The message reads, in part:
“The Great Easter holiday, celebrated by Christians all over the world, awakens the kindest feelings in the hearts of people, giving them joy and hope and strengthening their faith.
I would like to express my profound gratitude for your tireless and selfless service, for your major personal contribution to preserving the enduring values of Orthodox Christianity, the immensely rich historical, cultural and spiritual values of our nation and to educating the rising generation. Of course, I would also like to thank you for fruitful cooperation during the current complicated period when we find it so important to pool our efforts for the sake of steady development and strengthening of the Fatherland.”