Patriarch Theodore in a letter to Epiphany admires his sacrificial heart
Patriarchs of Alexandria and Constantinople Churches
Patriarch Theodore II of Alexandria replied to a congratulatory letter from the head of the OCU, Sergei (Epiphany) Dumenko. The full text of the letter is published on the official site of the OCU.
In his address, Patriarch Theodore calls Sergey Dumenko “a very dear and welcome brother and concelebrant of our Modesty,” whom the head of the Church of Alexandria “strongly kisses and festively congratulates him.”
Almost a year later (Dumenko became the head of the OCU on December 15, 2018), Patriarch Theodore congratulated the OCU on receiving the Tomos, and Dumenko – on his election as the head of this structure: “I received with great pleasure fraternal letters from your beloved beatitude, from which we learned about the election and enthronement on the famous Throne of the Church of Kiev and all Ukraine, which has just acquired autocephaly.”
He said that "with a joyful heart and a kiss in Christ, he sincerely congratulates” Dumenko "on a worthy election".
According to the patriarch, “being let into the thought of your beatitude to establish the unity and cooperation of the Holy Orthodox Churches in the world in these difficult times, we express our appreciation with all our hearts and declare that we also do as much as possible, guided by the bonds of love, in unity and cooperation with the Churches, to spread the word of the will of the Lord.”
In addition, the head of the Church of Alexandria assured Dumenko that he knew about his "sacrificial heart".
Patriarch Theodore is convinced that the “ministry” of Dumenko is to “maximize the unity of the fullness of the Church of Ukraine and the fraternal relations in Christ of all Christians living in your church area.”
In this regard, the Primate of the Church of Alexandria wished the head of the OCU: “May the Heavenly Creator of the Church give your beloved beatitude good health and longevity, bless your deeds and crown your success with glorious pastoral success.”
Earlier, the UOJ wrote that while visiting the mission of the Alexandrian Patriarchate in Moscow in 2017, Patriarch Theodore declared: “Here, at this mission, the heart of the patriarchy in Moscow is beating, while my heart is beating in the mission of Odessa where I served for 10 years.”
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