Message from His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II to His Holiness and Beatitude Catholicos-Patriarch Elijah II
12.02.2003 · English
MESSAGE FROM HIS HOLINESS PATRIARCH ALEXY II TO HIS HOLINESS AND BEATITUDE CATHOLICOS-PATRIARCH ELIJAH II
To His Holiness and Beatitude Elijah II
Archbishop of Mtskheti and Tbilisi
Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia
Your Holiness and Beatitude,
Our Beloved in the Lord Brother and Concelebrant,
We wholeheartedly congratulate you on the memorable 25th anniversary of your Primatial ministry and on the coming 70th birthday.
A quarter of a century ago, the All-beneficial Providence of God placed Your Holiness on the candlestick of the Primatial ministry for the old Iberian Church. On that day, 25 December 1977, in your first address to the faithful you emphasized the fact that a person, while taking pride in the glorious history of his country, should also think of building its bright future. In this regard a great part is assigned to the unity of the people and the Church. Now, as some time has elapsed, we can see how prophetical these words were.
Christ the Savior says in His Holy Gospel: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Mt 5:16). For the years of your primacy, you, Your Holiness, have become the true spiritual father of the nation. We bear in mind your addresses to the pious Georgian faithful that sounded both in days of joy and in hours of sorrow. Your authority is uncontestable, as it is based not only on the deep respect of the Georgian people to their Primate, but also on your personal spiritual wisdom. You, Your Holiness, have always followed the commandment of the Apostle: “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt” (Col 4:6).
The years of your primacy coincided with a period that was critical for society. Society of state atheism has become a thing of the past, and we believe that it will never return. However, the path of restoring desecrated shrines is thorny. It is permissible and necessary to build churches, consecrate buildings and open educational and charitable institutions. Yet, a far difficult task is to breathe the spirit of life into “the dry bones” (Ezek 37:4), into souls mangled by atheism and to help the whole generations find the lost belief in Christ the Savior. The time has come when an increasing number of people are turning to our Churches as keepers of our forefathers’ traditions. We can see that it is to a great extent thanks to Your Holiness’ personal efforts that the state has recognized a special contribution of the Georgian Orthodox Church to the history and culture of your country and the present life of Georgian society. The recent Constitutional Agreement between the Georgian state and the Georgian Orthodox Church clearly witnesses to this recognition.
Wholeheartedly greeting Your Holiness, we are happy that our sincere friend is at the helm of the fraternal Orthodox Church. The Russian people know and remember you very well. Many times you were a guest of our Church. The words that Your Holiness and Beatitude said after a thanksgiving service marking the 250th anniversary of the church of the-Holy-Great-Martyr-George-the-Victorer-at-Gruziny in Moscow, have stamped in our hearts: “May the fraternal relations between our Churches serve as an example for our states.”
St. Apostle and Evangelist John teaches us “that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us” (1 Jn 3:23). We believe that our Churches, united with the bonds of the common faith, hope and love of Christ, will withstand the devilish dissention of the world. May the Patroness of the Iberian Land, the Most Holy Mother of God and the entire host of saints, those known and unknown, help us.
“This is the day which the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it,” the Divine Psalmist says (Ps 117:24). I once again congratulate Your Holiness and Beatitude on these memorable jubilees. May the Great Chief Shepherd Christ strengthen you in your Primatial ministry for the Georgian Church for many and good years.
With love in the Lord,
+ALEXY
PATRIARCH OF MOSCOW AND ALL RUSSIA
See also: