![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/552822566_1095783242708085_7133095858671370669_n-2-1024x945.jpg?ssl=1\")
<\/a><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\nMore than fifty volunteers attended the dinner, while over twenty others, due to personal reasons and family obligations, were unable to be present.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After expressing his gratitude to those in attendance, as well as to those absent for valid reasons, Metropolitan Cleopas delivered the following address:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cVery Reverend Fr. Bartholomew,
Reverend Fr. George,
Beloved Volunteers and co-workers in the ministry of our local Church,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If this historic event was crowned with order, exemplary organization, and success, it is thanks to the willingness and tireless efforts of your hearts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All of you\u2014young and old, men and women\u2014proved in practice what \u2018service\u2019 truly means.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Lord taught: \u2018Whoever wants to be great must be the servant of all\u2019 (Mark 10:43). You live out this teaching, just as Holy Scripture exhorts us: \u2018Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares\u2019 (Hebrews 13:2).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Saint John Chrysostom reminds us that \u2018whoever offers hospitality, offers it to Christ\u2019. Indeed, in the person of His All-Holiness, you hosted the Lord Himself, whom he represents and confesses \u2018in the midst of the earth\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Patriarch\u2019s visit is not only an honor of the past but also a responsibility and mission for the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lastly, I wish to thank those to whom our Church always owes gratitude: the owners of the restaurant \u2018Cypern,\u2019 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
May the God of love bless and strengthen all of you\u2014those present and those absent for valid reasons\u2014together 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.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1254,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[14,15],"tags":[26,24],"class_list":["post-1248","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ecumenical-patriarch-in-stockholm-2025","category-news","tag-ecumenical-patriarch-in-stockholm-2025","tag-st-georgios-cathedral-stockholm"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/featured-12.jpg?fit=650%2C356&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":851,"url":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/ecumenical-patriarch-bartholomew-at-metropolitan-cleopas-of-swedens-book-presentation\/","url_meta":{"origin":1248,"position":0},"title":"Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew at Metropolitan Cleopas of Sweden’s Book Presentation","author":"mplexus","date":"September 4, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"[:en] [:el] [:]","rel":"","context":"In "Ecumenical Patriarch in Stockholm 2025"","block_context":{"text":"Ecumenical Patriarch in Stockholm 2025","link":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/category\/news\/ecumenical-patriarch-in-stockholm-2025\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"[:en]Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew at Metropolitan Cleopas of Sweden's Book Presentation 2025[:]","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/featured2-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C612&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/featured2-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C612&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/featured2-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C612&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/featured2-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C612&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/featured2-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C612&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":221,"url":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/%ce%b1%cf%86%ce%af%cf%87%ce%b8%ce%b7-%cf%83%cf%84%ce%b7%ce%bd-%cf%83%cf%84%ce%bf%ce%ba%cf%87%cf%8c%ce%bb%ce%bc%ce%b7-%ce%bf-%ce%bf%ce%b9%ce%ba%ce%bf%cf%85%ce%bc%ce%b5%ce%bd%ce%b9%ce%ba%cf%8c%cf%82\/","url_meta":{"origin":1248,"position":1},"title":"Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew Arrives in Stockholm","author":"mplexus","date":"August 21, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"[:en] The Holy Metropolis of Sweden and All Scandinavia and its Shepherd, His Eminence Metropolitan Cleopas, welcomed His All-Holiness, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, yesterday afternoon, Thursday, August 21, 2025, at Arlanda Airport in Stockholm. Responding to the kind invitation of His Eminence Archbishop Martin Mod\u00e9us of Uppsala and Primate of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ecumenical Patriarch in Stockholm 2025"","block_context":{"text":"Ecumenical Patriarch in Stockholm 2025","link":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/category\/news\/ecumenical-patriarch-in-stockholm-2025\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/featured-2.jpg?fit=600%2C303&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/featured-2.jpg?fit=600%2C303&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/featured-2.jpg?fit=600%2C303&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":407,"url":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/second-day-of-the-patriarchal-visit-to-stockholm\/","url_meta":{"origin":1248,"position":2},"title":"Second Day of the Patriarchal Visit to Stockholm","author":"mplexus","date":"August 22, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"[:en] His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, accompanied by the Members of His Entourage \u2014 His Eminence Metropolitan Apostolos of New Jersey, the Very Reverend Grand Ecclesiarch Aetios, and the Very Reverend Deacon Epiphanios and His Eminence Metropolitan Cleopas of Sweden and All Scandinavia \u2014 completed the second day of His\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ecumenical Patriarch in Stockholm 2025"","block_context":{"text":"Ecumenical Patriarch in Stockholm 2025","link":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/category\/news\/ecumenical-patriarch-in-stockholm-2025\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"[:en]Second Day of the Patriarchal Visit to Stockholm 2025[:]","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/featured-4.jpg?fit=600%2C252&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/featured-4.jpg?fit=600%2C252&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/featured-4.jpg?fit=600%2C252&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":506,"url":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/the-ecumenical-patriarch-departed-from-stockholm\/","url_meta":{"origin":1248,"position":3},"title":"The Ecumenical Patriarch Departed from Stockholm","author":"mplexus","date":"August 25, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"[:en] On the morning of Monday, August 25, 2025, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew concluded His visit to Stockholm. Prior to His departure, accompanied by the Members of the Patriarchal Entourage, He visited the Skogskyrkog\u00e5rden Cemetery, where He held a memorial service (trisagion) at the grave of the late Metropolitan\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ecumenical Patriarch in Stockholm 2025"","block_context":{"text":"Ecumenical Patriarch in Stockholm 2025","link":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/category\/news\/ecumenical-patriarch-in-stockholm-2025\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"[:en]The Ecumenical Patriarch Departed from Stockholm 2025[:]","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/featured-9.jpg?fit=600%2C384&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/featured-9.jpg?fit=600%2C384&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/featured-9.jpg?fit=600%2C384&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":488,"url":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/thyranoixia-service-at-the-st-george-cathedral-of-stockholm-by-ecumenical-patriarch-bartholomew\/","url_meta":{"origin":1248,"position":4},"title":"Thyranoixia Service at the St. George Cathedral of Stockholm by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew","author":"mplexus","date":"August 24, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"[:en] On the morning of Sunday, August 24, 2025, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew presided over the Divine Liturgy at the Saint George Cathedral of Stockholm, following the service of the Thyranoixia, which marked the completion of a thorough restoration of the Cathedral's exterior and interior. Present at the Divine\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ecumenical Patriarch in Stockholm 2025"","block_context":{"text":"Ecumenical Patriarch in Stockholm 2025","link":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/category\/news\/ecumenical-patriarch-in-stockholm-2025\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"[:en]Thyranoixia Service at the St. George Cathedral of Stockholm by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew 2025[:]","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/featured-7.jpg?fit=600%2C314&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/featured-7.jpg?fit=600%2C314&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/featured-7.jpg?fit=600%2C314&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2560,"url":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/the-holy-metropolis-of-sweden-on-the-election-of-his-grace-bishop-bartholomew-of-elaia\/","url_meta":{"origin":1248,"position":5},"title":"The Holy Metropolis of Sweden on the Election of His Grace Bishop Bartholomew of Elaia","author":"mplexus","date":"January 17, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"[:en] Following the conclusion of the proceedings of the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, convened on January 8 and 9, 2026 respectively, and during the first session of the first day, upon the return of His Eminence Metropolitan Cleopas of Sweden and All Scandinavia to his see\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Homilies"","block_context":{"text":"Homilies","link":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/category\/metropolitan\/homilies\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/featured-5.jpg?fit=800%2C458&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/featured-5.jpg?fit=800%2C458&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/featured-5.jpg?fit=800%2C458&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/featured-5.jpg?fit=800%2C458&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1248","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1248"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1248\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1279,"href":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1248\/revisions\/1279"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1254"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1248"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1248"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1248"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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