Patriarch Kirill's official congratulations on his birthday. Congratulations of the patriarch

TBILISI, Jan 5 - Sputnik. Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia congratulated the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II on his 85th birthday, the text of the congratulations was published on the official website of the Moscow Patriarchate.

"Your Holiness and Beatitude, beloved in the Lord Brother and Co-server! I cordially congratulate you on a significant date - your 85th birthday. For a long time of service in the field of Christ, you, like King Solomon, showed wisdom, like forefather Abraham - the virtue of hospitality, like the righteous David the Psalmist - creative talents Having taken care of the spiritual prosperity of the hierarchs, clergy and flock of the Georgian Church, you lovingly call on them to tirelessly care about a single need(Luke 10:42) and lead a life in all godliness and purity,” the message says.

“Through many diligent labors, you have earned deep respect and high authority in the Orthodox world and are now the oldest Primate of the Local Church in terms of service. in the text of congratulations.

Ilia II (in the world Irakli Georgievich Gudushauri-Shiolashvili) was born the fourth child in the family of George Shiolashvili and Natalia Kobaidze. In 1927 the family moved to Vladikavkaz. The newborn was baptized on the day of the feast of the Nativity of Christ in a Georgian church.

In 1952, Ilia II graduated from secondary school No. 22 in Vladikavkaz, the Moscow Theological Seminary in 1957 and the Moscow Theological Academy in 1960. On April 16, 1957, at the age of 24, with the blessing of Melchizedek the Third, a second-year student of the Theological Seminary received monastic tonsure.

Ilia II was ordained bishop of Batumi and Shemokmed on August 26, 1963. He was the rector of the Mtskheta Theological Seminary (from 1963 to 1972). In 1967 he became Bishop of Sukhumi, and since 1969 - Metropolitan.

After the death of Catholicos-Patriarch David V on November 9, 1977, by the decision of the Holy Synod, he was appointed Patriarchal Locum Tenens. December 23, 1977 was elected Catholicos-Patriarch; Elijah's enthronement took place on December 25, 1977.

During the patriarchate of Elijah, there was a large-scale revival of Orthodoxy in Georgia in the 1980s. Over the past few decades, the number of dioceses in Georgia has been increased from 15 to 33. In 1977, there were only 48 functioning churches in Georgia, now there are about 1,000.

New saints were glorified, new spiritual educational institutions were opened, including the Tbilisi and Gelati theological academies. The largest church in Georgia, the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, was erected in Tbilisi.

Dear lord! Please accept my heartfelt congratulations on your birthday.

For many years you have been carrying out a noble archpastoral mission in the republic. You are actively contributing to the development of the Bashkortostan Metropolis of the Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate), familiarizing people with church tradition, preserving spirituality and morality.

I wish you good health and prosperity. New spiritual forces for good deeds for the benefit of the Fatherland.

Sincerely, President of the Republic of Bashkortostan R. Khamitov

Head of the Ufa Diocesan Administration of the Russian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Nikon.

Your Eminence! I heartily congratulate you on your birthday! You have earned the respect and prestige of society for your consistent opposition to manifestations of extremism and xenophobia, your courageous upholding of the traditional values ​​of Orthodoxy, and your active work to harmonize interethnic relations in society.

Please accept the wishes of health, happiness and well-being, pious and good deeds, pure thoughts for the benefit of the further prosperity of the multinational Bashkortostan and all of Russia!

Sincerely, Chairman of the State Assembly-Kurultai of the Republic of Bashkortostan K.Tolkachev

To the Administrator of the Ufa diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Nikon of Ufa and Sterlitamak.

Please accept my heartfelt congratulations on the occasion of your birthday, as well as wishes of good health, good and clear days, good spirits, family well-being, good mood! May good luck and love and attention of loved ones always accompany you! I wish you professional success for the benefit of our Motherland and our people!

Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Housing Policy and Housing and Public Utilities of the State Duma of the Russian Federation P.R. Kachkaev

Head of the Bashkortostan Metropolitanate, Managing Bishop of the Ufa Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate), Metropolitan of Ufa and Sterlitamak Nikon.

Your Eminence!

On behalf of the staff of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Bashkortostan and on my own behalf, I sincerely congratulate you on your birthday.

On this solemn and memorable day for you, please accept my sincere wishes for good health and happiness, joy and further success in your charitable activities for the benefit of the Fatherland!

Sincerely, Minister of Internal Affairs for the Republic of Bashkortostan M.I. Zakomaldin.

Dear Vladyka Nikon!

The leadership, board and staff of the Office of the Federal Service of the Russian Federation for Drug Control in the Republic of Bashkortostan wish you a Happy Birthday!

For many years you have testified to the eternal truths, the transforming power of Orthodoxy, calling people to active faith, mercy, sincere love, and interethnic harmony. With your attentive attitude towards people, concern for the revival of spirituality and morality, the restoration of Orthodox shrines and traditions, you have earned the sincere respect of all the inhabitants of our native republic.

We wish you good health and prosperity, inexhaustible energy and further success in serving the Fatherland!

Acting Head of the Office of the Federal Service of the Russian Federation for Drug Control in the Republic of Bashkortostan T.A. Ibragimov.

Your Eminence!

On behalf of the staff of the Department of State Road Supervision for the Republic of Bashkortostan of the Federal Service in the Sphere of Transport and on my own behalf, I sincerely congratulate you on your birthday!

Your whole life is a vivid example of fidelity to your calling and service to the Lord! On this festive day, with all my heart I wish you, dear Vladyka, good health for many years and blessed success in your laborious archpastoral service.

Sincerely, Head of the Department of State Road Supervision for the Republic of Bashkortostan of the Federal Service in the field of transport S.N.Merezhko

Head of the Bashkortostan Metropolis of the Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate), Metropolitan of Ufa and Sterlitamak Nikon.

Dear Bishop Nikon!

Please accept my most sincere congratulations on your birthday! Under your leadership, the Bashkortostan Metropolis of the Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church carries out a high mission. By your personal example, showing commitment to the universal values ​​of peace, justice and goodness, you have a great influence on improving the moral state and spiritual renewal of society.

With all my heart I wish you, Your Eminence, good health and prosperity, new achievements in your noble service!

Sincerely, A.P. Trukhan, Executive Director of the President of the Republic of Bashkortostan

Metropolitan Nikon of Ufa and Sterlitamak, administrator of the Ufa diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Dear Bishop Nikon!

Congratulations on your birthday! We wish you good health, prosperity, success and new achievements in your activities for the benefit of the Republic of Bashkortostan and its capital!

Chairman of the Council of the urban district of the city of Ufa of the Republic of Bashkortostan E.A. Semivelichenko,

Head of the Administration of the city district of Ufa of the Republic of Bashkortostan I.I.Yalalov

Ufa and Sterlitamak Bishop Nikon

Dear Bishop Nikon!

I sincerely congratulate you on your birthday! I wish you happiness, peace, love, warmth and an infinite number of joyful moments that communication with close friends and like-minded people gives! Let only kind, bright people meet on your path, and bright events and accomplishments illuminate it with positive emotions! Good health to you for many years and a happy life!

Head of the Administration of the municipal district Sterlitamaksky district of the Republic of Bashkortostan R.A. Rakhmatullin.

Please accept my most sincere congratulations on your birthday!

May your life always remain filled with fruitful work and creative accomplishments, and may success and good luck accompany all your undertakings!

May this significant day be filled with joy and warmth for you, and moments of spiritual comfort become a source of strength and good spirits!

Sincerely, Member of the Federation Council Federal Assembly Russia A.M. Bondarchuk.

Member of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation, Nikon, Metropolitan of Ufa and Sterlitamak.

Your Eminence! Please accept my most sincere congratulations on your birthday!

With all my heart I wish you good health, happiness, every possible well-being, creative success in the development of civil society, protection of the rights and freedoms of Russian citizens.

Sincerely, Member of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation V.G.Mikhailov

Dear Metropolitan Nikon!

I congratulate you on your birthday! I wish you health, happiness, personal and family well-being, peace in your soul, harmony and inspiration! May worthy associates and colleagues always accompany you in your work and good luck in everything!

Chairman of the Federation of Trade Unions of Kamchatka, Member of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation A.V. Zimin

Metropolitan of Ufa and Sterlitamak Bishop Nikon.

Your Eminence!

Please accept my sincere congratulations on your birthday! I want to wish you success and prosperity at work and at home, happiness and health to you and your loved ones!

Director General of ROSATOM State Corporation S.V. Kiriyenko

His Eminence, His Eminence Nikon, Metropolitan of Ufa and Sterlitamak.

Your Eminence, dear Bishop Nikon!

Please accept my heartfelt congratulations on your birthday.

With all my heart I wish you good health, spiritual joy and love, well-being and long life, God's help in new achievements for the glory of the Russian Orthodox Church and your native Fatherland.

Let me express my sincere gratitude and appreciation for strengthening peace, harmony and stability in people's lives, preserving and increasing the spiritual, moral and cultural and historical values ​​of Holy Orthodoxy, constant active service to goodness and justice, tireless social service, charity and mercy.

May the Lord keep you in good health and prosperity for many, many years.

Sincerely, Governor of the Kemerovo Region A. Tuleev

To the Administrator of the Ufa diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Nikon of Ufa and Sterlitamak.

Your Eminence! Dear Bishop Nikon!

On behalf of the staff of the Bashkir Academy of Public Administration and
Administration under the President of the Republic of Bashkortostan and on my own behalf, I congratulate you on your birthday! I wish you good health and happiness, long life, well-being, further success in serving the Fatherland

BAGSU Rector S.N. Lavrentiev

Dear His Eminence Metropolitan Nikon of Ufa and Sterlitamak!

Sincerely, from the bottom of my heart, I congratulate you on your birthday. I wish you good health, joy of a pure heart, love, God's help in your hard work of serving God and your neighbors. We hope to continue further fruitful spiritual contacts with you.

Rector of SAMGUPS A.V. Kovtunov

Your Eminence, Metropolitan Nikon!

Please accept my warmest congratulations on your birthday!

Allow me to express to you recognition for your service and the word that you carry to people.

I sincerely wish you good health, peace and joy, inexhaustible energy and good mood, long life and God's help in your future ministry.

Sincerely, General Director of the company "Respect",Chairman of the Council of the Union of Entrepreneurs of Ufa O. L. Odinokova.

Metropolitan of Ufa and Sterlitamak Nikon

Your Eminence, dear Bishop Nikon! I sincerely congratulate you on your birthday! With all my heart I wish you many and good summers, health and spiritual stamina characteristic of you.

With deep respect, Vanok E.V.

Your Eminence, His Eminence Metropolitan Nikon!

We sincerely congratulate you on your birthday!

On this memorable day, we wish you strength of mind and body, wisdom, patience and blessed success in your further service for the good of the Holy Church.

May the Lord keep you in health and prosperity for many and good years!

Sincerely yours, General Director of CJSC Engineering Center "Grant" V.O.Savchenko and the team of employees.

Metropolitan Nikon.

Your Eminence, Venerable Bishop Nikon! Please accept heartfelt congratulations from the workers of Sofrino HPP LLC of the Russian Orthodox Church and from me personally on your birthday!

We sincerely wish you, Vladyka, good health, long life, peace and prosperity, God's generous and all-powerful help in your diligent and fruitful archpastoral labors for many and good years!

Asking for your prayers and blessings, with respect, Director General of HPP "Sofrino" ROC, Parkhaev E.A.

Dear lord! Please accept my heartfelt congratulations on your birthday.

For many years you have been carrying out a noble archpastoral mission in the republic. You actively contribute to the development of the Bashkortostan Metropolis of the Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church, to familiarize people with the church tradition, to preserve spirituality and morality.

I wish you good health and prosperity. New spiritual forces for good deeds for the benefit of the Fatherland.

Sincerely, President of the Republic of Bashkortostan R. Khamitov

Head of the Ufa Diocesan Administration of the Russian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Nikon.

Your Eminence! I heartily congratulate you on your birthday! You have earned the respect and prestige of society for your consistent opposition to manifestations of extremism and xenophobia, your courageous upholding of the traditional values ​​of Orthodoxy, and your active work to harmonize interethnic relations in society.

Please accept the wishes of health, happiness and well-being, pious and good deeds, pure thoughts for the benefit of the further prosperity of the multinational Bashkortostan and all of Russia!

Sincerely, Chairman of the State Assembly-Kurultai of the Republic of Bashkortostan K.Tolkachev

To the Administrator of the Ufa diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Nikon of Ufa and Sterlitamak.

Please accept my heartfelt congratulations on the occasion of your birthday, as well as wishes of good health, good and clear days, good spirits, family well-being, good mood! May good luck and love and attention of loved ones always accompany you! I wish you professional success for the benefit of our Motherland and our people!

Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Housing Policy and Housing and Public Utilities of the State Duma of the Russian Federation P.R. Kachkaev

Head of the Bashkortostan Metropolitanate, Managing Bishop of the Ufa Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate), Metropolitan of Ufa and Sterlitamak Nikon.

Your Eminence!

On behalf of the staff of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Bashkortostan and on my own behalf, I sincerely congratulate you on your birthday.

On this solemn and memorable day for you, please accept my sincere wishes for good health and happiness, joy and further success in your charitable activities for the benefit of the Fatherland!

Sincerely, Minister of Internal Affairs for the Republic of Bashkortostan M.I. Zakomaldin.

Dear Vladyka Nikon!

The leadership, board and staff of the Office of the Federal Service of the Russian Federation for Drug Control in the Republic of Bashkortostan wish you a Happy Birthday!

For many years you have testified to the eternal truths, the transforming power of Orthodoxy, calling people to active faith, mercy, sincere love, and interethnic harmony. With your attentive attitude towards people, concern for the revival of spirituality and morality, the restoration of Orthodox shrines and traditions, you have earned the sincere respect of all the inhabitants of our native republic.

We wish you good health and prosperity, inexhaustible energy and further success in serving the Fatherland!

Acting Head of the Office of the Federal Service of the Russian Federation for Drug Control in the Republic of Bashkortostan T.A. Ibragimov.

Your Eminence!

On behalf of the staff of the Department of State Road Supervision for the Republic of Bashkortostan of the Federal Service in the Sphere of Transport and on my own behalf, I sincerely congratulate you on your birthday!

Your whole life is a vivid example of fidelity to your calling and service to the Lord! On this festive day, with all my heart I wish you, dear Vladyka, good health for many years and blessed success in your laborious archpastoral service.

Sincerely, Head of the Department of State Road Supervision for the Republic of Bashkortostan of the Federal Service in the field of transport S.N.Merezhko

Head of the Bashkortostan Metropolis of the Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate), Metropolitan of Ufa and Sterlitamak Nikon.

Dear Bishop Nikon!

Please accept my most sincere congratulations on your birthday! Under your leadership, the Bashkortostan Metropolis of the Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church carries out a high mission. By your personal example, showing commitment to the universal values ​​of peace, justice and goodness, you have a great influence on improving the moral state and spiritual renewal of society.

With all my heart I wish you, Your Eminence, good health and prosperity, new achievements in your noble service!

Sincerely, A.P. Trukhan, Executive Director of the President of the Republic of Bashkortostan

Metropolitan Nikon of Ufa and Sterlitamak, administrator of the Ufa diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Dear Bishop Nikon!

Congratulations on your birthday! We wish you good health, prosperity, success and new achievements in your activities for the benefit of the Republic of Bashkortostan and its capital!

Chairman of the Council of the urban district of the city of Ufa of the Republic of Bashkortostan E.A. Semivelichenko,

Head of the Administration of the city district of Ufa of the Republic of Bashkortostan I.I.Yalalov

Ufa and Sterlitamak Bishop Nikon

Dear Bishop Nikon!

I sincerely congratulate you on your birthday! I wish you happiness, peace, love, warmth and an infinite number of joyful moments that communication with close friends and like-minded people gives! Let only kind, bright people meet on your path, and bright events and accomplishments illuminate it with positive emotions! Good health to you for many years and a happy life!

Head of the Administration of the municipal district Sterlitamaksky district of the Republic of Bashkortostan R.A. Rakhmatullin.

Please accept my most sincere congratulations on your birthday!

May your life always remain filled with fruitful work and creative accomplishments, and may success and good luck accompany all your undertakings!

May this significant day be filled with joy and warmth for you, and moments of spiritual comfort become a source of strength and good spirits!

Sincerely, Member of the Federation Council Federal Assembly Russia A.M. Bondarchuk.

Member of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation, Nikon, Metropolitan of Ufa and Sterlitamak.

Your Eminence! Please accept my most sincere congratulations on your birthday!

With all my heart I wish you good health, happiness, every possible well-being, creative success in the development of civil society, protection of the rights and freedoms of Russian citizens.

Sincerely, Member of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation V.G.Mikhailov

Dear Metropolitan Nikon!

I congratulate you on your birthday! I wish you health, happiness, personal and family well-being, peace in your soul, harmony and inspiration! May worthy associates and colleagues always accompany you in your work and good luck in everything!

Chairman of the Federation of Trade Unions of Kamchatka, Member of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation A.V. Zimin

Metropolitan of Ufa and Sterlitamak Bishop Nikon.

Your Eminence!

Please accept my sincere congratulations on your birthday! I want to wish you success and prosperity at work and at home, happiness and health to you and your loved ones!

Director General of ROSATOM State Corporation S.V. Kiriyenko

His Eminence, His Eminence Nikon, Metropolitan of Ufa and Sterlitamak.

Your Eminence, dear Bishop Nikon!

Please accept my heartfelt congratulations on your birthday.

With all my heart I wish you good health, spiritual joy and love, well-being and long life, God's help in new achievements for the glory of the Russian Orthodox Church and your native Fatherland.

Let me express my sincere gratitude and appreciation for strengthening peace, harmony and stability in people's lives, preserving and increasing the spiritual, moral and cultural and historical values ​​of Holy Orthodoxy, constant active service to goodness and justice, tireless social service, charity and mercy.

May the Lord keep you in good health and prosperity for many, many years.

Sincerely, Governor of the Kemerovo Region A. Tuleev

To the Administrator of the Ufa diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Nikon of Ufa and Sterlitamak.

Your Eminence! Dear Bishop Nikon!

On behalf of the staff of the Bashkir Academy of Public Administration and
Administration under the President of the Republic of Bashkortostan and on my own behalf, I congratulate you on your birthday! I wish you good health and happiness, long life, well-being, further success in serving the Fatherland

BAGSU Rector S.N. Lavrentiev

Dear His Eminence Metropolitan Nikon of Ufa and Sterlitamak!

Sincerely, from the bottom of my heart, I congratulate you on your birthday. I wish you good health, joy of a pure heart, love, God's help in your hard work of serving God and your neighbors. We hope to continue further fruitful spiritual contacts with you.

Rector of SAMGUPS A.V. Kovtunov

Your Eminence, Metropolitan Nikon!

Please accept my warmest congratulations on your birthday!

Allow me to express to you recognition for your service and the word that you carry to people.

I sincerely wish you good health, peace and joy, inexhaustible energy and good mood, long life and God's help in your future ministry.

Sincerely, General Director of the company "Respect",Chairman of the Council of the Union of Entrepreneurs of Ufa O. L. Odinokova.

Metropolitan of Ufa and Sterlitamak Nikon

Your Eminence, dear Bishop Nikon! I sincerely congratulate you on your birthday! With all my heart I wish you many and good summers, health and spiritual stamina characteristic of you.

With deep respect, Vanok E.V.

Your Eminence, His Eminence Metropolitan Nikon!

We sincerely congratulate you on your birthday!

On this memorable day, we wish you strength of mind and body, wisdom, patience and blessed success in your further service for the good of the Holy Church.

May the Lord keep you in health and prosperity for many and good years!

Sincerely yours, General Director of CJSC Engineering Center "Grant" V.O.Savchenko and the team of employees.

Metropolitan Nikon.

Your Eminence, Venerable Bishop Nikon! Please accept heartfelt congratulations from the workers of Sofrino HPP LLC of the Russian Orthodox Church and from me personally on your birthday!

We sincerely wish you, Vladyka, good health, long life, peace and prosperity, God's generous and all-powerful help in your diligent and fruitful archpastoral labors for many and good years!

Asking for your prayers and blessings, with respect, Director General of HPP "Sofrino" ROC, Parkhaev E.A.

Portal edition collected for His Holiness the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia congratulations in honor of the upcoming 65th anniversary.

For this joyful day - November 20, 2011, the clergy, as well as figures of science, culture and art, prepared their wishes for His Holiness.

Congratulations to the Holy Patriarch:

On the day of his 65th birthday, I would like to wish His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, first of all, the joy of the heart to see the fruits of his labors; wish that the service of the Primate of our Church, ruling right the word of the truth of Christ, has always met with a kind and active response from the church people.

The clergy and flock of the Saratov Metropolis, and I personally pray for the well-being and longevity of His Holiness the Patriarch. We prayerfully wish that the all-powerful help of God would accompany him all the days of his life, helping him to continue to fulfill his ministry.

Your Holiness!

On behalf of all the peoples of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), I sincerely and respectfully congratulate you on your 65th birthday!

Sakha sirin bars noruottaryn aattaryttan Eyigin 65 saaskyn tuolbukkunan is sүrehpititten eҕerdeliibit!

Bishop of Yakutia and Lena Roman (Lukin)

I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your great love for the peoples living in the North, for the kind and bright words that sounded in your archpastoral speech in Yakutsk, for all the wise transformations that, with your blessing, have taken place in our church and public life!

Today we are experiencing an amazing time of spiritual upsurge in the life of our Church. And from the bottom of our hearts, we are grateful to you for the great joy of being happy Christians who feel and know that they are loved and in demand, for the fact that you, by your own example, inspire us to be faithful to the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ and carry us through difficulties with the love of God!

Truly, we are now witnesses of the fulfillment in our lives of your words about St. Innocent on the day of the consecration of his monument, that the northern peoples responded with love to his sermon, because "they did not see in him any danger to their national self-consciousness, their being and traditions."

Today we also experience a similar blessed state when we pray in our native language at the Divine Liturgy, when we joyfully observe the transformation of our church life. And we are deeply grateful that you are praying for us, far and near, believers and unbelievers, so that our Yakutia, which we are creating together, could become the place of residence of the Lord.

Your Holiness, please accept my sincere congratulations on your birthday and wishes for peace, health, strength always and in everything.

We will always pray that the Lord will protect and keep you on your way to the glory of God.

Aiyy Toyon Alban aatyn tugugar, En baran iһer suolgar kharistabyllaah buolargar өrүү kөrdөһө turuohput.

On behalf of those who love you
Orthodox peoples of Yakutia
+ Roman, Bishop of Yakutia and Lena

Archpriest Alexander Ilyashenko

20 years ago, the Church gained freedom, and its revival began. Gone are the years of confrontation with the state, periods of severe, sometimes bloody, persecution. One of the closest assistants of Patriarch Alexy II in the field of the revival of the Church was Metropolitan Kirill, then chairman of the Department for External Church Relations.

Today the Russian Orthodox Church has entered a new, very important and interesting stage in its life. She gained a large flock, many churches were restored and built again, educational institutions are actively operating that train students - both future priests and those who choose a secular path.

In this particularly dynamic period, when our church life received new opportunities for its development, the Lord appointed Patriarch Kirill to the service - a man who can give accurate, quick and decisive answers to sometimes very difficult questions that time raises, adequately look at large-scale tasks and find timely and correct solutions.

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill is a man of great stature. One can only be surprised at how much information falls on him, how many things he needs to be aware of at the same time, and how he finds time and energy for everything.

I would like to wish our First Hierarch on the day of his 65th birthday the strength of spiritual strength given to him by the Lord, wisdom, optimism, as well as like-minded people and helpers.

And, of course, good health. Because the tasks that His Holiness faces, in fact, exceed the capabilities of human forces, and only with the help of God can this burden be carried in the way that our Most Holy Patriarch selflessly and creatively carries it. Many and good years from the Lord!

I wish His Holiness the Patriarch the most important thing - God's help and the prayers of God's people. And not only Russian, but representing the entire Ecumenical Orthodoxy.

Archpriest Dimitry Smirnov. Photo by Yulia Makoveychuk

By the grace of God, it so happened that the Russian Orthodox Church is the largest in the world. And with its spiritual well-being is connected the well-being of other Orthodox Churches. It is clear how great is the significance of the activity of His Holiness the Patriarch. The whole world is looking at him - both friends and enemies. Nothing can compare the burden that fell on his shoulders, the full depth of his responsibility.

And the task of every child of the Church is to help the undertakings of His Holiness. Our joy for the mission of Christ in the world depends on how much we will love and support our Patriarch.

The church is in need of a comprehensive structural transformation. For more than seventy years of Bolshevik captivity, a mass of unresolved problems has accumulated. Under the leadership of His Holiness the Patriarch, these problems began to be solved. And here those qualities that he possesses in full are needed - a powerful mind, the broadest education, a huge will, tough self-discipline and great diplomatic experience.

No one is better than Patriarch Kirill for this role in this historical period. The Lord reserved it for us precisely for this responsible mission...

Your Holiness! Better than anyone else, you have been given the understanding that the true happiness of a person on earth lies in the fulfillment of the will of our Heavenly Father. To recognize oneself as an instrument of the creative will of God, a reasonable instrument of His action - this is the highest mission, calling, service of anyone who calls himself a disciple of Christ.

Archpriest Artemy Vladimirov

The patriarch in Holy Russia has always been and remains "the voice of one crying in the wilderness", the people's conscience, a mourner before the mighty of this world about the needs and troubles of his many millions of flocks. The white hood of the Russian Patriarchate is a visible shrine, a stronghold of national self-consciousness, a symbol of the unity of our indivisible Fatherland.

On this solemn day of your 65th anniversary, we, your spiritual children and co-workers, offer the Lord God all-hearted gratitude for the talents and forces given to you from above, which you tirelessly squander and multiply, laboring in God's vineyard, spudding the fruitful vine of Russian Orthodoxy.

In the 21st century, which is not easy for our Motherland, when seemingly centuries-old earthly bonds and ties fell apart, you were given the opportunity to stir up the Christian peoples of the sixth part of the land, extinguish the political and ethnic strife imposed on us, induce our state formations to supranational unity in the bosom of the Mother Church, in the format of an Orthodox civilization and thus do more than ten modern politicians and diplomats.

Millions of people belonging to the most diverse ethnic groups and professing completely dissimilar political doctrines listen to your word, taken from the depths of a compassionate heart. Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan, Europe and Asia, the near and far abroad are witnesses of your tireless energy of word and deed aimed at creating a moral personality, and therefore the dominant of good and truth in this world, lying in the evil of human passions and sins .

In the age of selfishness, indifference and public apathy, you, the Holy Father, showed us an example of “saving concern” both for the life of a “little man” and for entire peoples bound by a common historical destinies.

Bringing you today our filial gratitude and sincere gratitude for the courageous bearing of the cross of the Patriarchal service, we pray for your health, and ask the Lord of the world, Christ, to multiply your years for the good of the Russian Orthodox Church.

You are the successor of the Russian Patriarchs, whose purpose in life was to keep our all-holy faith in its purity and integrity! You are the spokesman for the universal mission of the Orthodox peoples of Russia – to stand to the death for centuries-old moral foundations and generously share the grace of saving knowledge with the world, which, out of proud and insane blindness, is already ready to declare itself post-Christian. You are a man of reason and strength, called upon to inspire hope for a better future in your compatriots ... The basis of this hope is repentance for personal and public sins on the day today's given to us by the grace of God...

Please accept from us, Your Holiness, a sincere assurance of love, the evidence of which is not a word, but a deed - our readiness to tirelessly work together with you for the benefit of the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, to contribute to the creation of Holy Russia, the prosperity of which is vital for the spiritual enlightenment of all peoples of the earth.

Archpriest Maxim Kozlov

It is always difficult to congratulate His Holiness the Patriarch. Firstly, the hierarchy is, after all, also the authorities, and there is always a risk that the congratulator will be suspected of insincerity. Secondly, everyone wants about the same thing, I don’t want to repeat myself, and I join in advance in all the wishes above and below.

We now have such a Patriarch that the standards set by his life and his work are very high. It is very difficult to match his activity and ecclesiocentricity.

I want to wish His Holiness the Patriarch that all of us - the most diverse people who are part of the Church: clergy, laity - meet his hopes, so that we do not let him down.

Seeing the closest circle of His Holiness, his assistants and employees, you understand that everything is strong here. It is important that these circles of reliability expand throughout the Church, so that the Patriarch has as many people as possible on whom he can rely, who would help him realize the accomplishments and deeds he has begun to the greatest possible extent.

mathematician, academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Rector of Moscow State University M.V. Lomonosov

Your Holiness!

On behalf of the many thousands of staff of Moscow University, let me congratulate you on a significant date in your life, which resonates deeply in our minds and hearts.

Rector of Moscow State University Viktor Sadovnichy

During the time that you are the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, it has significantly strengthened its beneficial role in society, and you have become one of the brightest figures in our modern life.

We especially appreciate your efforts aimed at ensuring that education takes its rightful place in the life of society. In your great and laborious work, you tirelessly draw attention to the most important issues of spiritual education, helping to separate true values ​​from false ones, to hear the voice of conscience within yourself.

Moscow University celebrates with great satisfaction and joy our long-term cooperation with you in the field of education and enlightenment. Education only fulfills its true purpose when it is based on fundamental science and strong moral principles.

I am glad to inform you, Your Holiness, that for your merits in the education of young people and fruitful cooperation with Moscow University, the Academic Council of Moscow State University decided to award you the title of Honorary Doctor of Moscow University. I appeal to you, Your Holiness, with a request to accept this highest distinction of Moscow University.

Let me wish you continued success in your great ministry!

Oleg Dobrodeev

General Director of VGTRK

Your Holiness!

Please accept my warmest wishes on your 65th birthday.

The way you carry out your mission in such a difficult time for Russia is truly admirable. You embody the highest ideals of service, combining hardness and softness, depth and clarity, simplicity and sublimity.

General Director of VGTRK Oleg Dobrodeev

The personality of the Patriarch has always colored the epochs experienced by Russian Orthodoxy. The Lord ordered that today our Church appears as a public institution that delicately, but persistently, not only raises questions of good and evil before people, but also formulates criteria, points to ideals and values.

The fact that this is being done against the backdrop of an unusually open intra-church discussion also evokes special respect.

It is pleasant to realize that universal Orthodoxy has found in you that Shepherd who not only defends tradition, but also restores dignity to modern man.

With gratitude for wise advice and participation, sincerely yours, Oleg Dobrodeev.

Editor-in-Chief of Radio Ekho Moskvy Alexey Venediktov

Chief editor of the radio station "Echo of Moscow"

First of all, I wish His Holiness, whom I know, health and strength.

In my opinion, his activities in the expanses of the former Soviet Union are extremely positive. It is important that His Holiness continue to work tirelessly to ensure that our Orthodox compatriots living on the territory of the former USSR feel themselves, to some extent, our fellow citizens through belonging to the Russian Orthodox Church.

This is the most difficult thing - to collect a fragmented world. And the state often cannot directly address the citizens of another state, even a friendly one.

It is possible to bring people and nations closer together with the help of the Church, which is universal, through faith, which is individual…

And this, it seems to me, is the mission of the Patriarch, which he must develop further.

Ballerina Ilze Liepa

ballerina, People's Artist of Russia

It always makes me very happy when I manage to meet with His Holiness the Patriarch, whether at the consecration of the Church of the Great Martyr Catherine in Rome or at a church feast in Moscow. The bright smile of the Patriarch, his paternal blessing after each meeting, I carefully keep in my memory.

Like any person, the Patriarch needs God's help. And if you imagine what a difficult time we live in, it becomes clear how difficult and responsible - on a global scale - the role of the Primate of the Church. Yes, every time period of human existence can be called difficult. But now we clearly see the struggle for human souls that goes on at any level of our life: in the family, in social activities - in everything.

The patriarch in his fiery activity, so that the fire that illuminates the way for the flock does not go out, needs strength, strength and again strength ...

We all sincerely offer up prayers in the church for His Holiness the Patriarch, asking the Lord for his health and strength. As for wisdom, the Patriarch always has it in abundance.

I remember how we listened with unflagging interest to his amazing programs "The Word of the Shepherd", trying not to miss a single episode. He conveyed each thought lightly, accurately and interestingly to the audience, giving rise to further reflections for the whole week.

My brother Andris and I heartily congratulate His Holiness on his jubilee! Help him Lord in his hardest ministry.

Actor Alexei Batalov

People's Artist of the RSFSR and the USSR

Today the Church has become a part of the lives of a huge number of people. Without looking back, fearing nothing, people take their steps towards faith.

This is wonderful and so strikingly different from the time of my childhood and my youth, when sometimes it was difficult to get into the temple: for example, the police could ban schoolchildren. It is even difficult for modern young people to imagine what happiness it really is to believe openly.

But from the foregoing it does not at all follow that the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church carries out his ministry at an ideal time. Complete promiscuity, the cult of money that reigns in society, lead people in a completely different direction. And the Holy One must resist this. What he actively does in his numerous trips around Russia.

I congratulate the Holy One on his anniversary. May God give him health and strength to continue his important, much-needed ministry today.

Prepared by Oksana Golovko.

On November 20, 2014, on his birthday, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the house church in honor of the icon of the Mother of God "Quick Apostle" of the Patriarchal Residence in Peredelkino, Moscow Region, Patriarchia.ru reports.

His Holiness was co-served by Schema-Archimandrite Eli (Nozdrin).

On this day, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill turned 68 years old.

Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Patriarch Kirill on his birthday, the Kremlin website reports. The President also took part in the opening ceremony of the monument to Emperor Alexander I in the Alexander Garden near the walls of the Moscow Kremlin. Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky, representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church, public figures. The author of the monument is People's Artist of Russia, sculptor Salavat Shcherbakov.

President of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko congratulated Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia on his birthday, the website of the head of the Belarusian state informs. “On Belarusian soil, you are respected as a recognized spiritual mentor, whose high authority and selfless activity contribute to the strengthening of brotherhood and cooperation between the peoples of Belarus and Russia,” he said.

Honorary Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus Metropolitan Filaret congratulated Patriarch Kirill on his birthday, the website of the Belarusian Exarchate informs. “Your Holiness! Please accept my sincere congratulations on your 68th birthday. By the will of God, you were determined to stand at the helm of the Russian Orthodox Church, accepting the difficult and responsible lot of the primatial ministry. On the birthday of Your Holiness, I testify with all my heart that behind the commemoration of Your name at the Divine Liturgy for me is not only obedience to the Mother Church and the Patriarch as the Father of the faithful, but, above all, love in Christ. May the Lord help you, His Holiness, to fulfill the mission of the Primate of our Church with honor and joy, being in unity of spirit and fellowship in preaching the Gospel with your multi-million flock,” Vladyka Filaret concluded.

Metropolitan Pavel of Minsk and Zaslavl, Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus, also congratulated Patriarch Kirill on his birthday. “Your Holiness, Most Holy Master and Father! On "this appointed and holy day," let me, on behalf of the episcopate, clergy, monastics and laity of the Belarusian Orthodox Church, heartily congratulate you on your birthday! Your life serves as a vivid example for us of how wisely the Providence of God works, giving His faithful servants "the right to rule the Word of His Truth." It is you, Your Holiness, who are the God-chosen helmsman for the entire fraternal people of Holy Russia, and today all the fullness of our Church raises prayers of thanksgiving to the Lord, asking Him for the health and longevity of Your Shrine! There is no place for anything personal and private in the Patriarchal ministry. The patriarch belongs entirely to his flock, and his life is the life of his spiritual children, their joys and sorrows, worries and needs. In the difficult conditions of modern life, you share the hardships and sorrows of the Slavic peoples, being their intercessor and prayer book before God. On this significant day for all the fullness of the Russian Orthodox Church, all of us, your faithful children, wish that the All-Merciful Lord always sends you health of body and strength of spirit, inexhaustible gracious help and support in your high primatial service to the glory of the Holy Church of Christ. Many and good years to you, Your Holiness!” - says the message of Metropolitan Pavel.

A congratulatory telegram to the Primate, Honorary Citizen of the Hero City of Smolensk was sent by State Duma Deputy Alexei Kazakov, Smolenskaya Narodnaya Gazeta reports.

It specifically says: “Your Holiness! From the bottom of my heart, from fellow countrymen - members and supporters of the Just Russia political party, I congratulate you on your birthday. We, Smolensk people, are immensely grateful to you for your blessed nourishment of our long-suffering, primordially Russian land. We admire your pastoral service to your people and Russia. Health to you for many, many years, and may all your holy thoughts and undertakings come true!