Russia’s plan to seduce Christians in Africa

On a hillside in Kisii, western Kenya, the congregation of St Peter’s church convened for a special mass on January 7th. “In the Russian calendar…today is Christmas Day,” says Hezekiah Johnson Otara, the priest. To mark the occasion, Mr Otara picked four girls from the 70-odd worshippers and promised to pay their school fees for the coming year.Mr Otara is one of scores of African priests who have switched to Russia’s branch of Orthodox Christianity as the fallout from the Ukraine war has unexpected consequences across the world. He joined the Patriarchal Exarchate of Africa, which claims jurisdiction over more than 200 parishes in 25 African countries and plans to build schools, hospitals and cathedrals, including a huge “spiritual centre” opposite the presidential palace in Uganda.