FINAL CONCLUSIONS OF THE 5TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF THE ECUMENICAL PATRIARCHATE OF PASTORAL HEALTH CARE

Pastoral Health Care of the Ecumenical Patriarchate

December 9, 2022

To the Participants of the
Network of the Ecumenical Patriarchate for Pastoral Health Care

Your Beatitudes,
Your Eminences and Your Graces,
Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

It is with great joy that I present you with the “Final Conclusions of the 5^th International Conference of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Pastoral Health Care”. The “Conclusions” were presented to His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew on the 19^th of November 2022. His All-Holiness expressed his satisfaction with the success of the Conference. During our meeting, we discussed the future of the Patriarchal Network and the work of the Church in the area of pastoral care.

As you will read in the “Conclusions”, the Conference’s theme was “Ministering to mankind today, we care for the mankind of tomorrow. Two basic questions were posed. What direction should we now take after all that we have recently undergone? What type of world are we going to prepare for Mankind’s future generations? In the spirit of the Conference’s theme, which binds together the past, the present and the future, twenty-six speakers expressed constructive thoughts and posed questions and concerns that promoted interesting and lively discussions. These discussions took place in a free and open spirit of dialogue, bearing witness to the dialectic and unifying role of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and its Pastoral Network.

In this document, I have attempted to capture the “spirit” of the Conference, as it was expressed and shaped in the speakers’ presentations, the discussions and the interaction amongst its Participants. They are offered to you for future thought, discussion and consideration. You will be able to find all the presentations on our YouTube Channel.

The” Conclusions” and the videos of the presentations constitute a wealth of spiritual knowledge. We ask that you share this material with your fellow clergy, doctors, nurses and healthcare providers, and with whomever you think will benefit from this effort.

Surely, the “Conclusions” do not do justice to the speakers, who offered their rich empirical knowledge to the Participants with much love toward the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Patriarchal Network. We are all grateful for their efforts and their contribution. We also hope that they will continue to work with the Patriarchal Network in the future.

Allow me also to express once again my thanks to all those who, with great zest and zeal, successfully worked to organize this 5^th Conference. Special thanks to the eloquent speakers, those that participated, and especially to the Benefactors whom without their support, this event would not have been possible. 

The 5th Conference on Rhodes opened new horizons: that its participants will work together through the Patriarchal Network to develop and to cultivate our ministries in order to respond to the demands of today’s people.    

Remaining as your humble servant to assist you in any way possible to meet this goal, I greet you,

With respect for your work, which is indeed pleasing to God,

Protopresbyter of the Ecumencial Throne
Rev. Stavros Kofinas
Coordinator of the Network of the Ecumenical Patriarchate
for Pastoral Health Care