On the Hardships of the ROC Mission on the Promising African ContinentPrintable version

Evangelization and politicization

Tags: Russian Orthodox Church, Moscow Patriarchate, Africa, evangelization, Copts, Ethiopians

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 Photo by Reuters

The Moscow Patriarchate has intensified its activities in Africa. New reports appear: regular graduates of Russian theological schools from equatorial countries went to their homeland to create communities of Russian tradition there. Relations are also developing with the so-called ancient Eastern churches, especially with the Ethiopian Church, which is going through hard times today. There is a real shuttle diplomacy between Moscow and Addis Ababa.

Perhaps this is due to the limited capabilities of the Russian Orthodox Church in other areas: Europe is actually closed, and in Asia, where non-Christian and very passionate religious trends dominate, evangelism is not welcome.

It is noteworthy that the African "onslaught" of the Russian Orthodox Church coincided with the visits to the continent of the main spiritual leaders of Western Christianity. Pope Francis recently visited the two countries and was visited by The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby. Both leaders, who lead the largest Christian communities in Africa, seemed to act in sync.

But if for Western Christians Africa, with its growing population and many social problems, remains the most important direction for preaching, then the missionary nature of the activities of the special exarchate created by Patriarch Kirill after he quarreled with the Church of Alexandria raises some doubts. First of all, emissaries of the Russian Orthodox Church are less focused on the territory of North Africa, where Orthodox Christianity in its orthodox form is widespread. Here the position of the Church of Alexandria, represented mainly by ethnic Greeks, is strong. Representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church prefer those places where alexandrian communities are very scattered. But even here the great sophistication of the Greeks is manifested. For example, Patriarch Theodore II poses on camera in the traditional jewelry of one of the African tribes, where he was allegedly "elevated" to chief. Clerics of the Russian Orthodox Church have not yet been seen in such a deep penetration into the deep life of local nationalities.

Bypassing the Greeks on difficult turns, Russian clerics prefer to establish relations with the so-called pre-Chalcedonian churches: Copts and Ethiopians. From the point of view of doctrine, their closeness to Russian orthodoxy is doubtful, and it is also doubtful that the ROC is aimed at changing their religious beliefs. Relations with the ancient churches can be described as exclusively allied, not missionary.

With regard to potential followers from among the local population in Equatorial Africa, emissaries from the Moscow Patriarchate also do not show much zeal. They prefer to establish relations with political elites, are absorbed in the legal registration of communities of the Russian tradition and are happy to report on such successes.

If we consider this activity in the context of competition not only with hostile Alexandrians, but also with non-monotheistic, but neutral Catholics, then here too there are more diplomatic than missionary goals. It is no coincidence that Pope Francis spoke on new forms of colonialism during an African visit. It should be noted that official Russian diplomacy on the continent has also made anti-colonialism the main topic of appeal to developing countries. In this regard, the statements of the representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church are secondary to the activities of the Russian Foreign Ministry. All this is happening against the backdrop of the world community's discussion of the global conflict between the North and the South.

There is a serious political struggle for influence on a promising Africa in terms of resources. The Russian Church still has a lot to learn in order to compete on an equal footing with sophisticated Jesuits or Anglicans. The administrative resource is important, but it is not enough. The RoC should prepare for real missionary feats and considerable hardships.