The Ecumenical Patriarch of the Orthodox Christians, Bartholomew, characterized Elder Paisios and Elder Porfyrios as outstanding figures of the Orthodoxy at a speech he gave on May 15.
The Patriarch visited Milan in Italy in order to participate in the celebrations of commemorating the 1,700 years of the Edict of Milan (Edictum Mediolanense), where he gave his opinion on the contemporary Orthodox elders.
Addressing the Romeo Catholic monastic brotherhood of the ecumenical Monastic Community of Bose, Bartholomew said:
“We have to admit that we are touched by the multiannual spiritual effort of Fr Enzo and your Brotherhood, by the love, interest and respect to the Orthodox Church and to the Orthodox spirituality, variously expressed through the organization of monastic life, having the Oriental monastic life as standard, through the organization of conferences to deepen into the orthodox spirituality, where representatives of Orthodox theology and thought participate; as well as through the elevation and study of the life and teaching of top contemporary figures and elders of the Orthodoxy, as Saint Silouan, Elder Sophronius Sakharov of Essex, Elder Porfyrios, Elder Paisios, and of course through the remarkable publishing work of your Community.”
The Patriarch noted how many things divide the East and the West. He referred to the efforts of translating the words of Saint Gregory Palamas.
On May 17, the respective anniversary celebrations of the Edict of Milan’s commemoration start in Istanbul.
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