“I thank the most gracious God for the supreme gift of the priesthood: eight years as a deacon, four as a priest, 18 as a metropolitan and 35 as Ecumenical Patriarch, in the service of the entire Christian community under the dominion of the Lord, of the Great Church, of inter-Orthodox cooperation, inter-Christian and interreligious dialogues, peace and solidarity, the protection of the natural environment and the encounter between the Church and the contemporary world,

“The words Jesus alone were inscribed forever upon my soul and have served as a compass throughout my life. My spiritual father earnestly urged me, as I became a cleric, to look only to Jesus.

“My entire journey has been a life in dialogue,

“To be ‘peacemakers’ is to move away from what serves our own interests to what embraces the rights of others.

“Peace always—and ultimately—starts in the heart. It takes time, toil, and tears. Nevertheless, it is our only hope for survival as individuals, as nations, and as a species.

“peace was “an existential and spiritual demand.”

“The Annunciation is a consoling teaching, a voice of optimism, a proclamation of joy—the glad tidings of God’s goodwill and peace on earth.

“May the joy of the Incarnation of the Word of God spread everywhere, so that peoples may advance in harmony and brotherhood and walk together toward enduring love, true justice, and the longed-for peace. Only these bring lasting and inalienable joy to humanity and to the nations of the earth—this is the message proclaimed by the Church: ‘Rejoice, O earth, with great joy; praise, O heavens, the glory of God!’

“truth is under attack. The followers of the Risen Lord are once again being persecuted, especially in the Middle East, the cradle of Christianity, which continues to give birth to new martyrs of the faith in our own time.

“Through the diversity of languages ​​and traditions, unity in Christ is highlighted, transcending all national distinction,

“It is a bond of blood and Spirit, a relationship of centuries-old historical and spiritual kinship .

“We therefore wish that our presence here today will be the preliminary message of what is to take place in October in Bulgaria, as an additional proof of the love of the Holy Great Church of Christ for this Saint, who, although he lived in ascetic obscurity on Mount Rila, became a source of sanctification not only for the Bulgarian people, but for the entire Orthodox Church