“With deep joy and gratitude to the Triune God, the World Council of Churches extends its warmest congratulations to Your All-Holiness on the 35th anniversary of your enthronement as Archbishop of Constantinople – New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch, on 2 November 1991,” wrote WCC general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay. “The fellowship of the World Council of Churches holds a special debt of gratitude to the Ecumenical Patriarchate.” Pillay recalled with particular affection the Ecumenical Patriarch’s own personal bonds with the ecumenical movement: his years of study at the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey, his long service on the WCC Faith and Order Commission, and his steadfast encouragement of the churches to seek together the visible unity to which Christ calls us. “The commemoration of the 1700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea in 2025, so deeply marked by your hospitality and vision, reminded all Christians of the common faith that unites us and of the unfinished task of reconciliation before us,” wrote Pillay. “May the Holy Spirit sustain and guide you as you continue to shepherd the faithful, strengthen the bonds of Christian fellowship, and offer a prophetic witness of hope to our troubled world.” Read the full message | 
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