OCA Chancery
Syosset, New York
August 29, 1996
To His All Holiness, BARTHOLOMEW I
Archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarchate
Your All Holiness,
I write in great humility to greet you on the occasion of the beginning of the ecclesiastical New Year. At this time we are brought to the realization that Almighty God, in His love for humanity and for all creation, grants us new beginnings and new mercies for our ministry in preaching the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
I also take this opportunity to thank you for the brotherly expressions of your care and concern for the Church of which I am primate, and for the future of Orthodoxy in America. Several weeks ago, I received your emissary who shared with me informally some of your thoughts, concerns and questions. We will, of course, reflect on these matters. More recently, you had the Chief Secretary of the Holy Synod send me documents concerning the election of His Eminence, Archbishop Spyridon as the new archbishop for the Greek Archdiocese in the United States. These were received with all due respect, and I look forward to welcoming the new archbishop, and to working closely with him in our common efforts to be witnesses for Orthodoxy on this continent.
Your All Holiness, I take this opportunity in all humility and sincerity to also share with you a perspective on developments regarding the Church of Albania. Since the election of His Beatitude, Anastasios (Yanoulatos) as the primate of the Church of Albania by the Holy Church of Constantinople, I have endeavored to support him in his primatial ministry by bearing witness to his integrity, his missionary zeal, his dedication to the upbuilding of the Church in Albania. I gave this support to Archbishop Anastasios openly and gladly—and in the face of considerable anxiety and tension regarding his appointment among many Albanian Orthodox clergy and laity within the Albanian Archdiocese which is a part of the Orthodox Church in America. I believe that my efforts were little by little rewarded with a measure of success. However, with the consecration of three new bishops for Albania—none of whom are of Albanian nationality—the tensions and anxieties among Orthodox Albanians here and in Albania are stimulated once again. This is a reality which I feel you would certainly want to know in assessing the situation in Albania.
Once again, Most Beloved in the Lord, I send you greetings in the same of the Lord Jesus Christ at the beginning of the ecclesiastical New Year. I embrace you in the love of Christ, and I ask for your patriarchal prayers for my unworthiness, and for the whole flock which is in my care.
Your brother and concelebrant,
+ THEODOSIUS
Archbishop of Washington,
Metropolitan of All America and Canada