With deep spiritual devotion and emotion, the Feast of the Archangels Michael and Gabriel was celebrated at the Holy Hermitage of St. Nicholas in Rättvik, Sweden, presided over by Metropolitan Cleopas of Sweden and All Scandinavia. The Metropolitan delivered a sermon filled with theological insight and pastoral warmth, reflecting on the heavenly significance of the day and the enduring presence of angelic grace in the life of the Church.
“Today,” he said, “our Church honors the Archangels Michael and Gabriel and all the Heavenly Hosts. It is a day of light and heavenly joy — a day when the visible and invisible worlds unite in the common praise of God.”
Speaking on the role of the angels, Metropolitan Cleopas emphasized their mission as messengers of love and service: “The angels, the invisible ministers of the Most High, are spirits of love and ministry. Archangel Michael stood courageously against evil, proclaiming the eternal call, ‘Let us stand aright, let us stand with fear,’ while Archangel Gabriel became the bearer of the joyful news to the Theotokos.”
The celebration was also linked to the memorial of the late Elder Eusevios, founder of the Hermitage, whose memory was honored with reverence and gratitude. “With deep emotion,” said the Metropolitan, “we connect today’s feast with the memorial of the blessed Father Eusevios — a true missionary who served God in the blessed lands of Scandinavia, becoming a living image of angelic ministry in the world.”
Reflecting on the life and work of Father Eusevios, the Metropolitan described him as a man “with the wings of faith”: “He left the comfort of his homeland and came to the distant regions of Scandinavia to bring the warmth of the Gospel to places where Orthodoxy was almost unknown. He became an angel of light — celebrating the Divine Liturgy, teaching, hearing confessions, and offering comfort with paternal love and care.”
Metropolitan Cleopas also highlighted Father Eusevios’s humility, theological depth, and missionary spirit: “Through his modesty and profound theological wisdom, he became a spiritual reference point for many — both Greek immigrants and Scandinavians — who came to know through him the living presence of Orthodoxy.”
Concluding his homily, the Metropolitan offered moving words of remembrance and exhortation: “Let us remember him with gratitude and a desire to imitate his example — to love, to forgive, to pray, and to work humbly for the Gospel, as he did. In doing so, we too will become small angels in the world, carrying God’s light to souls that long for it.”
Finally, Metropolitan Cleopas offered a heartfelt blessing: “May the memory of the blessed Father Eusevios — that gentle missionary and spiritual father — be eternal. May he intercede, together with the Holy Archangels, for all of us, that we may one day be found worthy to join them in singing: ‘Holy, Holy, Holy Lord of Hosts.’ Amen.”
