Accompanying Mr. Phạm Dũng were Mr. Nguyễn Đắc Tuấn, Director General of the Committee’s Department of Caodaist Affairs; Mrs. Lê Thị Thanh Trang, Vice President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front’s Ben Tre chapter; Mr. Đào Văn Tụ, Deputy Director of the Department of Home Affairs and Head of the Committee for Religious Affairs of Ben Tre province; and representatives from the local authorities at all levels.

Representatives from the Ante-Creation Church included Head of Religious Affairs Nguyễn Quang Sậu, dignitary of the High Council; Head of Secular Affairs Nguyễn Thành Xích, dignitary of the High Council; Principal Archbishop Nguyễn Văn Bảy, Head of the Standing Committee of the Church; as well as about 120 dignitaries of the High Council, the Standing Committee, the Nine Religious Institutes, the Six Ministries, representative boards of provinces and management boards of parishes in 16 cities and provinces.

On behalf of the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Government Committee for Religious Affairs, Mr. Phạm Dũng congratulated the Ante-Creation Church on the religious practice achievements it has made in 2013, including the strengthening of the Standing Committee’s personnel, the organization of training classes for priests, mid-term conferment for dignitaries in all parishes, and the rebuilding of the Chau Minh Oratory in order to make it a beautiful Holy See in the Great Way for the Third Universal Salvation.

Especially, in religious activities, the dignitaries of the Ante-Creation Church have actively played the key role in organizing training classes for Caodaist churches, collaborated with the Caodaist Missionary Church to hold the fourth religious practice conference in the central city of Da Nang, and joined delegations of religious dignitaries to visit Truong Sa island district and provided relief for people affected by disasters in the central province of Quang Binh.

On the occasion of the General Conference of the Ante-Creation Church and the Ha Nguyen ceremony to mark the 89^th founding anniversary of Caodaism, Mr. Phạm Dũng extended his best wishes to the leaders of the High Council and Standing Committee as well as all the church’s dignitaries and followers. He said he believes that the Church will harvest greater achievements in 2014, together with the people nationwide contributing to the cause of building Vietnam to become a strong nation with wealthy people and civilized society following the motto “glorious country, luminous religion”.

Representing the Ante-Creation Church, Principal Archbishop Thái Bé Thanh, Vice Chairman of the Church’s Standing Committee thanked the Party, the State and especially the Government Committee for Religious Affairs and the authorities of Ben Tre province for creating favorable conditions for the Church’s dignitaries and followers to practice their belief under their Charter and the State law. Dignitaries of the Ante-Creation Church are determined to continue promoting the tradition of “serving the religion and loving the country”, practising the religion in the way that closely attached to the nation, and encouraging followers to actively participate in economic, social, cultural and charitable activities in the locality./.

Hoàng Minh Thiện