By His Eminence Metropolitan Cleopas of Sweden “The spirits return at night,Little lights from unredeemed souls,And if you look up there on the battlements,You will see figures staring back at you. And then a sense of lament overtakes you,And leads you through the narrow alleys,The City (Constantinople)—an old beloved one,Whom you meet in a stranger’s…

Βy His Eminence Metropolitan Cleopas of Sweden Vasilopita/St. Basil’s pie is one of the most recognizable and beloved customs of the New Year. It is not merely a sweet bread, but a living bearer of history, faith, and cultural continuity, bridging Antiquity, Byzantium, and modern Greece, both within and beyond its borders. The origin of…

By His Eminence Metropolitan Cleopas of Sweden New Year’s Day, as a chronological landmark and a cultural symbol, is a subject of particular interest for the history of religions and cultural anthropology, and it constitutes a privileged field of study for understanding the ways in which societies ascribe meaning to time. Therefore, the beginning of…

By His Eminence Metropolitan Cleopas of Sweden Human experience, across all cultures and in every age, has associated two elements with the very core of life and salvation: light and water. Without light there is no vision, orientation, or knowledge; without water there is no life, purity, or renewal. It is therefore no coincidence that…