Mark Jackson
By Priest George Maximov, head of the Missionary Department of the Patriarchal Exarchate of Africa of the Russian Orthodox Church
A delegation from the schismatic Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) conducted Divine Liturgy in Nairobi, Kenya, on July 26 under the blessing of Archbishop Makarios (Tillyrides), marking a grave canonical violation. The group included so-called “Metropolitan” Eustratiy Zoria and “Archpriest” Vitaly Danchak, who arrived in the city with the blessing of self-proclaimed “Metropolitan” Epiphanius Dumenko.
The OCU delegation celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Orthodox Patriarchal Cathedral of Sts. Cosmas and Damian, presided over by Eustratiy Zoria with assistance from local African clergy. This event occurred despite the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria’s establishment in 2019 of the Patriarchal Exarchate of Africa to protect Orthodox Africans from schismatic influences.
The OCU is widely recognized as schismatic by all major Orthodox churches, including those in Alexandria and Constantinople. The self-proclaimed “Patriarch of Ukraine” Filaret Denisenko was defrocked and excommunicated by the majority of Orthodox jurisdictions—a decision confirmed by Patriarch Theodore of Alexandria during his service in Odessa. In 2018, Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople granted autocephaly to the OCU, an act many Orthodox churches deem unlawful despite the fact that most Ukrainian Orthodox believers belonged to the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), which did not request recognition.
Canon law explicitly prohibits communion with schismatics. The Council of Laodicea states: “No one shall join in prayers with heretics or schismatics.” Archbishop Makarios refused to concelebrate with the OCU delegation but permitted his flock’s participation in this violation, contrary to his own position on preserving spiritual purity.
The Russian Orthodox Church emphasizes that this event confirms the necessity of the Patriarchal Exarchate of Africa and the protection it provides against schismatic influences.
