DECR chairman sends greetings to new Primate of Assyrian Church of the East

Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, greeted new Primate of the Assyrian Church of the East, His Eminence Catholicos-Patriarch Elect Mar Gewargis Sliwa. The text of the message is given below.

Your Eminence,

Please accept my heartfelt greetings with your election as Primate of the Assyrian Church of the East!

By the Divine Providence you are acceding to the Patriarchal throne in a time when the Assyrian people undergo another terrible ordeal, being subjected to severe persecutions for Christ’s name, and when the urgent task is to struggle for the preservation of what has remained of the spiritual heritage of the Biblical land of Mesopotamia.

You are to continue the works of your late predecessor, His Holiness Patriarch Mar Dinkha IV, who led the Assyrian Church of the East for almost forty years. To pray tirelessly for your people, offer consolation to the afflicted, raise your voice in their defence, take part in peacemaking activities, and promote interfaith dialogue – this is what God has ordained you to do in your future ministry. The Russian Orthodox Church will always support you in your efforts, being deeply concerned over the fate of Christians in the East.

Apart from being the head of the Metropolia of Baghdad, you, for many years, took spiritual care of the Assyrian communities in Russia, having wielded a decisive influence on major processes pertaining to their spiritual formation. Paying frequent visits to our country and feeling genuine love for it, you have also made a considerable contribution to the strengthening of traditionally fraternal relations between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Assyrian Church of the East, between the peoples inhabiting the territory of historical Rus’ and ancient Mesopotamia. I hope for the strengthening and development of these relations in the years of your Primatial service.

I wish you good health, God’s help in your labours, and many years of blessed Primatial ministry.

With love in the Lord,
/+Hilarion/

Metropolitan of Volokolamsk

Chairman

Department for External Church Relations

Moscow Patriarchate