Côte d’Ivoire, June 17, 2025
Photo: ierapostoles.gr
The Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa has begun the process of welcoming approximately 5,000 former schismatics from various communities in Côte d’Ivoire into the Orthodox Church.
The integration began when twenty-four self-proclaimed “Orthodox clergymen” leading twelve parishes approached Bp. Daniel during his pastoral visits to the republic. The group, which had previously rejected an invitation to join the Russian Church’s African Exarchate, formally requested to join the Patriarchate of Alexandria, Bishop Daniel of Accra reports on the site of the Orthodox Foreign Missionary Brotherhood.
“In this present life, where selfishness, weaknesses, and passions afflict and imprison people, the finite mind is unable to think and the tongue to express what our Lord Jesus Christ is working for the salvation of our souls,” the hierarch writes.
Photo: ierapostoles.gr
“The reality that we experience here in long-suffering Africa is completely different from what most people in the ‘developed’ countries of our planet understand. Here in Africa, in Ghana and in the Ivory Coast, we experience the miracles of Christ, small and great, every minute of our lives.”
The Patriarchate initiated a year-long catechism process overseen by Congolese Archimandrite Chrysostomos Kamuanga from the Metropolis of Kinshasa. Bp. Daniel noted the participants' enthusiasm for learning Orthodox doctrine and traditions.
During his recent missionary visit from February 22 to March 20, the bishop celebrated the formal reception ceremony, receiving the community leaders and their family members through the Sacrament of Chrismation.
He then ordained twelve priests, ten deacons, and twenty-three readers to serve the liturgical needs of the new parish communities. The Diocese of Accra, which covers Ghana and Ivory Coast, now includes forty-three clergymen serving indigenous populations.
Bp. Daniel also celebrated the inauguration of a new parish church dedicated to the Dormition of the Theotokos in the Brofodoume Region and installed holy antimensia in fourteen new parishes and chapels in various communities. Foundation stones were also laid for three additional parishes scheduled for construction.
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