Russian Orthodox Church representative congratulates Patriarch Ignatios IV of Antioch on his Name Day

On December 20, the Antiochian Orthodox Church celebrates the Name Day of his primate, His Beatitude Patriarch Ignatios IV of the Great Antioch and All the East.

According to an old tradition, Patriarch Ignatios celebrated the Great Vespers at the Church of St. Ignatios the God-Bearer at the Moscow Patriarchate representation in Damascus on the eve of the feast. Among his concelebrants was Archimandrite Alexander (Eylisov), representative of the Patriarch of Moscow to the Patriarch of Antioch. After the service, Father Alexander greeted Patriarch Ignatios and conveyed to him greetings from Patriarch Alexy II and Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad.

He said in his speech in particular that ‘the inter-Orthodox cooperation has become especially important in the world today as some Local Churches have undertaken one-sided actions contrary to canonical norms. Among these is the recent decision of the Romanian Orthodox Church to establish its own diocese in the canonical territory of the Moscow Patriarchate. Standing out in this background are the centuries-old relations between the Orthodox Churches of Russia and Antioch which give a good example and contribute to the inter-Orthodox unity’.

In his response, Patriarch Ignatios thanked him for the congratulations and expressed regret over the actions of the Romanian Patriarchate. He stressed the importance of patient dialogue in seeking mutual understanding and church unity.

DECR Communication Service