THE AFRICAN EXARCHATE OF THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH (ROC): REASONS FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT AND PROSPECTS OF FURTHER EXPANSION

Abstract

The article examines the recent (12/29/2021) establishment of the African Exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC). The setting up of the ROC’s African Exarchate is related to the situation in Ukraine and was, particularly, was driven by the decision made by the Alexandrian Orthodox Church (AOC) to recognize the autocephaly (independence) of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (PCU), and by the subsequent rupture of relations between the AOC and the ROC. An analysis of the events preceding the establishment of the ROC’s African Exarchate, the positions of the AOC and the ROC, as well as the expansion strategy, may shed light on the prospects of the African Exarchate of the ROC.