His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel of the Romanian Orthodox Church sent an official message to participants in the 32nd International Scientific Theological Congress Pavleia in Veria, Greece, describing the Holy Apostle Paul’s teaching on Holy Baptism as central to Christian life and the Church’s witness in the contemporary world.
Addressing the congress dedicated to St Paul and Holy Baptism, the Patriarch said the sacrament unites believers with Christ and His Church, grants the forgiveness of sins and marks the beginning of a new life in the Holy Spirit. He also praised the Congress as an important forum for deepening Orthodox theological reflection on the Apostle to the Nations and the enduring significance of his writings.
Please find below Patriarch Daniel’s message to the Pavleia Congress 2026 in both English and Greek.
St Paul the Apostle: Great Teacher of Holy Baptism
With profound joy in our Lord Jesus Christ, We received the invitation to participate in the thirty-second International Scientific Theological Congress Pavleia, dedicated this year to the theme ‘The Apostle Paul and Holy Baptism,’ organised by the Metropolis of Veria, Naoussa and Kampania of the Church of Greece in Veria from 26 to 29 June 2026.
The International Pavleia Congress in Veria is among the most significant academic and ecclesial gatherings devoted to the study of the writings and theological legacy of the Holy Apostle Paul. It brings together Orthodox hierarchs, clergy and theologians whose research and reflections contribute to a deeper understanding of the Pauline message and its continuing relevance for the life of the Orthodox Church in the contemporary world.
This year’s theme, ‘The Apostle Paul and Holy Baptism,’ is both timely and theologically profound, for through the Mystery of Holy Baptism the human person is incorporated into the Church of Christ, receives the forgiveness of sins, begins a life of holiness and is granted the promise of eternal life.
In the theology of the Holy Apostle Paul, the Mystery of Holy Baptism is the liturgical and sacramental act through which the newly baptised becomes a member of the Church of Christ. According to St Paul, through Holy Baptism, the believer also becomes a mystical participant in the death and Resurrection of the Lord, receiving the gift of a new life that leads to salvation:
“Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptised into Jesus Christ were baptised into His death? Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:3–4).
Holy Baptism therefore marks the beginning of a new life in which the old person, enslaved by sin, is crucified with Christ, while the new person is born into life in the Holy Spirit. This new reality inaugurated through Holy Baptism is expressed fully in St Paul’s confession:
“It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20).
For the Holy Apostle Paul, this transformation possesses not only a personal but also an ecclesial dimension, because those who are baptised become members of the Body of Christ, that is, of the Church. As he writes:
“For by one Spirit are we all baptised into one body” (1 Corinthians 12:13).
The Mystery of Holy Baptism is therefore the foundation of Christian unity within the Church of Christ:
“For as many of you as have been baptised into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:27–28).
In particular, the Holy Apostle Paul teaches that, through the grace bestowed in Holy Baptism, the Christian receives, in addition to the forgiveness of sins, three great gifts: the gift of adoption as children of God (cf. Romans 8:14–16), the gift of the soul’s resurrection from the death caused by sin (cf. Romans 8:10–11; Galatians 4:6), and the pledge of eternal life (cf. Romans 6:4–5, 23).
The organisation of the thirty-second International Scientific Theological Congress Pavleia provides a welcome opportunity for profound spiritual joy and theological reflection on the Mystery of Holy Baptism in the writings of the Holy Apostle Paul. The papers presented at this congress offer participants the opportunity to rediscover the value and significance of the Mystery of Baptism for the lives of the faithful and for the Orthodox Christian witness in today’s society.
In conclusion, We pray that the Most Holy Trinity will bless the work of this congress, its organisers and all who take part, granting them the joy of fraternal communion in the light of the Holy Apostle Paul’s theology of Christian Baptism.
With paternal blessing in our Lord Jesus Christ,
† Daniel
Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church
Ὁ Ἀπόστολος Παῦλος, μέγας διδάσκαλος τοῦ Μυστηρίου τοῦ Ἁγίου Βαπτίσματος
Μετ’ ἐξαιρέτου χαρᾶς ἐν Κυρίῳ ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστῷ, ἐδεξάμεθα τὴν εὐγενῆ πρόσκλησιν συμμετοχῆς εἰς τὴν ΛΒ΄ Διεθνὲς Θεολογικὸν Ἐπιστημονικὸν Συνέδριον «Παύλεια», ἔχουσαν θέμα «Ὁ Ἀπόστολος Παῦλος καὶ τὸ Βάπτισμα», διοργανούμενον ὑπὸ τῆς Ἱερᾶς Μητροπόλεως Βεροίας, Ναούσης καὶ Καμπανίας τῆς Ἐκκλησίας τῆς Ἑλλάδος, ἐν Βεροίᾳ, κατὰ τὸ διάστημα 26–29 Ἰουνίου 2026.
Τὸ διεθνῶς καταξιωμένον θεολογικὸν συνέδριον «Παύλεια» συνιστᾷ ἕνα ἐκ τῶν σημαντικωτέρων θεσμῶν τῆς συγχρόνου ὀρθοδόξου θεολογικῆς μαρτυρίας, ἀφιερωμένον εἰς τὴν μελέτην τοῦ προσώπου, τοῦ ἔργου καὶ τῆς θεοπνεύστου διδασκαλίας τοῦ Ἁγίου Ἀποστόλου Παύλου, συγκεντροῦν ἱεράρχας, κληρικοὺς καὶ θεολόγους, οἵτινες διὰ τῆς μελέτης καὶ τῆς ἐπιστημονικῆς ἐρεύνης συμβάλλουσιν εἰς τὴν βαθύτεραν πρόσληψιν τοῦ παυλείου λόγου καὶ εἰς τὴν ἀνάδειξιν τῆς ἀεννάου ἐπικαιρότητος αὐτοῦ διὰ τὴν ζωήν τῆς Ὀρθοδόξου Ἐκκλησίας καὶ τὴν μαρτυρίαν αὐτῆς ἐν τῷ συγχρόνῳ κόσμῳ. Τὸ φετινο θέμα, «Ὁ Ἀπόστολος Παῦλος καὶ τὸ Βάπτισμα», διακρίνεται διὰ τὴν ἀέναον ἐπικαιρότητα καὶ τὸ βαθὺ θεολογικὸν αὐτοῦ περιεχόμενον, καθόσον διὰ τοῦ Μυστηρίου τοῦ Ἁγίου Βαπτίσματος ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἐνσωματοῦται εἰς τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν τοῦ Χριστοῦ, λαμβάνει τὴν ἄφεσιν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν, εἰσέρχεται εἰς νέαν ἐν Χριστῷ ζωήν καὶ προγεύεται τὴν δωρεὰν τῆς αἰωνίου ζωῆς.
Ἐν τῇ θεολογίᾳ τοῦ Ἁγίου Ἀποστόλου Παύλου, τὸ Μυστήριον τοῦ Βαπτίσματος ἀποτελεῖ τὴν ἱερὰν καὶ μυστηριακὴν πράξιν, δι’ ἧς ὁ νεοφώτιστος καθίσταται μέλος τῆς Ἐκκλησίας τοῦ Χριστοῦ. Ἔτι δέ, κατὰ τὸν Ἀπόστολον Παῦλον, διὰ τοῦ Μυστηρίου τοῦ Ἁγίου Βαπτίσματος ὁ πιστὸς μετέχει μυστικῶς τοῦ θανάτου καὶ τῆς Ἀναστάσεως τοῦ Κυρίου, ἀξιούμενος τῆς δωρεᾶς τῆς καινῆς καὶ σωτηρίου ζωῆς. Διὰ τοῦτο ὁ Ἀπόστολος Παῦλος γράφει· « Ἢ ἀγνοεῖτε ὅτι ὅσοι ἐβαπτίσθημεν εἰς Χριστὸν Ἰησοῦν εἰς τὸν θάνατον αὐτοῦ ἐβαπτίσθημεν; Συνετάφημεν οὖν αὐτῷ διὰ τοῦ βαπτίσματος εἰς τὸν θάνατον, ἵνα ὥσπερ ἠγέρθη Χριστὸς ἐκ νεκρῶν διὰ τῆς δόξης τοῦ Πατρός, οὕτω καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐν καινότητι ζωῆς περιπατήσωμεν» (Ῥωμ. 6, 3-4).
Διὰ τοῦτο, τὸ Ἅγιον Βάπτισμα ἀποτελεῖ τὴν ἀφετηρίαν τῆς νέας ἐν Χριστῷ ζωῆς, καθ’ ἣν ὁ παλαιὸς ἄνθρωπος, ὁ τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ δεδουλωμένος, συσταυροῦται τῷ Χριστῷ, ὁ δὲ καινὸς ἄνθρωπος γεννᾶται εἰς ζωὴν ἐν Πνεύματι Ἁγίῳ. Ἡ καινὴ αὕτη ἐν Χριστῷ ζωή, ἡ ἐγκαινιαζομένη διὰ τοῦ Μυστηρίου τοῦ Ἁγίου Βαπτίσματος, ἐκφράζεται κατ’ ἐξοχὴν ἐν τῇ παυλείῳ ὁμολογίᾳ· «ζῶ δὲ οὐκέτι ἐγώ, ζῇ δὲ ἐν ἐμοὶ Χριστός» (Γαλ. 2, 20). Κατὰ τὸν Ἅγιον Ἀπόστολον Παῦλον, ἡ μεταμόρφωσις αὕτη οὐχὶ μόνον ἀφορᾷ τὴν προσωπικὴν πνευματικὴν πορείαν τοῦ πιστοῦ, ἀλλὰ ἔχει καὶ βαθεῖαν ἐκκλησιολογικὴν σημασίαν, καθότι οἱ βαπτισθέντες καθίστανται μέλη τοῦ Σώματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ, τουτέστιν αὐτῆς τῆς Ἐκκλησίας. Διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ὁ θεῖος Ἀπόστολος Παῦλος ἐπισημαίνει «καὶ γὰρ ἐν ἑνὶ Πνεύματι ἡμεῖς πάντες εἰς ἓν σῶμα ἐβαπτίσθημεν» (Α΄ Κορ. 12, 13).
Ὅθεν, τὸ Μυστήριον τοῦ Βαπτίσματος ἀποτελεῖ τὸ θεμέλιον τῆς ἐνότητος τῶν πιστῶν ἐν τῇ Ἐκκλησίᾳ τοῦ Χριστοῦ· «Ὅσοι γὰρ εἰς Χριστὸν ἐβαπτίσθητε, Χριστὸν ἐνεδύσασθε· οὐκ ἔνι Ἰουδαῖος οὐδὲ Ἕλλην· οὐκ ἔνι δοῦλος οὐδὲ ἐλεύθερος· οὐκ ἔνι ἄρσεν καὶ θῆλυ· πάντες γὰρ ὑμεῖς εἷς ἐστε ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ» (Γαλ. 3, 27-28). Ἰδιαιτέρως δέ, ὁ Ἅγιος Ἀπόστολος Παῦλος διδάσκει ὅτι, διὰ τῆς χάριτος τοῦ Ἁγίου Βαπτίσματος, ὁ χριστιανὸς λαμβάνει, πέραν τῆς ἀφέσεως τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν, τρεῖς μεγάλας δωρεάς: τὸ χάρισμα τῆς θείας υἱοθεσίας (πρβλ. Ῥωμ. 8, 14-16), τὸ χάρισμα τῆς ἀναστάσεως τῆς ψυχῆς ἐκ τοῦ θανάτου, τοῦ προξενηθέντος ὑπὸ τῆς ἁμαρτίας (πρβλ. Ῥωμ. 8, 10-11· Γαλ. 4, 6), καὶ τὸν ἀρραβῶνα τῆς αἰωνίου ζωῆς (πρβλ. Ῥωμ. 6, 4, 5 καὶ 23).
Ἡ πραγματοποίησις τοῦ ΛΒ΄ Διεθνοῦς Ἐπιστημονικοῦ Θεολογικοῦ Συνεδρίου «Παύλεια» ἀποτελεῖ ἀφορμὴν ἐκλεκτῆς πνευματικῆς χαρᾶς καὶ γονίμου θεολογικοῦ προβληματισμοῦ περὶ τοῦ Μυστηρίου τοῦ Ἁγίου Βαπτίσματος ἐν τῇ παυλείῳ θεολογίᾳ. Αἱ παρουσιαζόμεναι εἰσηγήσεις καὶ ἐπιστημονικαὶ συμβολαὶ συμβάλλουσιν εἰς τὴν βαθύτεραν κατανόησιν τῆς θεολογίας τοῦ Βαπτίσματος καὶ ἀναδεικνύουσι τὴν διαρκῆ σημασίαν αὐτοῦ διὰ τὴν ζωήν τῶν πιστῶν καὶ διὰ τὴν μαρτυρίαν τῆς Ὀρθοδόξου Ἐκκλησίας ἐν τῷ συγχρόνῳ κόσμῳ.
Κατακλείοντες, δεόμεθα τῆς Παναγίας Τριάς ὅπως εὐλογῇ τὰς ἐργασίας τοῦ συνεδρίου τούτου, τοὺς ἀξίους διοργανωτὰς καὶ πάντας τοὺς συμμετέχοντας, χαριζομένη αὐτοῖς τὴν χαρὰν τῆς ἀδελφικῆς κοινωνίας ἐν τῷ φωτὶ τῆς παυλείου θεολογίας περὶ τοῦ χριστιανικοῦ Βαπτίσματος.
Μετὰ πατρικῶν εὐλογιῶν ἐν Ἰησοῦ Χριστῷ τῷ Κυρίῳ ἡμῶν,
† Δανιήλ
Πατριάρχης τῆς Ὀρθοδόξου Ρουμανικῆς Ἐκκλησίας
Photo: Metropolis of Veria, Naoussa and Kampania
