On the afternoon of Friday, April 7, 2023, Metropolitan Cleopas of Sweden and All Scandinavia presided over the Apokathelosis & Epitaphios/Lamentations service at the Finnish Parish of St. Nicholas in Stockholm, which follows the typikon of the Orthodox Church of Finland, according to the Julian calendar.
The service was conducted by Presbyter Mikko Leistola and the hymns were rendered in Finnish, Karelian, Swedish, Greek, and Slavonic by the church choir.
At the end of the church services, the Metropolitan addressed the congregation in English, emphasizing the importance of the Lord’s Passion and Resurrection in the lives of the faithful, and asked Fr. Mikko to convey to the Primate of the Church of Finland, Archbishop Leo, his heartfelt festive wishes, together with his gratitude, for the dispatch of selected clergy of the Primate, to serve the liturgical needs of the small Finnish parish of Stockholm.
