Government telegram from the plenipotentiary representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Southern Federal District on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the formation of the Don Metropolistranslated

Your Eminence, dear Lord!

I cordially congratulate you on the 15th anniversary of the formation of the Don Metropolis!

You were called to archpastoral service on the Don land during a crucial period of its spiritual revival. Your tireless ascetic work at the head of the metropolitanate has earned you the deep respect and trust of believers.

Over the past time, through your labors, much has been done to strengthen Orthodoxy on the Don: numerous parishes have been opened, churches have been erected and restored, great shrines have found new life.

It is difficult to overestimate the most important educational mission of the Don Metropolitanate - spiritual mentoring of the younger generation, strengthening high moral and patriotic ideals, preserving interethnic peace and interreligious harmony.

All these years, church-state dialogue has been actively developing in various spheres of society. Important charitable projects aimed at protecting and helping everyone who found themselves in difficult life situations were successfully implemented. Today, prayer support for soldiers performing their sacred civic duty to defend the Motherland is especially valuable.

Dear Lord! I would like to express my gratitude and deep...