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== The Church today ==
In recent years, a considerable missionary effort was enacted by Pope [[Petros VII (Papapetrou) of Alexandria|Petros VII]]. During his seven years as patriarch (1997-2004), he worked tirelessly to spread the Orthodox Christian [[faith]] Faith in Arab nations and throughout Africa, raising up native [[clergy]] and encouraging the use of local languages in the liturgical life of the Church. Missions spread and thrived in Kenya, Uganda, [[Madagascar]], [[Cameroon]], and elsewhere across the African continent.
Particularly sensitive to the nature of Christian expansion into [[Islam|Muslim]] countries, His Beatitude worked to promote mutual understanding and respect between Orthodox Christians and Muslims. His efforts were ended as the result of a helicopter crash on [[September 11]], 2004, in the Aegean Sea near Greece, killing him and several other clergy, including Bishop [[Nektarios (Kellis) of Madagascar|Nektarios of Madagascar]], another bishop with a profound missionary vision.
*His Eminence [[Jonah (Lwanga) of Kampala|Jonah (Lwanga)]], Archbishop of [[Archdiocese of Kampala|Kampala and All Uganda]]
*His Eminence [[Seraphim (Kykkotis) of Zimbabwe|Seraphim (Kykkotis)]], Archbishop of [[Archdiocese of Zimbabwe|Zimbabwe and Angola and Southern Africa]]
*His Eminence [[Alexandros (Gianniris) of Nigeria|Alexander Alexandros (Gianniris)]], Archbishop of [[Archdiocese of Nigeria|Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea]]
*His Eminence [[Theophylaktos (Tzoumerkas) of Tripoli|Theophylaktos (Tzoumerkas)]], Archbishop of [[Archdiocese of Tripoli|Tripoli and All Lybia]]
*His Eminence [[Sergios (Kykkotis) of the Cape of Good Hope|Sergios (Kykkotis)]], Archbishop of the [[Archdiocese of the Cape of Good Hope|Cape of Good Hope and Natal and Dependencies]]