His Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew, as well as Primates of the Church of Alexandria, Patriarch Theodore II and the Church of Cyprus, Archbishop Chrysostomos, congratulated the Orthodox Church of Ukraine on the 1033rd anniversary of the Baptism of Rus-Ukraine.
That’s according to the OCU website.
Noting that Metropolitan Emmanuel of Chalcedon was deployed specifically to take part in the celebrations, Bartholomew in his address said he prays “for the generous Mercy of the Triune God, glorified by our fathers, to all of Ukraine and its noble people.”
He noted that “all believers in Christ in Ukraine are the fruit of a fruitful vineyard of the Mother Church of Constantinople.”
Greetings were also received from the Patriarch Theodore II of Alexandria, who wished and prayed that God “through the honorable gifts of the glorious Holy Prince Volodymyr and the glorious Holy Apostle and Evangelist Mark, give you many years of physical and mental health and strength to fulfill your responsibilities as First Hierarch, which impose great responsibility.”
To the “dear Ukrainian people,” he wished “prosperity, progress, joy, and peace from the creator of the world, the Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior.”
In addition, Archbishop Chrysostom II, the head of the Orthodox Church of Cyprus, sent his congratulations to the head of the OCU and Ukrainian believers: “We sincerely wish all the faithful who constitute the wholesomeness of the Church of Ukraine, who through their baptism preserve the heritage of Divine grace, to keep Christ in your hearts where he dwells.”
