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Also in 1925, Spartas learned about the African Orthodox Church movement that grew out of the 1921 religious movement in America by [[George Alexander McGuire]]. Attracted by the goal and ideals of the AOC to become a universal black church affiliated with the ancient Christian Church which was not known for racism or colonialism, Spartas wrote to George McGuire. In 1928, McGuire replied and referred Spartas to Daniel Alexander who was the [[archbishop]] of the AOC in South Africa. After meeting with Bp. Daniel, Spartas left the Anglican Church in January 1929 and began an AOC presence in Uganda. During the years 1931 and 1932, Abp. Alexander visited Uganda and [[ordination|ordain]]ed Spartas and Basajjakitalo to the [[priest]]hood.
During a visit by Abp. Alexander to Spartas, a Greek expatriate named Vlahos asked Alexander to baptize his children. Having noted that the baptismal service conducted by Alexander did not follow proper Orthodox form, Vlahos advised Spartas to contact Nicodemos Sarikas, an Orthodox [[archimandrite]], serving the Greek community in Tanganyika (now Tanzania). This Spartas did. After Sarikas visited Spartas in Uganda, Spartas broke his relationship with Alexander and sought, under advise of Sarikas, recognition by the Greek Orthodox [[Church of Alexandria|Patriarchate of Alexandria]]. Since his letters were not answered, Spartas and his friends, including Irenaeus Majimbi and Theodoros NankyamaNankyamas, journeyed to Alexandria. There, they spent several years learning what Holy Orthodoxy was and, ultimately, being ordained and sent back to Uganda.
In a visit to the Patriarchate in Alexandria in 1946, Spartas was named [[vicar]] general for Uganda. In September 1953, through Father Spartas' efforts, the African Greek Orthodox Church was registered in Uganda, and in 1959 the Patriarchate of Alexandria established an [[archdiocese]] in East Africa that encompassed Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania, led by Metropolitan [[Nicholas VI of Alexandria|Nicholas (Valeropoulos)]] of Irinoupolis.
