On the occasion of the double Feast, of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary and the Revolution of 1821, the Metropolitan of Sweden and all Scandinavia, Mr. Cleopas, paid his 18th pastoral visit to the Metropolitan Church of the Annunciation in Oslo, from Friday, March 25, to Sunday, March 27, 2022, on the occasion of the celebrations of of National Independence.
On Friday afternoon, the Archbishop officiated at the Feast of the Annunciation, accompanied by the Pastors of the Metropolitan Church of Panosiol Archimandrite Mr. Alexandros Loukatos and Ad. Senior Mr. Maxime Lesage. The hymns were performed in a masterful way by Mr. Panagiotis Katsivalis and the guest from Greece, Colonel Nikolaos Meggos, assisted by Mr. Kosmas Plakou. The liturgy was attended by Ambassador of Greece to Norway Mrs. Anna Korka, accompanied by her associates Mr. Konstantinos Danassis and Panagiotis Lykoskoufis.
The next day, on Saturday, March 26, accompanied by Fr. Alexander, His Eminence held a series of meetings. He was first informed about the progress of the restoration works of the Metropolitan Church, and immediately afterwards he visited the Church of St. Margarita of the Swedish Church, where he met with Ed. Mr. Per Anders Sandgren, offered him the trilingual version of the Divine Liturgy and wished him, in view of the feast of Easter.
Afterwards, the Bishop met with members of the Norwegian Orthodox community at the Metropolitan Church of the Annunciation, during the Sabbath Divine Liturgy held once a month in Norwegian. Fr. Maxime Lesage, then visited the Greek School of Oslo, which in the event hall of the Metropolitan Church, and talked to the students of the school. He then spoke to our newly arrived brothers and sisters, who are taking a Norwegian course in the hall of that temple.
At noon on Saturday, the Bishop and his entourage, consisting of Fr. Alexandros, Mr. Anastasia Golfi and Mr. Michael Bikoulis, attended a meal offered at her home by Mrs. Angeliki Kruse Jensen. This was followed by a meeting of the Archbishop with Mrs. Iryna Sabor, representative of the Ukrainian Community in Oslo, present of Fr. Alexander and Mrs. Kyriaki Papadopoulou Samuelsen, and with the translation committee of the Divine Liturgy into Norwegian, consisting of Maxime, Professor Stig Simeon Frøyshov and Kyriaki Papadopoulou Samuelsen.
In the afternoon of the same, His Holiness met with the members of the Ecclesiastical Council of the Oslo Metropolitan Church, Fr. Alexander and Dimitrios Kraniotis, Kyriaki Papadopoulou Samuelsen, Michail Bikouli, Ioulia Eleftheriadou, Karolina Alevra and Dimitra Axioti Baleonti.
In the reception hall of the Metropolitan Church, a festive event was held for the National Anniversary of March 25, 1821, organized by the Metropolitan Church, in collaboration with the Hellenic-Norwegian Cultural Association, which included a presentation of Greek traditional costumes by the Areti Kalaitzi, head of the parish dance department and traditional dances by Greeks and Norwegians. His Excellency congratulated the participants in the event and spoke about the timeless value of our cultural heritage.
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On Saturday night, the Archbishop attended a dinner, which was offered in his honor at the Embassy, the Ambassador of Greece to Norway Mrs. Anna Korka, in which participated Fr. Alexandros Loukatos, Fr. Maxime Lesage, and Panagiotis Lykoskoufis and Konstantinos Danassis from the Greek Embassy, the President of the Association of Greeks of Norway Mr. Ioannis Aliferis with his wife, the President of the Association of Parents and Guardians of Greek Children of Norway Dr. Antonios Koumouridis with his wife, and Mrs. Angeliki Kruse Jensen and Karolina Alevra.
In his address, His Excellency thanked Mrs. Korka for the Abrahamic hospitality as follows: “Thank you for your kind invitation and honor to my minority and our dedicated associates. Allow me to congratulate you on your work, your pulse, your enthusiasm, your emotional support to our expatriates and to convey to you the cordial paternal wishes of His Holiness, the Ecumenical Patriarch Mr. Bartholomew “.
The next day, His Holiness preceded the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy at the Metropolitan Church of Oslo, with the participation of the pastors of the church, the ceremony, the 40-day memorial service of his predecessor, for the National Anniversary of March 25, at the end of which the National Anthem was sung.
The worship service was held in Greek, Norwegian, English and French. The solemnity of the day was announced by Ambassador of Greece in Oslo Mr. Korka, who referred to the celebration of the National Anniversary, and the Archbishop said: “We honor today, as Christians and Greeks, the special day that faith meets freedom, the day that the first Archangel “The message becomes a moral motivator in the Holy Lavra, on the day when the spark of faith and hope is transformed into a fire, which destroys the conqueror, where the utopia of victory becomes an indisputable part of the most tangible reality.”
The Archbishop also wished an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine and peace in the wider region. This was followed by the celebration of the students of the Catholic School for the National Anniversary, under the guidance of the Theologian and Catechist Mrs. Evangelia Hadjipetrou and her assistant Mrs. Angeliki Kyrousi. His Excellency thanked Ex. Ambassador Mr. Korka and her associates for their previous hospitality at the Embassy Residence and their honorary presence at the Metropolitan Church, as well as the President of the Association of Greeks of Norway Mr. Aliferis, the President of the Association of Parents and Guardians Koumouridis, the Legal Adviser of the Conference of European Churches (CEC) Mr. Andreas Aarflot and his wife, who attended the above festive events.
A meal followed in the reception hall of the Metropolitan Church, offered by the Poor Brotherhood. In the afternoon of the same day, Metropolitan Cleopas returned to the headquarters of his province, Stockholm. The photographic material is an offer of Fr. Alexandros Loukatos and Michael Bikouli and Orges Duro.
