Μembers of the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa convened on Tuesday, under the chairmanship of the Pope and Patriarch of the Alexandrian Church, His Beatitude Theodoros II. The Holy Synod announced decisions over what the venerable Patriarchate has called an “intrusion”, into its ecclesiastical jurisdiction, by the Moscow Patriarchate.
Among others, members of the Holy Synod, who convened at the historic St. George Monastery in Cairo, announced that the Alexandrian Patriarchate and His Beatitude Theodoros II will cease commemorating in liturgies His Holiness Kirill, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia. The Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa will also suspend all communication with the latter, until the intrusion ceases, and all representatives of the non-canonical Exarchate are recalled.
A statement issued afterwards by the Holy Synod reminded that Patriarch Theodoros had fraternally addressed the Russian Patriarch over the past year to request that he abolish the Russian Church Exarchate in Africa. However, no reply was ever received by the second in rank of the 14 Autocephalous Orthodox Churches, with the Exarchate continuing its uncanonical presence and actions.
The Holy Synod of the Alexandrian Church also announced that it would defrock Metropolitan Leonid of Klin, the Russian Church’s Exarch for Africa, citing “… a series of canonical offenses”, such as inheritance in the jurisdiction of the Church’s pontificate, distribution of the holy myrrh, enticing local clergy and, propagating ethno-tribalism, or ethno-phyletism. The Holy Synod also condemned what it called newly circulated and unsubstantiated theories about the distribution of the Russian world around the globe on the basis of nationality.
In commenting on the developments related to the Holy Synod, the Alexandria Patriarchate’s Metropolitan of Nigeria, His Eminence Alexandros, referred to historic, fair, necessary and expected decisions.
His Eminence underlined that “…Today history was written. With whatever cost, we will maintain the institutions, the canons and the undiluted faith of our Church.”