The South African Council of Churches (SACC) welcomes the Russian Orthodox Church's (ROC) decision to establish a Patriarchal Exarchate in Africa, SACC General Secretary, Bishop Malusi Mpumlwana, told Sputnik on Thursday
JOHANNESBURG (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th January, 2022) The South African Council of Churches (SACC) welcomes the Russian Orthodox Church's (ROC) decision to establish a Patriarchal Exarchate in Africa, SACC General Secretary, Bishop Malusi Mpumlwana, told Sputnik on Thursday.
"The SACC welcomes all churches, and would definitely be open to membership of the ROC, if it met the requirements for South African membership," Mpumlwana said.
He suggested that South Africa's Guateng province, where Johannesburg and Pretoria are located, "is best placed to host" the ROC Patriarchal Exarchate in Africa.
"I am not sure what their needs would be that require our assistance; but as a member of WCC (World Council of Churches) they can call on us for advice as needed," the bishop said.
Of all Orthodox churches, only the Greek Patriarchate of Alexandria is represented in the SACC, he said.
On December 29, the ROC Moscow Patriarchate said that a new Patriarchal Exarchate will be established in Africa and consist of two eparchies -- North-African and South-African. Archbishop of Yerevan and Armenia Leonid was appointed the head of the exarchate. According to the statement, 102 clerics of the Greek Orthodox Alexandrian Patriarchate requested and were granted accession to the ROC jurisdiction.
The SACC is an interdenominational forum uniting South African Christian churches on the basis of social equity and Christian values. It grew famous for its fight against apartheid in South Africa from 1948 to 1994.
