Moscow, October 28, 2024
Photo: tatmitropolia.ru
The Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church has appointed a vicar bishop for its controversial African Exarchate.
At its session on October 24, the Synod decided to relieve His Bishop Euthymy of Lukhovitsky from his posts as Chairman of the Synodal Missionary Department and abbot of Visoko Petrovsky Monastery in Moscow and to appoint him as vicar of the Patriarchal Exarchate of Africa, reports Patriarchia.ru.
The African Exarchate was established in December 2021 after Patriarch Theodoros of Alexandria entered into communion with and began concelebrating with the graceless schismatics of the “Orthodox Church of Ukraine.”
The structure began with 102 African priests from various countries, and since then it has grown throughout the canonical territory of the Patriarchate of Alexandria.
Recall that Alexandria has ruled to defrock both bishops who have led the Russian Church’s African Exarchate, as well as two Russian priests for their activity on Alexandria’s canonical territory. The Russian Church does not recognize any of these decisions.
The defrocking of the first Exarch, Metropolitan Leonid of Gorbachev, was officially recognized by the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece, while the Bulgarian Synod ruled in 2023 to refrain from serving the Exarch at least until it had time to study the African issue in more depth.
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