His Beatitude Theophilos III, Patriarch of Jerusalem

12 September 2010

Your Eminence, Archbishop Leo,

Your Eminence, Metropolitan Ambrosios,

Your Eminences,

Dear Fathers of this Cathedral,

Respected Civic and Governmental Leaders,

Brothers and Sisters,

We come to this historic and holy church with deep joy, and we thank you, dear Metropolitan Ambrosios, for your brotherly welcome to concelebrate this Liturgy in your Cathedral. We also thank you, dear Archbishop Leo, for the warm hospitality that you have shown to us throughout our fraternal visitation of the Finnish Orthodox Church.

We also wish to acknowledge the presence of respected civic and governmental leaders here today. The Finnish Orthodox Church enjoys a special place in the life of the people of Finland, and shares with the Evangelical Lutheran Church the position of a national church. This is a proper acknowledgement of the role that the Orthodox Church has played in the history of this region, and we rejoice in the ability of the Finnish Orthodox Church to exercise its important ministry freely in this country.

This great Uspenski Cathedral is dedicated to the Dormition of the Mother of God. Founded in the middle of the 19^th century, this church is said to be the largest Orthodox Church building in Western and Northern Europe, and it has shined as a beacon of hope in good times and in bad. As we celebrate this Liturgy today, we remember in our prayers all those who labored, and suffered, on behalf of all the people of this region in times of trouble and pressure. This holy church, itself an icon of heaven on earth, has been for many generations a sign of the enduring hope that is ours in God through Our Lord Jesus Christ, and through the prayers and protection of his All-pure Mother.

On the Feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God, which we celebrated only a few days ago at the end of August, we sang this hymn:

“She who is higher than the heavens and more glorious than the cherubim, she who is held in greater honour than all creation she, who by reason of her surpassing purity became the receiver of the everlasting Essence, today commends her most pure soul into the hands of her Son. With her all things are filled with joy, and she bestows great mercy upon us”.

With these words the hymn writer patriarch Anatolios describes the wondrous and paradoxical even of the Dormition. For “the source of life is laid in the tomb, and the tomb itself becomes a ladder to heaven”.

The apostles were gathered miraculously from the corners of the world to be present at the Virgin’s death and her empty tomb is a testament both to her natural death, and to her metastasis, her translation, into the hands of her Son. As we sing, “At the departing, O Virgin Mother of God, to him who was ineffably born of thee, James the first bishop and brother of the Lord was there, and so was Peter… and the whole sacred fellowship of the apostles”. As the successor of James, the Patriarch of Jerusalem is the living link to this sacred event, and as the continuation of the apostolic community, we Orthodox throughout the world represent in our own day this apostolic witness to the fullness of faith. And so we are able to participate in this Eucharist in this great cathedral in the salvific events of our sacred history.

The blessing of the Mother of God remains with us. From her was born the Incarnate Logos, the God –man who took on our own human life for the sake of destroying death and giving life to the whole creation. And through her witness, we receive the unblemished Orthodox faith in Our Lord Jesus Christ. She it was who entered into the mystery that had been hidden from the beginning of the ages, and so by her obedience she enables us also to share in this same divine inheritance. In this and every Eucharist, we too are caught up in the mystery of the Incarnation, of the union of heaven and earth of the promise of theosis.

For the Mother of God, her witness began from the moment that she conceived:“she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit”. (Mt,1:18). So the creative energy of the Holy Spirit moved in her, and we sing:

“In giving birth, O Mother of God, thou hast retained thy virginity, and in falling asleep thou hast not forsaken the world. Thou who art the Mother of Life hast passed over into life, and by thy prayers thou dost deliver our souls from death”.

Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Theotokos and our God, confirmed his two natures by dying as man and rising as God. In the same way, the Mother of God was content to die according he law of nature so that the mystery of the divine oeconomia should not be seen by the unfaithful to be an illusion.

We are therefore invited, dear brothers and sisters to open our hearts to the divine oeconomia, to the salvation of God, and to lay our hope before the Mother of God, who is also our Mother. This Great cathedral, dedicated to her Dormition, stands as a reminder to us of the promises of God that are made known to us in her life, death and metastasis and that are our inheritance of faith. We, too, are shown the way to eternal life, and in this way we do not journey alone, but we journey in the company of the Virgin Mary and all the saints, whose presence surrounds us mystically here in this liturgical gathering.

Let us join our voices with the hymn writer and praise the Mother of Our Lord, Jesus Christ, and entrust ourselves to her prayers, saying:

“From all generations we call thee blessed, O Virgin Mother of God: for Christ who cannot be contained was pleased to be contained in thee. Blessed also are we in having thee as our succour:  for day and night thou dost intercede for us…Therefore, singing thy praises we cry aloud to thee: Hail,  thou who art full of grace, the Lord is with thee”.

As we return to the Holy Land, we carry with us affectionate remembrances of our days among you here in your beloved Finland. We pray that the ties that bind the Patriarchate of Jerusalem with the Finnish Orthodox Church and all the Finnish people will be strengthened in the years to come, and we look forward to welcoming you in pilgrimage to the Holy Places, and especially to Jerusalem, of course.

We thank you once again, Your Eminence, Archbishop Leo, our brother bishops in Finland and all the Orthodox faithful for the graciousness that you have shown us. And we express our deep gratitude to the President of Finland, the Honorable Tarja Halonen, and all the civic leaders who have so courteously welcomed us to this wonderful country.

May Christ our Lord, through the prayers of his All-Pure Mother, continue to bless this great country and all your people.

Amen.

His Beatitude THEOPHILOS III,

Patriarch of Jerusalem

11 September 2010

Your Eminence, Archbishop Leo,

Your Eminences,

Archimandrite Sergei,

Beloved Brethren of New Valamo,

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

It is a great joy for us to concelebrate this Liturgy with you, dear brother Archbishop Leo, with our brother bishops, with Archimandrite Sergei, the hegumen, and with the monastics and the faithful gathered here. We give thanks today for the foundation of this monastery and as we commemorate Saint Sergius and Saint Herman, we ask for their prayers for you all and for this beloved monastery.

We celebrate today not simply the 70^th anniversary of the foundation of New Valamo in 1940; we celebrate also the noble monastic tradition that you trace through the monastery of Valamo at Lake Ladoga in Russia and back to the earliest days of the monastic life of the Church.

Monasticism is at the heart of the Orthodox Church, and it is fitting that one of the most important signs of the enduring power of monasticism is here in the Church of Finland. For us the desert is a spiritual oasis, and this Monastery of New Valamo, truly a “desert of the North”, unites us with the desert of Palestine. We trace the ascetical tradition of the Church back to Our Lord himself, for it is Our Lord Jesus Christ who is the model for all monastics in the example of his self-giving.

As Saint Paul said in the Letter to the Philippians,

“Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave”. (Phil. 2: 5-6).

And as Our Lord himself said in the Gospel of Mark,

“The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve.” (Mk,10:45).

This is the essence of the monastic life, and this is the lesson that monasticism teaches the whole Church. Monasticism is not a movement; it is a response in love to God. All faithful Christians are called to imitate Our Lord, and, whether God calls us to life in the convent or in the world, monasticism keeps us all true to this ascetical ideal.

This monastery of Valamo, whose founders we commemorate today, is a proof to us that monasticism is not something that existed only long ago in the ancient life of Egypt or Palestine. As Our Lord has said, “the Spirit blows where it chooses” (Jn, 3:8), and here we experience the truth that, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, in the reality of the genuinely ecumenical life of the Church, the distance between Palestine and Valamo has been bridged.

Christ the Pantocrator is our common earth and our common heaven. And monastic communities like New Valamo are nurseries of the spiritual life and the ladders for us from earth to heaven. Here monasticism survived at a difficult time for the Church in this region, and you kept alive the ascetical traditions of the Church in the face of great trials. So you have kept burning the true ecumenical vocation of monasticism, for in our monastic communities people are themselves the instruments of the love of God, which seeks not its own good, but the salvation of all without exception.

The members of the Orthodox Church are untied one to the other in this Euharistic feast. In this and every Liturgy we experience unity in Christ and at the same time we have a foretaste of the Kingdom of Heaven. It is precisely here, in this act of love that we demonstrate our oneness, and in spite of the fact that there are thousands of Eucharistic tables around the world, the Body of Christ is always one and undivided.

As the priest says in this and every Divine Liturgy, when he breaks the Holy Bread for Communion:

“The Lamb of God is broken and distributed, broken yet not divided, ever eaten yet never consumed…”

Our presence in Finland is a sacramental sign of this eternal reality and we bring to all the faithful of the Finnish Orthodox Church the blessings of the holy Places, and especially of the Tomb of the Anastasis and the Tomb of the Metastasis in Gethsemane. We also offer our special prayers for you, Your Eminence, dear Archbishop Leo, to you, Archimandrite Sergei on your Name Day, which is your spiritual birthday, and to this monastic community.

May Christ, who is the pattern of our life and our True God, through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, and by the prayers of Saint Sergius and Saint Herman, the founders of Valamo, bless us all and save us, for he is good and he loves humankind.

Amen.

An Address on the Feast of the Nativity of the Mother of God during the Divine Liturgy at the Church of Saint Nicholas in Joensuu at te beginning of the Academic Year

His Beatitude Theophilos III

8 September 2010

Your Eminence, Archbishop Leo

Your Eminences,

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

On this great feast of the Nativity of the Mother of God, we bring to you, dear brother Archbishop Leo, and to all the faithful of the Finnish Orthodox Church, the greetings of your fellow Orthodox Christians of the Holy Land. We are especially glad to convey to you the blessings of the Holy Tomb of Jesus Christ and the Tomb of the Mother of God, where we have just recently celebrated the feast of her Dormition.

Today the grace of the Holy Spirit has made us worthy to celebrate in this Eucharistic synaxis her blessed Nativity. As the apostles were miraculously gathered from the corners of the world to be by her side at her death, so we have been gathered here with you to honour the Mother of God at her birth. She is the Mother of the Church, and therefore the Mother of us all.

This is a special day for us. Not only are we celebrating in this holy place, but this is the first occasion – and we hope not the last – that Jerusalem bears her witness in Finland in and through our presence with you. This is a great joy, because in this Eucharist we realize the fruits of our unity, a unity that is grounded in the fullness of our common faith in Our Lord Jesus Christ, and that is suported by the prayers of his All- Pure Mother.

This is also a suitable day on which to be making the beginning of a new academic year, for the Virgin Mary was not only the Mother of our incarnate Lord; she was also the first disciple. So she embodies for the faithful Christian a model of true learning. Her life as a disciple began in the humble town of Nazareth at the Annunciation, when, having been chosen by God, she was proclaimed the Theotokos. And so she has taught to us all who seek to follow in her footsteps as disciples to say willingly and obediently “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to our word”. (Lk 1:38).

As the simple girl, Mary of Nazareth, entered into the mystery that had been hidden from the beginning of the ages, she attained to the highest knowledge. In a similar way se is the sign to us that we are given the potential by the grace of the Eucharist to attain to the theoria – the contemplation – of the glory of God, that is to say, the knowledge of God, and to union with him in true theosis.

As the Virgin May is for us the naos, the temple, of the Holy Spirit, so we may say she is the first spiritual academy. She teaches us where true and eternal konwledge is to be found, and she is our patron today as we begin this new academic year. So we are all students of the divine knowledge. May this year be for all of the pupils in the schools and the students at the univercities here a year of deep learning and true devotion, and may it be for all their teacers and professors a year of attentive teaching and fruitful research. For, as Scripture says, “you shall know the truth, and the truth will make you free”. (Jn 8:32).

We thank you, Your Eminence, for your kind invitation to make this fraternal visitation of the Finnish Orthodox Church and for  your warm welcome, and we ask the prayers of the Mother od God for you, or our brother bishops, for the Orthodox faithful, and for all the citizens of this country.

Amen.

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Since Tuesday 25^th of August / 7^th of September 2010, the official visit of His Beatitude Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III to the Autonomous Orthodox Church of Finland has been taking place.

This visit was arranged after the attainment of an understanding between the two Churches, a pertinent Synodal decision of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem and in full knowledge of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

For this visit, His Beatitude Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III, departed on the morning of Tuesday  25^th of August / 7^th of September 2010 from Ben Gurion airport  TelAviv with Austrian Airlines and was accompanied by His Eminenence Hysichios Metropolitan of Kapitolias, His Eminence Dorotheos Archbishop of Avila and the Elder Chief Secretary His Eminence Aristarchos Archbishop of Constantina  and Rev.  Archdeacon father Athanasios.

The Patriarchal Escort arrived auspiciously in Vienna where, after a short stay,  it then departed for Helsinki by air.  The other two designated members of the Patriarchal Escort, the Arabic speaking Rev. Archimandrite father Galaktion Superior of Ramallah and the Arabic speaking Presbyter father Issa Mouslech, parish priest at the village of Beit Sahour / Village of the Shepherds and spokesman for the Press in the Arabic language for the Patriarchate, arrived in Helsinki via another flight from Jordan.

Upon His arrival along with His escort at Helsinki airport, His Beatitude was received with a warm welcome by a group of priests from the city of Helsinki, capital of Finland, and by the Ambassador of Greece in Finland, His Excellency Mr. Christos Kontobounisios.

After a stay of one and a half hours at Helsinki airportthe Patriarchal escort departed by air for the city of Joensuu.

Upon arrival at Joensuu airport in the evening, His Beatitude Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III and His escort were cordially received by  His Eminence Archbishop of Karelia and the whole of Finland, Leon,  His Eminence Arsenios Bishop of Joensuu, priests of the Archdiocese, and Greek speaking personnel.

In the evening, after a brief rest, His Eminence Leon Archbishop of Karelia hosted a dinner banquet in honour of His Beatitude and His Escort. During this dinner, an interesting discussion took place concerning the Orthodox Church of Finland and the program for the subsequent days of the visit, which would be posted as a briefing on the world wide web.

Thus are the preliminaries of the visit of His Beatitude Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III at the Autonomous Orthodox Church of Finland as a prelude for the visit of the Patriarch of Jerusalem to the Church of Finland.

Chief Secretary’s Office.

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On Thursday, 19^th August/ 2^nd September 2010, the Heads of the Churches of Jerusalem invited  Moslems and Christians in an Iftahr in Notre-Damme Hotel. Among the invitees was the General Secretary of the World Council of Churches Rev. Dr. Olav Fykse Tveit with his escort.

In this Iftahr His Beatitude the Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III addressed the participants in the name of the Christian Leaders as follows:

“Your Eminences,

Your Excellencies,

Distinguished Members of the Delegation of the World Council of Churches,

Dear Friends,

We greet you this evening in the name of Almighty God.

This Iftahr, hosted by the Leaders of the Churches for the Muslim community of Jerusalem, is a very special occasion for all of us in the Holy Land and especially for the peoples of Jerusalem. Our gathering this evening demonstrates the experience that is ours in this Holy City as we strive to live out the unique cultural and religious character of Jerusalem.

Our faith in the One God, and our religious diversity, find a unity in Jerusalem. Our diversity is not a cause of difficulty and misunderstanding, but a cause of private and public strength. Here we see that the essential values of our monotheistic religious traditions have a common root. And we Muslims and Christians take pride in being the stewards and servants of the sacred heritage that has been passed down to us by the great leaders Omar ibn al Khattab and Patriarch Sophronios of Jerusalem.

On this occasion this evening we are glad to be able to welcome distinguished guests in the delegation from the World Council of Churches, headed by the new Secretary General, the Reverend Dr Olav Tveit. The World Council of Churches has committed itself to promote love of God and neighbor, peace, mutual respect, justice and reconciliation, which are religious values that we all share.

As we gather together to share this Iftahr, we are reminded that, despite the challenges before us as the peoples of this Holy City and this Holy Land, we are people of faith and God is our living hope. We remain firm in our mission here to preserve the Holy Land as a place where people of different religious, cultural and ethnic backgrounds may live together in peaceful and genuine co-existence.

May our God in heaven, who is the author and creator of our common humanity, give us the strength ad the courage to remain steadfast in the unique mission of Jerusalem. And may we show the world that is by prayer that the human community builds is firm foundation. For we are in Jerusalem a community of prayer.

May God bless you all”.

Chief Secretary’s Office.

2 September 2010

Dr Tveit,

Mrs Tveit,

Your Eminences,

Dear Friends from the World Council Of Churches Staff,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is indeed a pleasure to welcome you once again, Dr. Tveit, to the Patriarchate of Jerusalem as you continue your mission to the Holy Land, and we are glad to receive you here in your new role as Secretary General of the World Council of Churches. We welcome warmly also your wife, Mrs Tveit, and the members of your delegation.

As you know, the Patriarchate of Jerusalem has long supported and continues to support and encourage, the mission of the World Council of Churches, a mission that is based firmly in the common witness that we bear to the Triune God and to the Gospel of our Incarnate Lord Jesus Christ.

The Orthodox Church participates in the life of the World Council of Churches not in order to create some sort of “super Church”, but to work together for the unity of all Christians in faith, in the creation of, to use a Chalcedonian phrase, “unity without confusion”. In our ecumenical journey we are all obliged to maintain a spirit of Christian love one for the other as well as a spirit of integrity.

The Patriarchate of Jerusalem is especially keen to assist you in your concern for lasting peace in the Middle East, for the well-being of all the people of the region, and for the ongoing presence of Christians in the Holy Land. The Patriarchate pays a unique role in all these endeavors, and as a consequence has, over the years, gained the great respect of the historic Churches, the other Abrahamic traditions, Judaism and Islam, and the political authorities of our region.

We have long experience in fostering peaceful co-existence and that way of life we like to call by the Greek word symbiosis, for this expresses a true ideal of us. In addition to being an historical witness to the 2000-year presence of Christians in the Holy Land, we have also guaranteed the unique cultural and religious character of Jerusalem.

Because of the Patriarchate’s role and witness, we fully endorse the work of the World Council of Churches and of your office especially in the struggle for peace, justice and reconciliation.

As we recognize the shared values and goals that are ours, we also recognize the ongoing work that we must do together. The Patriarchate of Jerusalem stands always ready to support you in your role as Secretary General in addressing the challenges that the World Council of Churches faces and we pledge to speak the truth in love as we strive for the unity of all Christians for which Our Lord prayed, and for which we Orthodox pray in every Divine Liturgy.

Now, therefore, in token of our pledge, and in recognition of your devotion in promoting the unity of all Christians in faith and in deepening the values of the Gospel among the members Churches of the World Council, we bestow upon you the Cross of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre.

May this Cross be a reminder to you of the daily death and resurrection that is the vocation of every Christian believer and of the way of the cross that leads to the triumph of new life. May this Cross bring to you both the courage that the cross demands, as well as the joy that the resurrection promises, and may it be strength to you in your important new ministry as Secretary General of the World Council of Churches.

As you and your delegation continue your pilgrimage to the Holy Land, we impart our Patriarchal Blessing on you all and we thank you for the dedication that you show to our beloved Holy Land and to all our people.

His Beatitude

THEOPHILOS III

Patriarch of Jerusalem.

On Sunday the 16^th / 29^th of August 2010, His Beatitude Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III received the General Secretary of the WCC (World Council of Churches) Reverend Dr. Olav Tveit, accompanied by hiscolleagues, at the Patriarchate.

His Beatitude pronounced the blessings of Jerusalem to the recently elected General Secretary of the WCC. This election was made by the Central Committee of the WCC convened during the months of August and September 2009,  with duties being assumed from the beginning of the year 2010. Reverend Dr. Olav Tveit, in order for Reverend Dr. Olav Tveit to be able to continue his mission on behalf of the Christian rapprochement for the protection of human rights and for the peaceful coexistence between nations and religions, as an ecclesiastic and not as a  secular organization, as a place of prayer and of theological dialogue and not as a place of political activities.

The General Secretary explained to His Beatitude that he strongly wishes to renew communication with the Land where the Crucifixion and the Resurrection of Christ took place.

His Beatitude emphasized how important it is for the Patriarchate to contribute to thepreservation  of the Christian character of the city of Jerusalem and of its status as an open city to the adherents and believers of all religions.

The General Secretary asked about the renewal of the negations between Israelis and Palestinians and of the prospect of progress of these negations, His Beatitude replied that the religious dimension of the problem should be perceived, especially the cardinal one that is situated in the area of the Temple of Solomon and the mutual respective acceptance amongst the two nations, Israeli and Palestinian.

When asked to comment upon the situation in Gaza His Beatitude  detailed the work done by the Patriarchate from the beginning ofand throughout the crisis that started two years ago.

The General Secretary said the World Council of Churches pledges to stand by and support this work of the Patriarchate.

The General Secretary presented  His Beatitude with a symbolic present from the WCC, and His Beatitude presented him with the book by Dr. Fotios Dimitrakopoulos on the traditional place of Baptism of the Lord Jesus Christ by the Jordan River.

His Beatitude referred to the passing crisis of the Council of Churches of the Middle East and the need for assistance from the WCC in order to overcome this crisis.

Chief Secretary’s Office.

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On Monday the 10^th / 23^d of August 2010, the Ambassador of Slovakia to Israel His Excellency Dr. Ivo Hlavacek and the President of the Slovakian Supreme Court The Honourable Mr. Stefan Harabin were received by His Beatitude Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III at the Patriarchate.

Welcoming them, His Beatitude elaborated to the honourable guests on the work performed by the Patriarchate and its mission in the Holy Land from its conception in the early era of the Judeo–Christian Community of Jerusalem until the present day.

The President of the Supreme Court expressed his feelings of gratitude for the reception at the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which is lauded for its considerably important pastoral work and long history.

On the occasion of this visit, the President of the Supreme Court offered  His Beatitude a seal, a symbol of human justice, and His Beatitude offered  the President the book by Mr. Votokopoulos on the illustrated manuscripts of the Central Library of the Patriarchate and memorabilia of the Sacred Shrines.

After the visit at the Patriarchate the honourable visitors venerated the Holy Sepulchre at the Church of Ressurection.

Chief Secretary’s Office.

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On the evening of the feast of the Transfiguration, 6^th / 19^th of August 2010 ,and upon his return from the celebration of the feast on Mount Tabor,  His Beatitude Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III received the Minister of Regional Development & Infrastructure of Georgia His Excellency Mr. Ramaz Nikolaishvili at the Patriarchate along with the members of his escort and members of the Israeli Police of Jerusalem.

The Minister Explained to His Beatitude that since he had visited Him two years ago the relations between the Church and the State of Georgia have been advanced to the best degree possible.

In response His Beatitude said that the Patriarchate has always maintained close ties with Georgia as well as properties, Churches and Glebes in that country;  furthermore, nowadays, the Patriarchate finds itself in the pleasant position to regularly receive  Georgian pious worshippers that venerate the Holy Shrines.

The Minister thanked His Beatitude for the reception and presented  Him with gifts, souvenirs from the cultural treasures of Georgia which were retrieved from the storm of atheism.  His Beatitude presented  the Minister and his escorts with a descriptive book about the illustrated manuscripts of the Patriarchate’s Central Library, medals of the Patriarchate representing the 2000 years of Christianity and pectoral gold crosses.

Chief Secretary’s Office.

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On Monday the 3^d / 16^th of August 2010 the Prime Minister of Republika Srpska His Excellency Mr. Milorad Dodik, accompanied by the Diplomatic Representative of the Republic to the State of Israel  and by representatives of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was received by His Beatitude Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III.

Within the framework of this visit, the Prime Minister addressed His Beatitude as follows: «I am pleased that I am visiting, for the second time, the Holy Places.  I convey to You the respects of the Bishops, the priests and of the devout people of Republika Srpska.  I reminisce about my visit as the representative of Srpska for the celebration of the 2000 years of Christianity by the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, when I was also decorated by Your Predecessor the late Patriarch of Jerusalem Diodoros.

The majority of the people of Srpska are Orthodox Christians who foster feelings of respect and high esteemfor the Patriarch of Jerusalem.  Republika Srpska is an autonomous state within the state of Serbia».

Welcoming the Prime Minister, His Beatitudereplied: «we follow the effected changes as well as the ones taking place in the Republic of Serbia (Republika Srbija) and Republika Srpska.  We wish that religion, namely the Christian Orthodox Religion, will play its unifying role for the Serbian people.  We have full confidence only in God.  We rest our hopes in God and the Orthodox Church.  We, the Orthodox, believe and contemplate the Resurrection through the prism of the Holy Cross».

The Prime Minister presented  His Beatitude with a painting depicting Banja Luka, the capital of Srpska.

His Beatitude offered  the Prime Minister a commemorative medal representing the 2000 years of Christianity, a book about the illustrated manuscripts of the Central Library of the Patriarchate and an icon of the of the Holy Sepulchre.

After  visiting  the Patriarchate, His Excellency the Prime Minister, along with his entourage, visited, in order to venerate, the Church of Resurrection.

Chief Secretary’s Office.

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