Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia has sent congratulations to Metropolitan Rastislav, the Primate of the Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia, marking the 12th anniversary of his enthronement. The message was reported by the Communications Service of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations.

In his congratulatory address, Patriarch Kirill praised Metropolitan Rastislav’s pastoral service and wished him good health and God’s assistance in his continued primatial ministry. He also extended wishes of peace and well-being to the clergy and faithful of the Church.

Metropolitan Rastislav (secular name: Ondrej Gont) has led the Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia since January 2014. He was elected at an extraordinary church council in the city of Prešov and, at the time of his election, became one of the youngest primates in the Orthodox world at the age of 36. His enthronement took place at the Cathedral of St. Alexander Nevsky in Prešov.

The election and installation of Metropolitan Rastislav brought an end to a period of internal divisions that had affected the Church since 2013 and marked an important step toward restoring its canonical unity. In the years that followed, relations with the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople were normalized. In 2016, following negotiations in Istanbul, canonical disagreements were resolved and the autocephalous status of the Church was reaffirmed.

The Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia traces its spiritual roots to the mission of Saints Cyril and Methodius in the ninth century, although an unbroken Orthodox tradition in the region was interrupted for many centuries. The modern church structure began to take shape in the 20th century after the collapse of Austro-Hungary, with the involvement of the Serbian Orthodox Church and later the Russian Orthodox Church. In 1951, the Russian Orthodox Church granted autocephaly to the Church, which was finally recognized by the Ecumenical Patriarchate in 1998.

Today, the Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia unites parishes in both countries and comprises four dioceses: the Prague and Olomouc–Brno dioceses in the Czech Republic, and the Prešov and Michalovce–Košice dioceses in Slovakia.