A delegation from the schismatic Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Orthodox Patriarchal Cathedral of Sts. Cosmas and Damian in Nairobi, Kenya on July 26. The service was presided over by ‘Metropolitan’ Eustratiy Zoria, with assistance from local African clergy.

The delegation had arrived in Kenya earlier in July, with the blessing of so-called ‘Metropolitan’ Epiphanius Dumenko. They were received at the residence of Archbishop Makarios (Tillyrides) on July 25 and presented a bishop’s panagia as part of their visit.

This event marks a grave canonical violation by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria. The OCU, which originated from schismatic groups that split from the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) in the 1990s, has been universally recognized by regional Orthodox Churches as a schismatic entity from 1990 to 2018.

The self-proclaimed ‘Patriarch of Ukraine’ Filaret Denisenko was excommunicated and defrocked by all major Orthodox Churches. Patriarch Theodore of Alexandria once barred Ukrainian schismatics from entering his church during a visit to Odessa, Ukraine.

In 2018, Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople recognized the OCU through a tomos of autocephaly, despite the fact that the majority of Orthodox Ukrainians belonged to the UOC. This decision has been widely criticized as lawless and has led to intensified attacks on the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church by schismatic groups.

The event in Kenya violates multiple canons of the Orthodox Church. Canon 33 of the Council of Laodicea states, “No one shall join in prayers with heretics or schismatics.” Canon 2 of the Council of Antioch forbids communion with excommunicated persons.

Greek Metropolitan Makarios refused to concelebrate with OCU priests but reportedly sent his congregants to participate in this violation. The Patriarchal Exarchate of Africa of the Russian Orthodox Church was established specifically to protect Orthodox Africans from such canonical breaches.