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With the blessing of His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon, Archpriest Daniel Andrejuk, Representative of the Orthodox Church in America to the Moscow Patriarchate, represented the OCA at celebrations marking the 1155th Anniversary of the Evangelization of Moravia by Saints Cyril and Methodius, Equal-to-the-Apostles.
Father Daniel concelebrated the anniversary Divine Liturgy with His Beatitude, Metropolitan Rastislav, Primate of the Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia; His Eminence, Archbishop Michael of Prague; and visiting hierarchs and clergy at the historic Saints Cyril and Methodius Cathedral in the Czech capital on Thursday, July 5, 2018.
During the celebration, Father Daniel shared greetings from Metropolitan Tikhon, who called the commemoration “a sign of the ‘unity of the spirit in the bond of peace’ which brings together the Orthodox Church in America and the Orthodox Church in the Czech Lands.”
Greetings of His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon to
His Eminence, Archbishop Michael of Prague and the Czech Lands
The 1155th Anniversary of the Evangelization of Moravia
Prague, Czech Republic
July 5, 2018
Your Eminence,
Dear Brother in Christ:
The coming to Great Moravia of Saints Cyril and Methodius 1155 years ago was the beginning of their apostolic labors as preachers of the Gospel of Christ in the Slavic tongue. We learn in the Book of the Acts of the Apostles the wonder and amazement on the Day of Pentecost: “…We hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God” [Acts: 2: 11]. As the holy brothers initiated the evangelization of Moravia and its people and culture, they were blessed by God to bring the joy of Pentecost to their missionary task.
It is fitting to commemorate and celebrate the memory of Saints Cyril and Methodius, not simply as an event of the distant past, but as a living reality today. The fruit of the mission of Saints Cyril and Methodius, Equals-to-the-Apostles, is to be seen in the Czech Lands and among the vast numbers of peoples speaking Slavic tongues.
It is also fitting to remember that in the time of Saints Cyril and Methodius the Churches of the East and the West were united in faith and in mission. The labors of the saints expressed a fundamental harmony of missionary purpose and evangelizing energy between the Church of Rome and the Church of Constantinople. Today we are witnesses to the desire of the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Churches to rediscover this harmony and to learn to walk together as witnesses to the Good News of Jesus Christ for a troubled and wounded humanity.
It is a great joy to send our greetings and congratulations through Archpriest Daniel Andrejuk, our Representative to the Patriarchate of Moscow and Dean of Saint Catherine-in-the Fields Church in Moscow. His presence at your celebration is a sign of the “unity of the spirit in the bond of peace” which brings together the Orthodox Church in America and the Orthodox Church in the Czech Lands. May the holy energy of Pentecost inspire our Churches in their common path speaking of “the mighty works of God” to our peoples in their own tongues.
With love in the Lord,
Your brother and concelebrant,
+ Tikhon
Archbishop of Washington
Metropolitan of All America and Canada
