Patriarch Teoctist I was "the primate of a Church which was particularly close to the Roman one; he accompanied his believers in the period of dictatorship, and also during the transition, fostering reapproaching between Christian and Orthodox Christians". Thus, Msgr. Marco Gnavi, director of the Office for ecumenical and interreligious dialogue of the diocese of Rome, reminded SIR of the Patriarch of the Rumanian Orthodox Church, Teoctist I, who died in Bucharest at the age of 92 yesterday afternoon. "Of him added Msgr. Gnavi, – we recall his relationship with John Paul II with particular intensity, as well as his visit to Rome, which responded to the visit of the Polish Pope to Romania, the first country with Orthodox majority which received the Pope with the people’s consent". Patriarch Teoctist I "leaves a Church looking at the future as great spiritual richness and great monastic tradition, and leaves his heritage of Christian serenity to future generations, even before history upheavals".
