The missionary of the Patriarchal Exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church in Africa, Father Georgy Maksimov, reacted to the message that the Alexandrian Patriarchate was summoning him and Father Andrei Novikov “for trial.” According to the cleric, he did not receive any “summons” and is beyond the jurisdiction of the Church of Alexandria, especially after it deviated into schism, which was stated by the Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church. The priest posted his answer on Facebook.

“By uniting with schismatics, you have taken yourself out from under the protection of the holy canons, because the canons do not protect schismatics. The schismatics do not have any canonical territory that could be violated, any of your decisions about me or about the African clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church mean nothing… All the “prohibitions” of the schismatics against the Orthodox clergy will be like God’s blessings. And I personally take it as a sign of recognition of the success of my modest efforts in Africa. Your Beatitude, please send me the decisions of your “court”, I will hang them on the wall and smile looking at them,” writes the missionary of the Russian Orthodox Church.

“This is how Patriarch Theodore thinks of the African clergy – “greedy people who ran after material goods,” and nothing more. I find this offensive to all Orthodox Africans who have converted to the Russian Orthodox Church. As if they cannot have a conscious church position. Like they can’t have an opinion. As if they are unable to understand the problem of the split and the consequences of its recognition.

And this is what the Patriarch of Alexandria says after the publication of a letter from African priests who opposed his decision to recognize the schismatics! A letter that you officially ignored, and unofficially your bishops began to persecute many of the priests who signed it. Although at that time there was still no talk of transferring to the Russian Orthodox Church, the whole “fault” of these African priests was that they remained in the church canonical position that you had previously adhered to and that you did not have the courage to stay on. I heard that in private conversations you later justified yourself: “They put pressure on me, I was forced to recognize the Ukrainian schismatics.” If this is true, then I can recommend that you learn courage from the African priests, many of whom your employees could not force to change their church position.

But apart from the letter that the priests signed without any material promises from anyone, you could remember your meeting with the priests of Western Kenya in 2020. When they expressed their feelings to your face because of your recognition of the Ukrainian schismatics, you simply dismissed them: “It’s none of your business, I know better.”

And now, when you pretend that you did not know about this position of many African priests, and they are simply corrupt and the Russians bribed them with material promises, I am ashamed of you.

This is what I actually promised African priests at our meetings: “Think carefully before you decide! It will not be easy. The Greeks will kick you out of the temples, take away all church things, they can use against you, they use.” African priests heard such promises from me, and you have already begun to put these promises into practice! I know that there is a widespread belief among some bishops of the Patriarchate of Alexandria that now we just need to attract more money and “the problem will be solved.” In their opinion, it is enough to shake the money in the nose of the African priests and they will quickly run back to them. … I believe that the fundamental majority. I believe in African priests and I know that they are able to understand church issues no worse than Russians and Greeks. Those of your bishops who have already unsuccessfully tried to bribe some of our priests know this.

You have been in East Africa for eighty years. How did it happen that during all these decades, when the question of episcopal consecration arose, in most cases the Greek turned out to be more worthy than all the representatives of the African peoples put together? And we are no longer talking about Greeks born in Africa. No, calling yourself the “Church of all Africa”, you are looking for bishops not in Africa, but someone from Greece or Cyprus, it does not matter that he was born on another continent and does not know local realities – he is still more worthy in your eyes than a person born and raised in Africa. Many of the bishops of the Church of Alexandria do not even live in Africa after their consecration, they continue to live in Greece, visiting their dioceses a couple of times a year – and yet they turn out to be more worthy of episcopacy in your eyes than those Orthodox African pastor-monks who all time living in Africa. And this has nothing to do with ethnocentrism? Really? If you think that this will sound convincing to your African flock, then you know it very poorly, ”said the cleric of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Earlier it was reported that two missionaries of the Russian Orthodox Church were expected in Alexandria for a “trial” on February 24, 2022.