“We all remember his form, humility, simplicity, selflessness and charity,” said Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to pay tribute to the late Metropolitan Theodoroupolis, Germanos, during his speech at the Sismanoglio Mansion in Constantinople for the presentation of the book “In memoriam of Metropolitan Germanos of Theodoroupolis (1930 – 2018): Witness and Testimonials,” published by the Metropolis of Derkoi.
“Metropolitan Germanos of Theodoroupolis co-existed, participated in the life of the Mother Church, as each of us did, but was not exactly one of us. He was a special person,” pointed out the Ecumenical Patriarch and recalled that the late Hierarch was born and bred within the “long-suffering Greek community” and the Mother Church of Constantinople.
As the Ecumenical Patriarch said, the late Metropolitan of Theodoroupolis, “in the age of false needs and ostentatious waste of goods, he was advocate for the sharing of goods. In a culture of flourishing, he was interested in helping his neighbor while ignoring his needs.”
The Ecumenical Patriarch also made a special reference to the ministry of the late Hierarch as spiritual father of the Archdiocese of Constantinople and the neighboring Metropolises for more than twenty years.
Concluding his address, the Ecumenical Patriarch congratulated Elder Metropolitan Apostolos of Derkoi and his diocese on the initiative of publishing the book dedicated to Metropolitan Germanos of Theodoropolis.