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communities to religious education and to the full function and exercise of
their religious duties, without any form of direct or indirect interference by the
state.

11. The Orthodox Church addresses herself to young people who seek for a
plenitude of life replete with freedom, justice, creativity and also love. She
invites them to join themselves consciously with the Church of Him who is
Truth and Life. To come, offering to the ecclesial body their vitality, their
anxieties, their concerns and their expectations. Young people are not only the
future, but also the dynamic and creative present of the Church, both on a
local and on a world-wide level.

12. The Holy and Great Council has opened our horizon towards the
contemporary diverse and multifarious world. It has emphasised our
responsibility in place and in time, ever with the perspective of eternity. The
Orthodox Church, preserving intact her Sacramental and Soteriological
character, is sensitive to the pain, the distress and the cry for justice and peace
of the peoples of the world. She “proclaims day after day the good tidings of
His salvation, announcing His glory among the nations and His wonders
among all peoples” (Psalm 95).
Let us pray that “the God of all grace, who has called us to his eternal glory in
Christ, will, after we have suffered a little, Himself restore, establish, and
strengthen and settle us. To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever.
Amen” (1 Peter 5.10-11).

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