For the past three years, believers in the Central African Republic have been gathering for Russian Orthodox services in the small parish of Saint-André de Bimbo, near the capital, Bangui.
38-year-old Patrick is one of them. He was a member of the Roman Catholic Church before converting to the Russian Orthodox Church. “I joined this church because I like the teachings of the Bible, the way they speak to us and how they provide spiritual guidance through prayer,” Patrick told DW.
“Since this change, I feel that a positive change is taking place in my life. I feel at home in my new church, my new faith and I will continue on this path.”
Olive, 35, is also happy to be a member of this new group. He said, “I liked the style of preaching in the Orthodox Church because they teach well.” “We all worship the same God, and the preaching in this church and the way people interact make me feel at home,” Olive told DW.
Liturgy in Russian with interpreters
Even though the religious ritual is performed in Russian, congregants still get the message. “This is not a problem, because there are interpreters who help us understand what is being said in Russian.”
Saint-André de Bimbo is led by Father Marcel Voyemava. Hey, this is also a religious conversion. He was formerly a priest of the Greek Orthodox Church and has since joined the Russian Orthodox Church.
The Orthodox Church is geographically organized into patriarchates; Africa was considered part of the Patriarchate of Alexandria and thus belonged to the Greek Orthodox Church. But Woyemwa defended the religious authenticity of his new church on the church’s own radio station, Lengo Songo, which requires the use of some technical terms.
“Here we have true dogmatic theology. The Orthodox Church consists of autocephalous (independent) churches, each of which has its own local tradition. What distinguishes them is above all the language of worship,” Voyemava told DW.
In his view, the Russian Orthodox Church is based on universal apostolic values and is thus consistent with the teachings of Jesus’ disciples. “Going everywhere – this is the universality of the Church, the apostolate. This is what defines the Orthodox faith and the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, which the Church and the Church Fathers have faithfully preserved.”
The small parish of Saint-André de Bimbo is one of several parishes where the Russian Orthodox Church has gained a foothold. It is constantly expanding its presence in Africa: according to the church, there are 350 parishes in more than 30 countries on the continent.
In countries such as South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya, places of worship are being built, whose interiors resemble St. Petersburg churches and have little in common with local religious traditions.
However, experts advise caution with figures published by the Church. Regina Elsner is a Roman Catholic theologian and Professor of Eastern Church Studies and Ecumenism at the Ecumenical Institute of the Faculty of Catholic Theology at the University of Münster.
The Orthodox Church as Russia’s ‘soft power’ in Africa
He told DW that, in recent years, fewer new churches have been established on the continent than the Russian Orthodox Church claims; However, the church has a keen interest in publicizing its growing membership. “The Russian Orthodox Church should clearly be seen as part of Russia’s soft power,” Elsner said. He said this does not mean that the entire church always represents only the interests of the state. But since the 1950s the church has worked closely with the state in many areas.
According to Elsner, since then, the Church has created a broad international presence through parishes, church structures and representation in international bodies such as the United Nations (UN) and the European Union (EU) in Strasbourg or Geneva.
“In Africa, the Russian Orthodox Church has been present for many years, primarily within Russian diplomatic missions. Since 2022, this presence has been expanded with its own church structure and claim to be the only true Orthodox Church for the African continent.”
According to Elsner, the influence of the Russian Church is less a matter of direct Russian propaganda and more a matter of subtle promotion of Russian interests. “First of all, Russia and the Russian Orthodox Church have been active defenders of persecuted Christians in many African countries for many years,” Elsner emphasizes. Hardly any other country has advocated this issue so vigorously on the international stage, thereby garnering great sympathy for the Russian side among persecuted Christians.
Linked to this is the Church’s stance against so-called liberal Western colonialism: “The Russian Church exploits and reinforces widespread reservations about democracy and the human rights policies of Western countries, especially among religious populations and existing African churches, and thus it can legitimize support for the Russian presence,” Elsner stressed.
History of the Russian Orthodox Church in Africa
Even though he estimates the number of circles to be quite small, Elsner certainly sees “geopolitical relevance in its presence” and believes it could have a very strong impact on the balance of power in the international context. The expansion of the Russian Orthodox faith competes with that of the Greek Orthodox Church in Alexandria, Egypt. According to Elsner, the Patriarchate of Alexandria dates back to the 3rd century and is responsible for all of Africa.
As of 2019, the Exarchate of Alexandria maintains good relations with the Russian Orthodox Church; There was a strict separation within the Orthodox world. Small parishes were established primarily in North Africa and Kenya and remained untouched for centuries.
This was set to change in 2019: at that time, Patriarch Theodore II of Alexandria recognized the Independent Orthodox Church of Ukraine, after which the Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church broke eucharistic communion with the bishops of the Church of Alexandria. Theologian Elsner explained, “For Moscow, it was tantamount to an annexation.”
The Russian Orthodox Church, led by Kirill I, represents Russian ideology abroad; Government ministries are closely associated with the church, and Vladimir Putin’s government benefits from this strategically.
According to Natalia Vasilievich, the expansion of influence is primarily a personal concern of Leonid Gorbachev, who formerly headed the Exarchate in Africa.
“Their rise was closely linked to the general Russian presence on the continent, including the network around Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the private military company Wagner,” the Belarusian theologian and political scientist told DW.
“Against this background, they tried to expand the influence of the Moscow Patriarchate in Africa under the guise of church missions, as well as expand their own influence in Africa,” he said. The formal pretext for this intervention was the decision by the Patriarchate of Alexandria to recognize the Orthodox Church in Ukraine.
Representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church chose the simpler, more aggressive path against the Church of Alexandria; According to Vasilievich, they directed their efforts against the Church and targeted its clergy, congregations, and infrastructure. “In practice, this meant drawing existing Orthodox priests and congregations away from the Church of Alexandria rather than creating something new.” For example, granting asylum to clergy in conflict with their bishops. This is not genuine missionary work, he said, but a strategy of opportunism.
For Vasilievich, one thing is certain: “These activities of the Russian Orthodox Church on the continent are deeply destructive to African Orthodoxy; they take advantage of the financial weakness of African congregations and tempt clergy and congregations with material incentives, thereby actually creating tension within the congregations.”
Jean-Fernand Koena in Bangui contributed to this article
Edited by: Crispin Mavakideau