On June 28-29, 2017 the Möjligheternas Mötesplats Conference was held in the Swedish city of Hultsfred, focusing on the issues of asylum and migration. Hultsfred is located about 1.5 hours away by automobile from the Greek Orthodox parish of Apostle Cleopas in Kalmar.
His Eminence Metropolitan Cleopas of Sweden and All Scandinavia, who was one of the keynote speakers at the conference, attended at the invitation of the conference organizer, Mr. Anders Blomqvist.
This conference, currently in its second year, was attended by over 150 persons, including local community representatives, civic leaders, business leaders, academicians, etc. The findings and conclusions of the conference aim at advancing the dialogue and concern over the successful integration of refugees and migrants in Swedish society.
Metropolitan Cleopas delivered a speech in English on the issue of “The Eastern Orthodox Church’s Perspective on Matters Pertaining to Asylum and Immigration.”
After thanking the organizers for their invitation, he began by offering thoughts about the term “xenophobia,” which is of Greek origin, but used worldwide. According to the Metropolitan, this word identifies a major challenge that modern societies are called to meet and handle – a challenge that aims directly at the heart of the vision and ideals of the European Union. In contrast, he introduced another Greek term – “philoxenia” – explaining that it negates the former. This term is used both by classical authors and the Holy Scriptures to refer to a religious and moral duty towards one’s fellow man.