Istanbul, September 5, 2024
The logo of the Russian Church’s African Exarchate. Photo: exarchate-africa.ru
The Hierarchy of the Patriarchate of Constantinople held its latest Synaxis in Istanbul from September 1 to 3. Much of the council was dedicated to the war in Ukraine, its broader impact, and the activities of the Moscow Patriarchate.
The Synaxis included presentations on several themes, including “The Church and Geopolitical Issues, with a presentation of the genesis, development, and application of the so-called ‘Russian World’ theory.”
A statement from the World Russian People’s Council in March of this year describes the “Russian World” theory:
Russia is the creator, support and protector of the Russian World. The borders of the Russian World as a spiritual and cultural-civilizational phenomenon are significantly wider than the state borders of both the current Russian Federation and the greater historical Russia. Along with representatives of the Russian ecumene scattered throughout the world, the Russian World includes all for whom the Russian tradition, the sacred treasures of Russian civilization and the great Russian culture are the highest value and meaning of life.
The highest meaning of the existence of Russia and the Russian World it created—their spiritual mission—is to be the world “restrainer” [referring to 2 Thess. 2:7—OC], protecting the world from evil. The historical mission is to repeatedly destroy attempts to establish universal hegemony in the world—attempts to subjugate humanity to a single evil principle.
The Constantinople Synaxis’ concluding statement notes:
There was an unequivocal condemnation by the Hierarchy of the Throne of this ideology and the transformation of the Church into a worldly institution and its instrumentalization for the promotion of state interests, as well as the ongoing war in Ukraine, which defies all sense of justice, following the unprovoked invasion of the Russian Federation into the territory of a sovereign state.
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church responded to the World Russian People’s Council document in March, saying:
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church does not support and dissociates herself from the ideology of the “Russian World.” Moreover, the attitude of our Church towards this idea has long been publicly expressed by His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine: “We do not build any Russian world, we build God’s world.” This means that the Church should care about the proper preaching of the Gospel, which Christ commanded her to do, and not of the formation of geopolitical and geospiritual concepts.
The Constantinople hierarchs also heard a letter from Patriarch Theodoros of Alexandria about the “unprincipled intrusion of the Patriarchate of Moscow into the canonical territory of the ancient Church of Alexandria, entirely contrary to healthy ecclesiology, and the resulting division and scandal among the people of God in Africa.”
The Patriarch also bemoaned the “unacceptable, unjust, and unholy silence” of the other Orthodox primates on the matter.
The statement continues:
The Synaxis unanimously and wholeheartedly condemned the aforementioned uncanonical actions of the Church of Russia and expressed its undivided support for the suffering Patriarchate of Alexandria and for the tried Orthodox Church of Ukraine.
Recall that the Russian Church established its African Exarchate in 
Russian Synod announces reception of 102 African priests into its jurisdiction, creation of African diocesesThe Synod officially resolved “to accept 102 clerics of the Patriarchate of Alexandria from eight African countries into the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church, according to the petitions submitted.”
“>December 2021 in response to the appeal of dozens of African priests who objected to their Patriarch turning his back on Orthodoxy in Ukraine and entering into communion with the schismatics there.
Since then, Russian clergy and lay representatives have been active throughout Africa, receiving clergy and entire communities into the Exarchate. The Patriarchate of Alexandria condemns this activity on its canonical territory and has ruled to 
Patriarchate of Alexandria defrocks second Russian Exarch of AfricaBp. Konstantin commented simply: “The fact of the matter is that I am a bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church. I am subordinate to the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia as his vicar and to the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church as any of its bishops.”
“>defrock several Russian clerics, including both bishops who have overseen the Exarchate. For its part, the Russian Church does not recognize the validity of these rulings.
Notably, the Constantinople hierarchs said nothing about Ukraine’s move to ban the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
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