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Orthodoxy in Sub-Saharan Africa

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==Historical overview==
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During the early part of the 20th century a group of black Methodists, unhappy with racism within the Methodist Church and other African oriented Protestant groups allied themselves with an offspring of the Pan African movement, the [[African Orthodox Church]]. The leaders of the African Orthodox Church tried to obtain recognition from some elements of the Russian Orthodox emigration after the Bolshevik revolution. With the confusion of the time these approaches were not successful. Daniel Williams Alexander, who had been consecrated a [[bishop]] in the African Orthodox Church, provided much of the leadership for this Orthodox oriented movement in East Africa during the period between the two major wars. Other early leaders included Fr. [[Christopher Reuben Spartas |Reuben Spartas]] and Obadiah Bassajjikitalo.
One of the attractions for the Africans toward the Orthodox Church was that it was not associated with the colonial powers. This set it apart from the Catholic Church, which was associated with French and Portuguese rule, and the various Protestant Churches, which were associated with the British Empire. However, this facet also made the colonial authorities hostile towards Orthodoxy, which would prove troublesome during the independence movements after World War II. During the 1930s, Alexander established a [[seminary]] in East Africa and made contacts with the Patriarchate of Alexandria. By 1946, this movement sought and received recognition by the Patriarchate as a canonical Orthodox Church. With recognition, African candidates for the [[clergy]] began to receive training in Egypt and Greece. But, as the anti-colonial independence movement intensified after World War II, the Orthodox church in these colonial enclaves was banned. Also, members of the churches received harsh treatment from the colonial authorities, particularly in Kenya (which was under British rule at the time). The treatment of the Orthodox faithful and clergy in colonial Africa was similar to that received by the [[Church of Russia]] under the Bolsheviks, that is destruction of churches and imprisonment of clergy. These pressures on the church were relieved as the African states gained their independence.
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