Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate congratulates new Primate of the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem on his election

On 23 August 2005 His Eminence Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate congratulated His Beatitude Theophilus III on his election to the Jerusalem Patriarchal throne.

The text of greetings is given below.

To: His Beatitude Theophilus III

Patriarch of the Holy City of Jerusalem and All Palestine

Your Beatitude,

Having received joyous news of your election to the Apostolic See of St. Jacob, brother of the Lord, by the will of the Holy Spirit and unanimous decision of the plenitude of the Holy Church of Jerusalem, I ask Your Beatitude to accept my most cordial and sincere congratulations.

We hope that under your wise leadership the Church of Zion will overcome the trials that befell her recently.

We are happy, as You, Your Beatitude, know the life of the Russian Orthodox Church through your previous experience of ministry. Our believers reverentially love the great holy place of the Holy Sepulchre and the Holy Land. We are confident that friendly sisterly relations between the two Church will be further strengthened during the time of Your Beatitude’s great sacrificial ministry.

With respectful love in the Lord,

Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad

Chairman

Department for External Church Relations

Moscow
Patriarchate