The Holy Metropolis of Sweden and All Scandinavia is pleased to announce to the flock of the Mother Church in the Northern Lands that the Parish of St. Bartholomew the Apostle in Reykjavik, Iceland gained recognition as a legal entity. Following the official notification from Icelandic authorities, His Eminence Metropolitan Cleopas of Sweden and All of Scandinavia issued the following statement:
“This decision by the Icelandic authorities handling the issue of the recognition and granting of legal status to our parish in Reykjavik, Iceland, which is dedicated to St. Bartholomew the Apostle, patron saint of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, marks the continuation of the path upon which our local Church set out from the assumption of my archpastoral responsibilities in Scandinavia.
Following the administrative reorganization of our parishes in Sweden and their placement under the legal organizational auspices of the Holy Metropolis, as well as in the other nations constituting our local Church, this latest decision serves to reward our efforts following the submission of all the relevant documentation, in collaboration with our legal counsel and the invaluable contribution of the Honorary Consul of Greece in Iceland Mr. Rafn Alexander Sigurdsson.
We express our gratitude to all our coworkers in the Lord’s vineyard, clergy and laity alike, and pledge that with God’s help and the paternal wishes of His All-Holiness, we shall continue to fight the good fight for the glory of the blessed name of the Holy Trinity and the salvation of the souls entrusted to us by the Mother Church.”