On June 21, 2026, the 3rd Sunday after Pentecost, at the Transfiguration Cathedral of the St. Nicholas Ugresha Monastery, Bishop Methodius of Yegoryevsk ordained Alexy Okot, a second-year bachelor’s student at the St. Nicholas Ugresha Theological Seminary from Uganda, to the diaconate.
During the Liturgy, His Eminence was assisted by clergy from the monastery and the seminary: Acting Rector Hieromonk Luke (Pronskikh), Acting Vice Rector for Educational Affairs Priest Oleg Ptushkin, and Deacons Ioann Kagitin and Maxim Matni.
The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Uganda to the Russian Federation, Moses Kawaluuko Kizige, and the chairman of the Department for Work with Foreign Students of the Patriarchal Exarchate of Africa, K.D. Gorditsa, arrived to share in the joy of this momentous event and prayed during the service.
This event marked a historic moment for the St. Nicholas Ugresha Theological Seminary: for the first time in its history, a student from Africa was ordained a deacon.
Deacon Alexy is 32 years old and completed his secular higher education in the capital of Uganda. He was recommended for study at the Russian seminary at the very beginning of the Exarchate’s establishment—in 2022. At the seminary, Alexy demonstrated excellent academic performance, both in Russian language and in theological disciplines. During the summer vacations, he actively participated in construction brigades working to restore the Nikolo-Bavykinsky Monastery and the Staritsky Dormition Monastery’s farmstead. He has a wife and two children waiting for him back home.
Photo: Saint Nicholas Ugresha Theological Seminary
Patriarchal Exarchate of Africa
