Patriarch Theodore of Alexandria recognized the new Orthodox Church of Ukraine. The commemoration took place during the Patriarchal Divine Liturgy in Cairo at the Temple of the Archangels in Dahir, where Egypt’s largest Arabic-speaking Orthodox community lives.

The Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa had recently been in the spotlight, with stifling pressure being exerted on the part of the Russian Church.

Patriarch Theodore had a wait-and-see attitude avoiding taking a public position on the issue. However, both he and the people close to him had made it clear from the first moment that at the appropriate time the Patriarchate of Alexandria would make a move corresponding to its position and history, making clear, implicitly but necessarily, that the Patriarchate of Alexandria did not intend to succumb to the pressures.