Throughout the course of the 19th All-American Council [AAC] of the Orthodox Church in America, held in Saint Louis, MO July 23-27, 2018, His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon, met with representatives of the Local Orthodox Churches that had accepted his invitation to attend the proceedings.
Representing His Beatitude, Pope and Patriarch Theodoros II of Alexandria and All Africa, was His Eminence, Metropolitan Seraphim [Kykkotis] of Zimbabwe.
Metropolitan Tikhon welcomed Metropolitan Seraphim and asked him to convey his greetings to Patriarch Theodoros and express his gratitude for accepting his invitation. During the course of their meeting, relations between the Orthodox Church in America and the Patriarchate of Alexandria were discussed, noting especially the many initiatives of assistance to the Patriarchate of Alexandria from the Orthodox Church in America. Among them were the OCA Diocese of Alaska’s initiative to raise funds for the construction of Saint Herman Church, Eldoret, Kenya; the donation of dozens of motorbikes for clergy in Kenya by the OCA Diocese of the Midwest; and the donation of books to the Orthodox Patriarchal Ecclesiastical School of Makarios III in Nairobi, Kenya and cooperation with regard to theological education on the part of Saint Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary, Yonkers, NY.
Of particular interest during the discussions was the subject of theological education in Africa and the work of the Orthodox Patriarchal School. Metropolitan Seraphim shared with Metropolitan Tikhon the commitment of Patriarch Theodoros to theological education on the continent the Patriarch’s hope to expand and find new avenues of cooperation between the two Churches. Also discussed was the visit of Metropolitan Tikhon to the Patriarchate of Alexandria in 2019.
Also taking part in the meeting on behalf of the Orthodox Church in America were His Grace, Bishop Daniel of Santa Rosa, and Archdeacon Joseph Matusiak, Personal Secretary to Metropolitan Tikhon.
Photo credit: Subdeacon Roman Ostash
