“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,

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I ›

His All-Holiness

Direct quote

“Here you received the first degree of the priesthood. Not to be served, but to serve; not to seek human glory, but to shepherd the spiritual flock of the Church of Christ,

“there is no greater honour than for his child to become a priest, because this means that his life within the family proved worthy in the eyes of his children.

Archbishop Makarios ›

Archbishop of Australia

Direct quote

“the shining-forth of the glory of God the Father

“and its sanctity

“the silent service at the holy Table

“through his unceasing prayer, high authority, and paternal love, His Beatitude embraces the sorrows of his flock