Opening message of the congress

This article presents the opening message delivered by Metropolitan Dimitri, president of the Assembly of Orthodox Bishops of France (Ecumenical Patriarchate), on the occasion of the 18th congress of the Orthodox Brotherhood in Western Europe, scheduled from April 30 to May 3, 2026. It is an inaugural address of a pastoral and institutional nature. The Metropolitan recalls the historical role of these congresses, organized for more than fifty years, as places of expression of Orthodox ecclesial unity in the West. He presents the thematic focuses of the congress: ethical responsibility of Orthodox Christians, parish and family life, and evangelical witness in contemporary society. On the theological level, the text articulates an ecclesiology of communion and engagement in the world, emphasizing that eucharistic unity grounds the capacity of Orthodox Christians dispersed in the West to collectively embody their faith.