Commenting on the support of the South African Council of Churches expressed regarding the creation of the Patriarchal Exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church in Africa, the Patriarchal Exarch of Africa, Metropolitan Leonid of Klin wrote in his Telegram channel: “And so, apparently, the isolation of our Church on the continent begins.”

Earlier, the Secretary General of the SAOC, Bishop of the Ethiopian Episcopal Church, Malusi Mpumlwana, welcomed the decision of the Russian Orthodox Church to establish a Patriarchal Exarchate in Africa and noted that the SAOC “would be open to the membership of the ROC.”

According to him, the South African province of Guateng, where Johannesburg and Pretoria are located, is best suited for its placement.