“I prayerfully wish Your Beatitude God’s help in all things. May the All-Good Lord, through the prayers of His Most Pure Mother and all the saints, strengthen you in your primatial ministry to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and preserve you in good health for many blessed years!

“More than forty years ago, I made monastic vows before the Heavenly King, one of which is the renunciation of my own will before the all-holy will of God. Therefore, I regard my election as Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine not as a distinction or an honor, but as a solemn obedience to Mother Church, for which I will have to give an account at the dread judgment of God.

“supreme gift of the priesthood

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew ›

Ecumenical Patriarch

Direct quote

“the Primate of the Georgian Orthodox Church noted that Metropolitan Onuphry bears with honor the high and responsible Primatial ministry entrusted to him, serving as an example of selfless love for his people and the Church of Christ to his flock.

“Your Beatitude, our dear brother and co-celebrant in Christ! We send you our sincere congratulations on the anniversary of your enthronement as Metropolitan of Kyiv and all Ukraine

“the primatial feat of His Beatitude Onuphrius, his courageous stand for the purity of Orthodoxy, and his unwavering faithfulness to the Truth of Christ, which, in the words of the hierarch, serve as a lofty example for the entire Orthodox world

“Patriarch Porfirije wished Metropolitan Onuphry God's help, good health, spiritual and physical strength, wisdom, and joy in his continued archpastoral ministry

“During these twelve years, the Lord has entrusted Your Beatitude with the care of His flock during extraordinarily difficult trials. Amid all these trials, Your unwavering ministry has been a witness to the undying hope that we find in Christ, who remains the Good Shepherd of His people