To: The Most Reverend Hilarion
Head of the Department for External Church Relations
Permanent Member of the Holy Synod
Your Eminence,
I cordially congratulate you on the 25th anniversary of your ordination.
A quarter of a century has passed since, on the Day of the Holy Transfiguration, you were ordained to assume the lot of pastoral ministry. Being an example of responsible attitude to very task entrusted to you by the Supreme Church Authority, you have done a great deal to bear witness to the intransient beauty and power of Holy Orthodoxy.
Working zealously today in various administrative offices, you continue to make your own weighty contribution to the development of many aspects of church life. You have given special attention to the enlightenment of our contemporaries by the light of the Gospel’s truth, to inter-confessional dialogue and to the defence of eternal moral values in face of the secular world. As chairman of the Department for External Church Relations, you have represented the Moscow Patriarchate in a dignified way at international meetings and in relations among people of various cultures and traditions, various views and political beliefs.
On this auspicious day, I prayerfully wish you physical strength, God’s help and success in your further service for the good of the Holy Church.
May the Lord preserve you in good health for many years.
+ KIRILL
Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia