February 29 marks the birthday of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who has turned 84. On this occasion, he received greetings from the Primate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Metropolitan Epifaniy.
“On behalf of the entirety of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and on my own behalf, I sincerely wish Patriarch Bartholomew good health, increase in spiritual and physical strength, success in numerous endeavors, and all kinds of God’s blessings.
We are sincerely grateful to the Ecumenical Patriarch for the restoration of historical justice, the restoration of the spiritual connection between the subsidiary Church in Kyiv and Constantinople – the Mother Church, a connection that no one, no matter how hard they try, can neither break nor deny. We are grateful that thanks to his fatherly care and sacrifice, the Ukrainian Church turned the page of divisions and non-canonical enslavement, receiving the long-awaited Tomos of autocephaly and recognition as an equal Local Church.
We are grateful to Patriarch Bartholomew for his clear and principled position on supporting Ukraine, which is currently going through the terrible trials of war. We highly appreciate the concern of the Mother Church of Constantinople, which is manifested through prayer for Ukraine and our people, through humanitarian and material assistance to victims. We are grateful for testifying the truth to the world and publicly exposing and condemning Russian aggression, which the Ecumenical Patriarch clearly defined as evil, as “devil’s war”.
Pleasant memories of the historic visit of Patriarch Bartholomew to Ukraine in 2021, to our Local Church as an autocephalous, proper and independent Daughter Church, will forever remain in our memory. We are grateful that His Holiness found the time and opportunity for this visit, for offering joint prayers to God alongside thousands of Ukrainian believers by the ancient Ukrainian shrines.
One can make a long list of all the good deeds and achievements of this outstanding person who makes incredible efforts, carrying the light of faith and hope, building fraternal relations between churches, converting believers to communication with the Church and God, caring for people, and drawing public attention to global problems… Many summers to you, Your Holiness!” said Metropolitan Epifaniy.
