Moscow, Russia, July 2, 2018
Today marks the 60th birthday of His Eminence Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Pskov and Porkhov, the Chairman of the Patriarchal Cultural Council and editor-in-chief of Pravoslavie.ru and OrthoChristian.com, and former abbot of Moscow’s Sretenksy Monastery.
Photo: pravoslavie.ru Dear Vladyka!
You once said, “The life of a priest, a monk, and a Christian is the realest and highest creativity available to man in the world,” and the Lord has arranged that your creativity, both in this mysterious sense, and in the traditional understanding, has involved hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people familiar with you through the book Everyday Saints, the film The Lesson of Byzantium, historical exhibitions, and, of course, through Sretensky Monastery and the publications on our website.
The Lord has given you a definite gift to find the necessary words for the weak and egotistical and spiritually chattering man of the 21st century—words that awaken the Christian conscience and a longing for Heaven. And it is clear to all that you multiply this talent given by the “Poet of Heaven and Earth” with interest, returning to the Creator that which is most valuable in the world—faithful Christian souls.
May the All-Merciful Lord grant you spiritual and physical strength, wisdom, and His all-powerful help in bearing all your numerous Church obediences, in guiding the ancient Pskov Metropolitanate, and in implementing all of your endeavors for the good of the Church of the Christ!
Many blessed years!
With sincere respect and love,
The brothers and parishioners of Sretensky Monastery,
the students of Sretensky Theological Seminary,
the staff of Pravoslavie.ru and OrthoChristian.com,
and all who labor at Sretensky Monastery
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