Exarch of ROC speaks about plans to open monasteries in Africa

Patriarchal Exarch of Africa, Metropolitan Leonid (Gorbachev) of Klin. Photo: seraphim.com.ua

On February 16, the Patriarchal Exarch of Africa, Metropolitan Leonid of Klin, during a zoom conference organized by the lecture сentre of the Russian Orthodox University (ROU) “Krapivensky-4”, said that the Russian Orthodox Church intends to organize monastic life in Africa and open monasteries there, reports ria.ru.

“We really want young people (from Africa – Ed.) to come to our monasteries, under my control here, to get in touch with our monastic traditions. We will return them to their places of service in Africa where they will already organize monastic life,” said Metropolitan Leonid.

According to him, several Orthodox boys and girls from Africa have already expressed a desire to undergo a test – a spiritual test before becoming a monk.

The Exarch of the Russian Orthodox Church recalled that Egypt is the birthplace of monasticism, where it originated in the first centuries of Christianity, adding that lists for education are now being prepared in the Russian Orthodox Church, and even before the start of the new academic year, in September, Africans who have converted to the Russian Orthodox Church will come to Russia for studying the Russian language and other subjects they need in educational institutions.

As the main task of the Exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church in Africa, Metropolitan Leonid named the training of the clergy from among the indigenous inhabitants of Africa, and above all, the bishops.

Metropolitan Leonid recalled that there were only a few African bishops in the Patriarchate of Alexandria, the overwhelming majority of the hierarchs there were Greeks. The Moscow Patriarchate intends to focus on the African clergy.

“We will definitely ordain black African bishops,” added the Exarch of the Russian Orthodox Church.

As previously reported, the Zaporizhzhia Eparchy of the UOC donated icons and vestments to the clerics of Tanzania.

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