Patriarch Theodore of Alexandria sent a message to Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, in which he demanded to cancel the appointment of Metropolitan Leonid of Klin as Exarch of the Russian Orthodox Church in Africa, Pravlife reports.

“Immediately recall the so-called “exarch” and remove the corresponding appointment from him,” the message says.

Otherwise, Patriarch Theodore himself threatened to “punish him with deposition from the high ministry of the High Priesthood, since the divine and sacred rules are violated.”

The letter also notes that the decisions taken by the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church on the issue of self-determination of the Ukrainian Church are “not serious enough.”