"It is fitting that the firstborn should be adorned with the virtues of faith, because a righteous life shows the correctness of doctrine and the purity of actions, testifies to the divinity of faith," Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople said, BGNES reports.
"We kiss you and embrace you with deep love and reverence, Your Beatitude, on the occasion of your election, and we proclaim you Worthy!"
The Ecumenical Patriarch stressed that the Eastern Orthodox Church does not suffer from the syndrome of historicism, pointing out that history has never been uneventful, but turbulent, noting the relations in the past between the Church of Constantinople and the Bulgarian Church.
The Ecumenical Patriarch noted that his presence here today is an event that is happening for the first time in Church practice. According to him, a new era marked by overcoming historical difficulties has thus been inaugurated.
In conclusion, the Ecumenical Patriarch blessed the Bulgarian people.
"The Church of Constantinople, as the universal mother-keeper of all Orthodox Churches, has walked and will walk with constant fidelity without abandoning her special weight and neglecting history. Unfortunately, today some Orthodox brethren are developing a polemic against the responsibilities of the Archbishop of Constantinople. The responsibilities of the Church of Constantinople are established by the Holy Ecumenical Councils, which is to say by the All-Holy Spirit Himself. This life experience of the Church we bring here. We welcome the unanimous in rank and to be invited to the enthronement, which is happening for the first time," the Ecumenical Patriarch said.
A new era is opening. It should be marked by overcoming the historical difficulties of isolation and self-sufficiency and opening the way for the restoration of ecclesiolatry in inter-Orthodox relations. I ask you to act with dignity in the vocation to which you have been called, and to be committed to preserving the unity of the spirit through the bonds of peace. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God. Good luck, Holy Brother. Worthy!", Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew concluded his address. | BGNES
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