The African Exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC): Reasons for the Establishment and Prospects of Further Expansion

The article examines the recent (December 2021) establishment of the African Exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), which was related to the recognition of autocephaly (independence) by the Alexandrian Orthodox Church (APC) of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (PCU), and the subsequent rupture of relations between the APC and the ROC. Straight after the establishment of the African Exarchate, more than 100 African clerics left the jurisdiction of the APC and came under the jurisdiction of the ROC. The reasons for the active transition of Orthodox churches to the African Exarchate of ROC are connected not only with canonical issues, that is, unwillingness to be related to the church schism, but also with the policy of the APC in Africa. The African Exarchate, on the contrary, makes every effort to resolve current humanitarian issues and to build long-term cooperation on equal footing with the Orthodox Churches in Africa. An analysis of the events preceding the establishment of the Exarchate, the positions of the UOC and the ROC, as well as the expansion strategy may shed light on the prospects of the African Exarchate of the ROC.