Welcome address by His Eminence Teofan, Metropolitan of Moldavia and Bukovina, during the opening ceremony of the International Orthodox Youth Meeting, Friday, 1 September 2017.

On behalf of the hierarchs, the parish priests, and the faithful in the Metropolis of Moldavia and Bukovina, I wish all those present: Welcome to Iasi!

I welcome you, Your Beatitude Patriarch Daniel, to the place where you shepherded and among the believers you served for over two decades. We are waiting for Your Beatitude’s blessing and address. We thank you for your entire labor carried out for the profession of Christ our Lord, for the ministry of His Church in Romania, and for the Romanians from outside the borders of our country.

I wholeheartedly thank all those who have supported this beautiful meeting, first to my collaborators from the Holy Metropolis, and second to those who helped us financially: the state secretariat for religious affairs, the Iasi City Hall, the County Council. We thank the high schools, the colleges, and especially the universities in Iasi so that the city would be a good host for you during these few days.

Welcome to all the participants in this meeting! It is an occasion for us and for you to prove that despite many difficulties, by the grace of God, it is still possible today to be a Christian and young, to be a Christian and joyful, full of enthusiasm, to be a Christian, young and free!

Translated into English by basilica.ro.