patriarchate following his election and enthronement.
Patriarch Bartholomew noted that some primates, despite the fact that four or five years have already passed since their election and enthronement, continue to postpone fulfilling what he described as their duty toward the Church of Constantinople.
“Although they have visited other Churches, the fourth and fifth, they have passed over the first,” the Ecumenical Patriarch remarked.
As LF reported, Chrysostom, Bishop of Bukoba and Western Tanzania of the Patriarchate of Alexandria, called on the Russian Orthodox Church to “get out of Africa.” He believes that money will not help the Russians establish themselves on the continent.
It was previously reported that the Russian Orthodox Church had officially established its presence in Cameroon through the Patriarchal Exarchate of Africa.
Recently, the Russian Orthodox Church received official registration in the Republic of Madagascar.
As LF reported, the Kremlin uses the Russian Orthodox Church as an instrument of influence in Africa and, with its assistance, recruits local residents to participate in the war against Ukraine.
We previously reported that the African Exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church lures Kenyans into the war in Ukraine. Young Kenyan citizens are offered the opportunity to travel to Russia for work or study, with the church undertaking to sponsor the trip.
It is known that the Russian Orthodox Church considers Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda key countries for developing its mission in Africa. This was stated by Metropolitan Constantine of Cairo and North Africa, Konstantin (Ostrovsky).
We previously reported on how Russia is “reformatting” Africa and the Global South.
