Department for External Church Relations
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Patriarchal congratulations to Archbishop Seraphim of Sendai on his 70th birthday
Archbishop of Sendai
Vicar of Tokyo
Please accept my heartfelt greetings with your 70th birthday, as well as prayerful wishes of spiritual and bodily strength and inexhaustible joy in the Lord.
Having heard the Gospel voice of Jesus the Saviour, calling upon everyone to deny themselves, and take up their cross daily, and follow Him (cf. Lk 9:23), you received the holy baptism and decided to devote your life to bearing witness to the eternal Christian truths. Soon afterwards you enrolled in the Tokyo Theological Seminary and took holy orders.
Years later, you took monastic vows at the renowned abode of the Hegumen of the Russian land, and the Lord, seeing the fervour of your heart, handed over to you a bishop’s crozier. For over two decades you have been performing the lofty and responsible episcopal ministry in the Land of the Rising Sun, continuing with zeal the missionary service of St. Nicholas, Equal-to-the-Apostles, and striving for the word of God to grow and multiply (cf. Acts 12:24).
In consideration of your labours and on the occasion of your birthday, I deem it fair to award you with the Order of St. Sergius of Radonezh, 2nd class.
May the All-Generous God, by the intercession of the Heavenly Queen, grant unto you good health, peace and His abundant help in your further archpastoral ministry for the benefit of the Mother Church and for the good of the faithful of the Japanese land.
With love in Christ,
PATRIARCH OF MOSCOW AND ALL RUSSIA
Patriarch
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