Greeting of His Beatitude Anastasios, Archbishop of Tirana, Durres and All Albania
on the occasion of the 70th Birthday of His Holiness Kirill, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia
About 48 years ago, I was very blessed to have the opportunity to meet with his beloved Holiness Kirill, Patriarch of Moscow, who celebrates his birthday today. Both of us served as Vice-Presidents of Syndesmos, the World Brotherhood of Orthodox Youth, sharing many dreams during a dark time, when everything seemed very difficult for the Orthodox Church. Since then a brotherly friendship in Christ was established between us as well as mutual trust, which strengthened over the years. We met several times during many church committees, inter-Orthodox, inter-Christian and interreligious conferences and councils and in some cases we had to work together till midnight for the preparation of difficult texts, such as was the case of the Primates Meetings.
I always bear in mind his dynamic presence, nobility, purity of thought and his significant contributions. Since those years the words of the Philokalia prevailed in my mind, where St. Nilus of Sinai says, “Blessed is the monk who sees the progress and salvation of his brother as his own, and fills with joy.” This truth has always driven me to share the joy of the achievement of His blessed progress.
As revealed in many cases, our great desire for the unity of Orthodoxy strengthens continually and our assurance, as stated in the Holy and Great Synod which was gathered recently, highlights the fact that Orthodoxy is not a confederation of local Churches but that it is the Church itself, which is the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, which continues to be a witness of hope and love in the entire world. It is the Church which dedicates everything it possesses, does, and provides to mankind.
Today, on the seventieth birthday anniversary of my dear Brother, whose life is blessed by God and whose presence is a great blessing to the Orthodox and the entire Christian world, we praise God and express our wishes with exultation. On behalf of the Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania, which, since 1967 until 1990, was not even mentioned in the diptychs, because it was totally dismantled and only within the past 25 years it experienced the joy of Resurrection, we wish the following:
May God in Trinity, praising the many gifts you are equipped with, O most dear and holy brother, grant you many years in health, fervent faith, visionary wisdom, abundance of love, and a Cross-Resurrection mentality – as you yourself mentioned yesterday, recalling the words of apostle Paul who says, ‘May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”(Gal. 6:14) And being inspired by the Holy Spirit, may you continue to guide with spiritual wisdom the faithful people of Russia and radiate the light of truth, love and beauty of Orthodoxy. The world today needs a vibrant and dynamic Orthodoxy. Let the effort to strengthen the unity of Orthodoxy and the will for a common witness of Orthodoxy in today’s world remain steadfast pillars of the life and ministry of us all. “Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever. Amen!” (Eph. 3:20-21)
It is already known that in the Holy and Great Synod which met in Crete in June 2016, during the week of Pentecost, at the very end, the Churches of Antioch, Russia, Georgia, Bulgaria, decided not to attend, although they had first agreed to the meeting of the Synod. There were voices which quickly proclaimed that a schism was created between the Orthodox Churches. Such a hypothesis proved to be totally irresponsible and wrong. This celebration on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of His Holiness Kirill, Patriarch of Moscow and of All Russia was an opportunity to highlight the unity of the incorruptible Autocephalous Orthodox Church, when all Autocephalous Orthodox Churches warmly accepted the generous invitation addressed by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, His Holiness Kirill. (The celebration was attended by the primates of the Churches of Alexandria, Jerusalem, Georgia, Serbia, Cyprus, Poland, Albania, the Czech Republic and Slovakia and by Metropolitans of the Churches of Constantinople, Antioch, Romania, Bulgaria and Greece). The unity of the Church was declared once again with a Festal Liturgy in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow, on Sunday, November 20th, and also through the greetings of all the Orthodox Churches on the occasion.
