Patriarchal Exarch of Africa will celebrate the first liturgy on the continent

Metropolitan Leonid of Klin's trip to Egypt will last until June 27

CAIRO, June 25. /tass/. The Patriarchal exarch of Africa, Metropolitan Leonid of Klin, who arrived in Egypt on a visit on Friday evening, will celebrate the first divine liturgy on African soil in Cairo on Saturday as the head of the exarchate, and will also meet with compatriots living on the continent.

"The program of the visit includes the Divine Liturgy of Metropolitan Leonid in Cairo, the first as exarch and ruling bishop of the North African Diocese, high-level meetings, a concert of the ensemble of soloists "Vera" of the Moscow Synodal Choir at the site of the Russian Cultural Center in Cairo, a meeting with compatriots," the department of the Patriarchal Exarchate of Africa told TASS.

The exarch's trip to Egypt will last until June 27. Earlier, Metropolitan Leonid told TASS that the issue of allocating a land plot in Cairo for the construction of the cathedral of the North African Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church will be resolved at the highest level in the country.

The bishop paid his first visit to Africa in the status of exarch in May of this year to Uganda. From 2004 to 2013, Metropolitan Leonid was the representative of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia to the Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa.

The Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church on December 29, 2021 decided to form the Patriarchal Exarchate of Africa. By the decision of the Synod, 102 clergy of the Patriarchate of Alexandria from eight African countries with their parishes were admitted to the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate after the relevant petitions. The decision of the Synod clarified that this was done because Patriarch Theodore of Alexandria evaded the schism, he commemorated the head of the so-called Orthodox Church of Ukraine (PCU) Epiphany Dumenko at the liturgy and served together with him. Subsequently, the Synod of the Church of Alexandria confirmed this position regarding the recognition of Ukrainian schismatics.

Earlier, Metropolitan Leonid said that a total of 192 clergy of the Patriarchate of Alexandria from 12 countries have already passed into the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church, and their number is constantly growing. The North African and South African dioceses were formed as part of the Patriarchal Exarchate of Africa.