Syrian Aramean Cathedral of Saint Ephraim, Stockholm
Sunday, February 8th, 2026
Your Eminence Archbishop Benjamin,
Distinguished Guests,
With feelings of joy and honor, we stand before you today to celebrate the completion of thirty blessed years of your episcopal ministry in the embrace of the Syrian Aramean Church and of the flock entrusted to you by God.
Three decades of episcopal service are not merely a number. They are a living testimony of faith, sacrifice, and unceasing offering.
Your work is reflected in churches that have been founded, in communities that have been strengthened, in traditions that have been preserved, but above all in human souls that have found consolation and guidance through your word and your presence.
With wisdom, gentleness, and discernment, you stand beside every person; the joyful and the afflicted, the young who seek direction and the elderly who seek comfort.
Your word—simple yet profound—has the power to touch hearts, to calm spirits, and to inspire a course of a Christocentric life.
Equally significant as your ministry is your character. The kindness that marks every encounter with you and the steadfastness of your principles constitute a living example of a shepherd who does not lead from a distance, but walks together with his flock.
The inspiration you have offered all these years transcends the boundaries of administration and pastoral responsibility.
You inspire unity where there is distance, hope where there is disappointment, faith where there is doubt.
By your example, you teach us that the true strength of the Church lies in love, forgiveness, and unconditional service.
Your Eminence,
Today, along with His Grace Bishop Bartholomew of Elaia, we came to express our joy in having you among us as a supporter and fellow traveler in our joys and our trials, so that in your person may be fulfilled what the Apostle Paul exhorts: “Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.”
Please accept this small gift, together with our heartfelt prayer that the Lord may grant you health, strength, so that you may continue, for many years, to shepherd, to enlighten, and to inspire.
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit multiply the fruits of your ministry and of your distinguished collaborators, both clergy and laity. Amen!
