![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/650396950_1247352757551132_386105765984613388_n-1300x.jpg?ssl=1\")
<\/a><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\nDear Deacon Christian,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For more than twenty years you have voluntarily offered diaconal service to your ageing spiritual father, the Reverend Dr. Benedikt Pohjanen, that venerable clergyman and prolific author.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You have cared for him in his declining years with the gentleness of the Good Samaritan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Today the Church honours that quiet ministry of compassion. We also note with gratitude that you are the second physician\/Doctor of Medicine to be ordained in our Metropolis; the first being the Rev. Dr. Nikolaos Rigas, who now serves as assistant priest in the Apostle Cleopas Parish in Kalmar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is with deep appreciation that we thank you for your willingness to continue offering your medical knowledge and pastoral gifts to the Holy Metropolis of Sweden and All Scandinavia, especially to our brothers and sisters in Lule\u00e5 and \u00d6verkalix.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As you prepare to found a new parish in Lule\u00e5 dedicated to Saint Tychon the Athonite\u2014newly canonized by the Ecumenical Patriarchate\u2014we pray that your ministry will follow the example of that humble elder who taught his disciples to live by the Jesus Prayer, obedience and love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
May this new parish become an oasis of prayer and a refuge for the faithful in northern Sweden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your ordination as a doctor\u2013priest is deeply rooted in the life of the Church. The Old Testament extols the vocation of physicians. The Wisdom book of Sirach commands believers to \u201chonor physicians for their services, for the Lord created them,\u201d and affirms that their skill \u201ccomes from the Most High.\u201d (Sirach 38:1-8)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It reminds us that \u201cthe Lord created medicines out of the earth, and the sensible will not despise them\u201d. (Ecclesiasticus 38:4)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the parable of the Good Samaritan, our Lord praises the compassionate traveller who \u201cbound up the wounded man\u2019s wounds, pouring on oil and wine\u201d (Luke 10:34); a testimony that practical medicine and mercy belong together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When the Pharisees questioned Christ\u2019s fellowship with sinners, He replied, \u201cThose who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick\u201d; (Mark 2:17) our Lord thus acknowledged the dignity of the medical vocation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Saint Luke the Evangelist, whom Paul calls \u201cthe beloved physician\u201d, (Colossians 4:14) shows that a healer can also be an Evangelist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Saint James exhorts the sick to call the presbyters to pray and anoint them with oil\u2014revealing that sacramental healing and physical care are complementary, not conflicting. (James 5:14)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Church Fathers celebrated the union of medical science and pastoral ministry. Saint Basil the Great taught that the art of medicine is a gift from God. He said that God \u201chas vouchsafed us the medical art\u201d (\u039c\u03b5\u03b3\u03ac\u03bb\u03bf\u03b9 \u039a\u03b1\u03bd\u03cc\u03bd\u03b5\u03c2, \u0395\u03c1\u03ce\u03c4\u03b7\u03bc\u03b1 55, \u03a0\u03b5\u03c1\u03af \u03b9\u03b1\u03c4\u03c1\u03b9\u03ba\u03ae\u03c2) and we must use it carefully, not placing all our hope in it but giving glory to God who created herbs and medicines. He insisted that believers should call the doctor yet continue to hope in God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a letter to the physician Eustathius (\u0395\u03c0\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03bf\u03bb\u03ae 189 \u03c0\u03c1\u03bf\u03c2 \u0395\u03c5\u03c3\u03c4\u03ac\u03b8\u03b9\u03bf\u03bd \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03b9\u03b1\u03c4\u03c1\u03cc\u03bd), he praised physicians for enlarging \u201cthe accepted limits of philanthropy\u201d by attending not only to people\u2019s bodies but also to the healing of their souls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Saint Basil\u2019s actions matched his words. Around 370 he established the Basileias, regarded by historians as the first hospital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Saint Gregory the Theologian described this \u201cnew city\u201d where diseases were studied, sympathy was put to the test and physicians and nurses treated the sick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Saint Basil argued that medicine is not opposed to God\u2019s will but is His gift; for every illness God created a remedy in nature and gave humanity intelligence to discover it. He thus united ascetic life with service to the poor and sick, convincing Christians that medical science is not a pagan deception but a means of mercy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Saint Gregory of Nazianzus similarly urged the faithful to seek the care of physicians and to take proper care of the body because it is God\u2019s creation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Saint John Chrysostom said: \u201cThe Church is a hospital and not a courtroom; do not leave without receiving healing\u201d. He used the parable of the Good Samaritan to identify Christ as the physician who heals our wounds and the inn as the Church where the wounded find treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The lives of saintly physicians also witness to this synergy. The Church honors the unmercenary physicians\u2014Saints Cosmas and Damian, Cyrus and John, Panteleimon and many others\u2014who healed without payment, seeing their medical skill as ministry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the twentieth century, Saint Luke of Simferopol, a renowned surgeon and bishop, continued to operate even while wearing his cassock and pectoral cross. He declared: \u201cI believe in God. I help people as a doctor; I help also as a pastor of the Church. Whom do I harm?\u201d. His life shows that a priest\u2013physician can treat bodies and souls without conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dear Deacon Christian,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your vocation as a physician aligns perfectly with the ministry you now embrace. Our tradition teaches that the faithful must care for the health of their bodies so that they may serve God, and that the priest is called to be a spiritual doctor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By continuing your medical practice while serving as a presbyter, you will incarnate the words of Saint Basil and Saint Luke of Simferopol. In your clinic you will anoint wounds with the skill of your hands, and in the church you will anoint souls with the grace of the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your new parish in Lule\u00e5 will bear the name of Saint Tychon the Athonite, whose recent canonization reminds us that holiness flourishes in every age. May his intercessions guide the new parish to be a living hospital of souls, offering the sacraments, ascetic life and the warmth of Christian community to all who seek healing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On behalf of the Holy Metropolis of Sweden, we congratulate you on your ordination to the priesthood and we welcome your wife, the Presbytera to be, and your entire family and friends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We thank you for the twenty years of voluntary service you have given to your spiritual father and to the Church.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We rejoice that you now join the ranks of priest\u2013physicians whose healing hands glorify God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
May the Lord grant you many years of fruitful ministry, health and strength. May you always be, as Sirach says, an honoured physician whose skill comes from the Most High, and may you help your flock to walk toward the Kingdom of God. Amen!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
St. George Cathedral of Stockholm Palm Sunday, April 5, 2026Your Grace Bishop Bartholomew of Elaia,Rev. Protopresbyter Fr. George,V. Rev. Hieromonk Fr. Ieronymos,Rev. Deacon Christian,Dearly Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ, On this luminous day when we celebrate the triumphant entry of our Lord into Jerusalem, we gather in joy to ordain Reverend Deacon Christian as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4092,"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":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[21,34,15],"tags":[64,22,24],"class_list":["post-4090","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-homilies","category-metropolitan","category-news","tag-easter-2026","tag-homily","tag-st-georgios-cathedral-stockholm"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/featured-7.jpg?fit=800%2C460&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1395,"url":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/visit-of\/","url_meta":{"origin":4090,"position":0},"title":"Welcoming a group from the Uspensky Cathedral Parish of the Orthodox Archdiocese of Helsinki & All Finland at St. Georgios Cathedral of Stockholm","author":"mplexus","date":"October 10, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"[:en] On Friday, October 10, 2025, we welcomed at the St. Georgios Cathedral of Stockholm a group from the Uspensky Cathedral Parish of the Orthodox Archdiocese of Helsinki & All Finland; Archpriest Rev. Fr. Teo Merras, Protodeacon Rev. Juha Lampinen, Diaconal worker Ms. Anneli Tamme (originally from Estonia) and Diaconal\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/featured-6.jpg?fit=650%2C440&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/featured-6.jpg?fit=650%2C440&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/featured-6.jpg?fit=650%2C440&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1938,"url":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/the-feast-of-saint-nicholas-at-the-finnish-parish-of-stockholm\/","url_meta":{"origin":4090,"position":1},"title":"The Feast of Saint Nicholas at the Finnish Parish of Stockholm","author":"mplexus","date":"December 11, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"[:en] On the morning of Saturday, December 6, 2025, His Eminence Metropolitan Cleopas of Sweden and All Scandinavia presided over the Divine Liturgy in Chorostasia at the festal Finnish Parish of Saint Nicholas in Stockholm. Concelebrating with him were the Very Rev. Archimandrite Bartholomew Iatridis, Parish Priest of Saint George\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\/2025\/12\/featured-3.jpg?fit=800%2C415&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/featured-3.jpg?fit=800%2C415&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/featured-3.jpg?fit=800%2C415&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/featured-3.jpg?fit=800%2C415&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3496,"url":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/h-e-metropolitan-cleopas-homily-on-the-third-stanza-of-the-akathist\/","url_meta":{"origin":4090,"position":2},"title":"H.E. Metropolitan Cleopas\u2019 Homily on the Third Stanza of the Akathist, 13\/3\/2026","author":"mplexus","date":"March 13, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"[:en] St. George Cathedral of Stockholm Friday, March 13, 2026 Dearly Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ, In the third stanza of the Akathist Hymn to the Theotokos, the Church continues the angelic greeting that began at the Annunciation. After the Archangel\u2019s message to the Virgin, we behold the mystery\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\/03\/featured-8.jpg?fit=800%2C617&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/featured-8.jpg?fit=800%2C617&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/featured-8.jpg?fit=800%2C617&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/featured-8.jpg?fit=800%2C617&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2733,"url":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/the-first-ordination-to-the-episcopacy-at-the-stockholm-cathedral\/","url_meta":{"origin":4090,"position":3},"title":"The First Ordination to the Episcopacy at the Stockholm Cathedral","author":"mplexus","date":"February 5, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"[:en] At the beginning of the Triodion season, on Sunday, February 1st, 2026, with the permission and encouragement of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the ordination to the episcopacy of the Most Reverend Bishop-elect Bartholomew of Elaia was celebrated at the Saint George Cathedral of Stockholm. The service took place\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\/02\/featured.jpg?fit=800%2C421&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/featured.jpg?fit=800%2C421&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/featured.jpg?fit=800%2C421&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/featured.jpg?fit=800%2C421&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2092,"url":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/adrians-chrismation-at-the-st-george-cathedral-of-stockholm\/","url_meta":{"origin":4090,"position":4},"title":"Adrian’s Chrismation at the St. George Cathedral of Stockholm.","author":"mplexus","date":"December 16, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"[:en] [:]","rel":"","context":"In "Ministries"","block_context":{"text":"Ministries","link":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/category\/ministries\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/featured-7.jpg?fit=800%2C329&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/featured-7.jpg?fit=800%2C329&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/featured-7.jpg?fit=800%2C329&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/featured-7.jpg?fit=800%2C329&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4228,"url":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/photos-from-the-easter-divine-liturgy-at-the-st-george-cathedral-of-stockholm\/","url_meta":{"origin":4090,"position":5},"title":"Photos from the Easter Divine Liturgy at the St. George Cathedral of Stockholm 2026","author":"mplexus","date":"April 14, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"[:en] [:el] [:]","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/featured2.jpg?fit=800%2C425&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/featured2.jpg?fit=800%2C425&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/featured2.jpg?fit=800%2C425&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/featured2.jpg?fit=800%2C425&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4090","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=4090"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4090\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4133,"href":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4090\/revisions\/4133"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4092"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4090"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4090"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4090"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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