Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' has congratulated Metropolitan Tikhon, Primate of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA), on his 60th birthday, praising his years of service and wishing him strength and divine assistance in continuing to lead the church.

The congratulatory message was published Wednesday on the official website of the Russian Orthodox Church. In his address, Patriarch Kirill highlighted Metropolitan Tikhon’s long-standing pastoral and monastic service and expressed his hopes for the metropolitan’s continued health and guidance of the Orthodox Church in America.

“On this significant day, I prayerfully wish that the Lord will continue to renew and replenish your strength, strengthen you in your primatial ministry for the benefit of the American Orthodox Church, and preserve you in good health for many years,” the patriarch said in his message.

Patriarch Kirill also noted that Metropolitan Tikhon’s monastic name, chosen in honor of St. Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus’, reflects a spiritual connection with the former head of the Russian Church, who served as a missionary bishop in North America before becoming Patriarch.

The Orthodox Church in America includes hundreds of parishes, monasteries, and theological institutions across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Its history is closely connected with the Russian Orthodox Church, as Russian missionaries brought Orthodox Christianity to Alaska in the late 18th century. In 1970, the Moscow Patriarchate granted autocephaly, or self-governing status, to the North American Metropolia, which became the Orthodox Church in America.

Metropolitan Tikhon, born Mark Mollard, has led the Orthodox Church in America since 2012. Before his election as primate, he served as Archbishop of Philadelphia and Eastern Pennsylvania and spent many years in monastic and pastoral ministry.

He took the monastic name Tikhon in honor of St. Tikhon of Moscow (Belavin), who headed the Orthodox mission in North America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and played a major role in the development of Orthodox Christianity on the continent before later becoming Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'.

In recent years, Metropolitan Tikhon has made several visits to Russia and participated in major church celebrations. Regular contacts continue between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Orthodox Church in America, including joint theological, educational, and humanitarian initiatives.