Statement on the Election of Pope Leo XIV

We acknowledge the election of Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost as Pope Leo XIV and offer our prayers for him as he steps into the burdensome and complex role of leadership in the Roman Catholic Church. May the Lord grant him wisdom, humility, and above all, a heart open to the fullness of the apostolic faith.

While we cannot accept the Roman doctrine of papal supremacy, we continue to pray for the healing of schism and the return of all who love Christ to the unity and fullness of Holy Orthodoxy. The See of Rome once stood as a faithful witness to the undivided Church, and we continue to long,like the prophets of old—,or its return to that ancient and holy path.

As Orthodox Christians in America, our mission remains steady: to proclaim the Gospel with clarity and love, to offer the medicine of immortality through the holy mysteries, and to call all people into the radiant life of Christ’s One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.

May God guide Pope Leo XIV, and may the light of Orthodoxy shine ever brighter in these confusing times.

++Mark Lane Walker

Metropolitan Archbishop

Apostolic Orthodox Church in America/COAC Russia