MOSCOW: November 30, 2010
His Holiness Patriarch Kirill Sends Greetings to Archbishop Mark of Berlin and Germany On the 30th Anniversary of His Episcopacy

To His Eminence Mark 
Archbishop of Berlin and Germany 

Your Eminence!

I send heartfelt greetings to you on the 30th anniversary of your episcopal consecration.

Your love for the Slavic languages revealed to you the beauty of Orthodox divine services and the depth of the legacy of the Holy Fathers. Accepting Holy Orthodoxy became for you the beginning of your great labors on the path of serving God and His Church.

Gaining zeal for spiritual gifts and remembering the words of the Savior: “He that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad” (Matthew 12:30), you left behind a worldly career as a brilliant philologist, preferring to labor in the harvest-fields of Christ.

Beholding your zeal and your prayers, the Lord has included you among the successors to Apostolic grace. As the Bishop of Munich and South Germany, you accomplished a great deal towards the reestablishment of the Monastery of St Job of Pochaev, towards the strengthening of the life of Orthodox communities of the Russian tradition in Western Germany, and for the education of the people of God through the words of the truth of the Gospel.

Elevated to the Cathedra of Berlin and Germany, you continued your archpastoral service with tireless purpose, love and zeal in the Lord. Following the Apostolic commandment, “to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace,” you became an active participant in the discussions between the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia and the Moscow Patriarchate. With your carefully weighed arguments, you attested to the importance of reestablishing canonical unity within the Russian Church and greatly aided in the success of this God-pleasing endeavor. 

In view of your earnest hierarchal service, I deem it proper to grant you a commemorative panaghia.

I prayerfully wish you physical strength and spiritual salvation, patience and spiritual joy. Through the mercy of the Savior and Redeemer of mankind, may your archpastoral efforts continue to be fruitful to the benefit of His Holy Church.

With love in Christ,

+KIRILL, PATRIARCH OF MOSCOW AND ALL RUSSIA