In I.N. Agios Stefanos the Patriarch Bartholomew for the anniversary of 130 years since its foundation
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, danced, today, at the Divine Liturgy held at I.N. of Agios Stefanos Balatas, of the Orthodox Bulgarian-speaking Community of the City, on the occasion of their anniversary 130 years since its foundation.
The vice president of Bulgaria attended the church, Iliana Lotova, the Minister of Culture of the same country, Velislav Minekov, the ambassador of Bulgaria in Turkey, Angel Cholakov, with the consul general, Vasil Valchev, the president of the Community, Basilios Liase, pilgrims from Bulgaria and a large number of believers from the Bulgarian-speaking Community.
In his speech, the Patriarch, welcoming dignitaries from neighboring Bulgaria and all pilgrims, while he recalled that "this surrounded temple was erected in the year 1892 at the site of the destroyed Wooden Church, at the foundation of which on October 25 1859 the four Patriarchs of the East had participated".
At another point he pointed out: "The Orthodox people know well that in the life of the Church all the truth is concentrated, which saved them in the past, expresses the testimony of the present, and guarantees their path to the future, in a world, where the peaceful coexistence of the different will depend on whether and to what extent respect for human dignity prevails as an absolute value, which belongs to the core of our Christian ethos, of considering man as a divine creation, cat’ image of God and’ created in the likeness of God's beloved, through whose salvation God himself becomes man. We Orthodox should be proud, because we are bearers of a unique tradition of knowledge of God and knowledge of man, philanthropy and charity, of the inseparable unity of faith towards God and love towards man, which is a life proposition, of freedom and culture with a global reach. This faith greatly strengthens our worldly witness.
The Church of Christ has never been indifferent to the problems of man. Ήτο πάντοτε διακονική, κατά τον ιδρυτήν και Κύριόν της, ο οποίος ήλθε ‘’διακονήσαι” και ουχί ‘’διακονηθήναι” (Matthew. the', 28). Η προσφορά της Εκκλησίας προς τον άνθρωπον, την κοινωνίαν και τον πολιτισμόν αφήνει ενεούς και τους πλέον ακραίους αρνητάς της χριστιανικής πίστεως».
Και ο Παναγιώτατος συνέχισε: «Το Οικουμενικόν Πατριαρχείον και η ημετέρα Μετριότης αγωνίζονται διά την καλήν ορθόδοξον μαρτυρίαν εις τον κόσμον, διά τον διάλογον και την καταλλαγήν, διά την προστασίαν του ανθρωπίνου προσώπου και της δημιουργίας. We take the initiative as a Church in the belief that these are a contribution to peace, cooperation and dialogue in general and more broadly.
In the tradition of the Holy Church of Christ the Great, respect for the particular culture and individuality of peoples coexists with the ecumenical spirit and the belief that faith unifies and moves beyond cultural differences, I considered it a vehicle for witnessing to the faith, of love and hope, both in the respective cultural environment and in the relations between different cultures. Orthodoxy has nothing to do with Orthodoxy. He always respected the particular culture and language of the Christianized peoples, and it promoted and continues to promote the universality of the local ecclesiastical community, regardless of nationality, its linguistic and cultural composition. In this context, the Orthodox peoples, cultivating the wealth of their traditions, not only do they contribute to progress and culture, but they also enrich the life of the Church. The particular cultural traditions are intertwined with the common struggle, often under difficult conditions, for the cultivation and rescue of our Orthodox identity. Nothing is stronger than the common Orthodox faith. Whenever there are tendencies to overturn this hierarchy of values in the Orthodox world, these have an external origin. The result of these trends is that we are cut off from the source of our identity and culture and that, in parallel, the orthodox way of life remains a martyr in the world.
The temples of our city tell the story of the long and uninterrupted presence of Orthodox Christians in this city. In these temples, the faithful glorified God for his blessings, record their joy and pain, their repentance and trust in God's philanthropic love and providence, εώρταζαν τας πλέον σημαντικάς στιγμάς της ζωής των. Και ο Ιερός Ναός του Αγίου Στεφάνου μαρτυρεί επί εκατόν τριάντα έτη την αλήθειαν της ακαταλύτου Ορθοδόξου εμπειρίας, την πνευματικήν ισχύν της Εκκλησίας του Χριστού ως βίωσιν της ενότητος του λαού του Θεού, της εν Χριστώ ελθούσης χάριτος και της προγεύσεως και προσδοκίας της ερχομένης αιωνίου Βασιλείας, εις την οποίαν ο Θεός ‘’εξαλείψει παν δάκρυον” εκ των οφθαλμών των ανθρώπων, και ‘’ο θάνατος ουκ έσται έτι” (Αποκ. κα’, 4)».
Concluding his speech, His Holiness congratulated the priestly head of the Community, Archimandrite Charalambos Nitsev , "who, with a lot of pastoral responsibility and zeal and with the dynamism that distinguishes him, he exercises his spiritual work ecclesiastically, always in harmony with his partners", and expressed his warm thanks especially to the president of the Community, Basil Liase.
On the occasion, the Ecumenical Patriarch sent a fraternal greeting to the Patriarch of Bulgaria, και την ευλογία της Μητρός Εκκλησίας προς τους ‘Αρχοντες και τον ευσεβή λαό της Βουλγαρίας.
«Αποστέλλομεν εγκάρδιον χαιρετισμόν και ασπασμόν εκ του κλεινού Φαναρίου προς τον Μακαριώτατον Πατριάρχην Βουλγαρίας κ. Νεόφυτον, προσφιλή αδελφόν και συλλειτουργόν ημών εν Κυρίω, διά την πολύτιμον υγείαν του οποίου διαπύρως ευχόμεθα και προσευχόμεθα.
Επίσης επιδαψιλεύομεν, κατά την ευφρόσυνον ταύτην ημέραν, την ευλογίαν της στοργικής Μητρός Εκκλησίας της Κωνσταντινουπόλεως προς τους Εξοχωτάτους ‘Αρχοντας και τον ευσεβή λαόν της Βουλγαρίας, διά την πρωτότοκον θυγατέρα ημών Εκκλησίαν της οποίας σεμνυνόμεθα και καυχώμεθα εν Κυρίω».