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Metropolitan Leonid of Klin: We will not break the local conventions
and traditions of African parishes

12 January 2022 year 11:44

On December 29, 2021, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church at
its session made the decision to form a Patriarchate Exarchate of
Africa. Metropolitan Leond (Gorbachev) was appointed as Patriarchal
Exarch with the title “of Klin”. In an interview to Yelena Verevkina
of the Interfax-Religion portal, the hierarch said how and with whose
money new parishes will develop, whether manifestations of racism are
possible in the Russian Church and whether it is worth waiting for new
people to join the Moscow Patriarchate at an early date.

- As a part of Aftrican parishes have joined the Russian Orthodox
Church, a completely new questions are arising. Do you think our
Church may encounter some new challenges, for instance, demands to
picture the apostles or Christ as dark-skinned, as is the case in some Protestant churches? Or may the problem of racism arise in the Church,
and what on the whole is your attitude to the Black Lives Matter
movement, may it reach the Church as well?

- We always say that in the Church ‘there is no Gentile or Jew’ (Col. 3:11). Therefore, a particular image associated with national
symbolisn does not prevail in Orthodox traditions. In the Orthodox
Church, racism cannot arise in the absence of an ethnophiletic ground
for it. Everything depends on those who lead their flock to salvation.

As for the BlM movement, I will emphasize once again that in Orthodoxy salvation is possible for the faithful regardless of their skin
colour, ethnicity or languige, for those who do not seek to deviate
from God’s commandments and the canons of the Church.

- Will seminaries be developed in Africa for teaching and training
Orthodox priests?

- Today we have just begun implementing our plans. Surely, the issue
of education is one of the top priorities. We are aware of how to
solve it. There are excellent theological schools for teaching and
training students. However, it is possible that we will create a
number of educational institutions in the African continent, provided
there is a need and expediencly for it.

- In the post-Soviet education, especially in seminaries, there has
always been some constraint with languages, now you have to do with
African ones. Who will train people for work in Africa?

- In Russia, there is a sufficient number of universities that can
train specialists with linguistic knowledge. In addition, in African
countries they speak in English, French, Suahili and local dialects.
As of today, there is no acute linguistic problem. We communicate in
the above-mentioned languages. There are printed publications,
religious literature, the order of the Divine Liturgy, the texts
necessary for celebrating divine services in various languages of the continent. As it may be necessary, translation work will be carried
out. We consider the trainiang of specialists in a wide range of
areas..

- Are there those in the Russian Church - benegactors, hierarchs, who
are ready to give financial support to these African parishes? Indeed,
for the most part these are very poor communities who need financial
support. Who will finance them?

- Yes, in the Russian Church there are benegactors who support her in
many areas of her service and, remainng not indifferent to the fate of Universal Orthodoxy, they are ready from their generosity to support
our mission in Africa as well. We are grateful to them for their
awareness that the Russian Church is now becoming a guardian of
Orthodoxy not allowing the holy canons to be trampled down in favour
of particular political decisions.

- What are the next steps to be made in the Russian Church for
developing these new parishes?

- As only two weeks have passed since the historic decision of the
Holy Synod, it is too early to speak of the steps to be made. We hoped
to the last that the leaders of the Orthodox Church of Alexandria
would become aware of the whole tragedy of her step and make the only
right decision to refuse to support the schism. We did not prepare
anything beforehand, but, believe me, nothing will hold us back. Now
we are working out a full-scale program not only for developing the
parishes but also for ensuring the full-gledged presence of the
Russian Orthodox Church in the continent, including the liturgical, educational, social and humanitarian components.

- How much does the course of the liturgical and parish life of these
parishes differ from the traditional order observed in parishes of our
Church?

- Each community has its own special features. Orthodoxy is unique
precisely in that it does not remove or level national traditions and
culture - it unites everybody and everything in Christ. I have
repeatedly said it in my service both outside and inside Russia. We
will not break local conventions and traditions. Orthodoxy has always
been distinguished by patience and love. Therefore, on the contrary,
we will support and preserve the individuality of each community in
the continent if its special features not contradict the teaching of
the Church. These traditions will not make an influence on the
liturgical process.

- Don’t you think that the incorporation of African parishes will
initiate a movement for joining the Russian Church in other Churches,
namely those of Cyprus and Greece, which have recognized the
non-canonical church (OCU) of Ukraine?

- We stated that before and repeat now: the Russian Orthodox Church is
not engaged in expansion. The Patriarch of Constantinople has
committed a canonical crime by entering in ecclesical communion with schismatics. A number of Orthodox Churches have supported this illegal
decision and concelebrated with people who have no canonical, that is,
lawful ordination, and who are not clergimen.

We know that, according to the teaching of the Church, “he who
communicates with schismatics becomes schismatics himself”. We have
defended and will continue defending the Orthodox who refuse to be
associated with a schism.

DECR Communication Service/Patriarchia.ru

Source:
http://www.patriarchia.ru/en/db/text/5881378.html

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