On the evening of Monday, September 22, 2025, His Eminence Metropolitan Cleopas of Sweden and All Scandinavia hosted a thank-you dinner in the Fellowship Hall of the St. George Cathedral of Stockholm, in honor of the volunteers who contributed to the flawless organization of the recent Patriarchal Visit of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.
More than fifty volunteers attended the dinner, while over twenty others, due to personal reasons and family obligations, were unable to be present.
After expressing his gratitude to those in attendance, as well as to those absent for valid reasons, Metropolitan Cleopas delivered the following address:
“Very Reverend Fr. Bartholomew,
Reverend Fr. George,
Beloved Volunteers and co-workers in the ministry of our local Church,
With emotion and profound gratitude I welcome you and pay the due honor to all of you, the distinguished and blessed volunteers, who supported with selflessness and dedication the historic Visit of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to Stockholm and Uppsala, from August 21 to 25, 2025.
The arrival and paternal presence of His All-Holiness among us was a heaven-sent blessing and an invaluable gift, for through it our unity with the Mother Church of Constantinople was confirmed.
If this historic event was crowned with order, exemplary organization, and success, it is thanks to the willingness and tireless efforts of your hearts.
All of you—young and old, men and women—proved in practice what ‘service’ truly means.
The Lord taught: ‘Whoever wants to be great must be the servant of all’ (Mark 10:43). You live out this teaching, just as Holy Scripture exhorts us: ‘Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares’ (Hebrews 13:2).
Just as Patriarch Abraham welcomed the three strangers at the Oak of Mamre and became the recipient of God, so you, through your hospitality and readiness, became witnesses of the living Orthodox faith.
Saint John Chrysostom reminds us that ‘whoever offers hospitality, offers it to Christ’. Indeed, in the person of His All-Holiness, you hosted the Lord Himself, whom he represents and confesses ‘in the midst of the earth’.
In this historic moment each of you placed your own stone, enabling our local Church to rise to the height of the great honor bestowed upon it. For this reason, today our gratitude is not only human but also theological.
We thank you, and at the same time we glorify God, the giver of all good things, who inspired you to work with unity and love, and to elicit favorable comments from our 70 visitors from 10 different countries, who were impressed by your kindness, eagerness, and sacrificial, enthusiastic volunteer service.
May the blessings of His All-Holiness be the beginning of a new course. The Holy Metropolis is called to continue, with renewed strength, its pastoral mission: caring for our youth, supporting our families, strengthening the weak, and promoting our culture and traditions.
The Patriarch’s visit is not only an honor of the past but also a responsibility and mission for the future.
Lastly, I wish to thank those to whom our Church always owes gratitude: the owners of the restaurant ‘Cypern,’ Mr. Nikolaos Athanasiou and Mr. Athanasios/Sakis Kalpakas, who always, as today, offer generously and with much willingness, allowing us to enjoy the exceptional flavors and quality that have rightfully earned them a high place in the culinary preferences of Swedish society.
May the God of love bless and strengthen all of you—those present and those absent for valid reasons—together with your families, loved ones, and relatives, and may He repay each of you for your effort and offering, granting you health, every blessing, and prosperity! Thank you.”
