On Wednesday noon, 5 April 2023, a group of 80 retired Swedish college professors and secondary school teachers visited the St. George Cathedral in Stockholm within the framework of their annual visits to churches of various Christian denominations.
The visitors were received by Metropolitan Cleopas of Sweden and All Scandinavia, who thanked them for their visit, welcomed them to the see of the Holy Metropolis, and briefed them for over an hour on the missionary work being conducted in this eparchy of the Mother Church in the Northern Lands, the renovation work completed in the Cathedral, and the pastoral ministries being provided at the Metropolis parishes elsewhere in Sweden and the other nations under the jurisdiction of the Metropolis. He also responded to questions, which focused primarily on the differences between the Orthodox Church and the Lutheran and Roman Catholic Churches.
The head of the educators, Prof. Thomas Magnusson, who is a publisher in addition to an educator, thanked Metropolitan Cleopas for his hospitality and congratulated him on the ministries and work being done in the Metropolis, as well as the opportunity to personally bear witness to this, noting the remarkable result of the restoration of the Cathedral, which, as he noted, adorns Stockholm and all of Sweden.
Afterwards, a light reception was offered to the visitors, a copy of the concise history of the Cathedral, while they were also given a tour of the church facilities and the Museum of Hellenic Christian Heritage.
Finally, Metropolitan Cleopas offered Prof. Magnusson a copy of the recent publication chronicling the Patriarchal visit to Sweden in 2019, as well as the recently published trilingual edition of the Divine Liturgy, in Greek, Swedish, and English. Prof. Magnusson offered the Metropolitan a copy of the book Kyrkornas Hemligheter.
The Metropolitan wished all his visitors a blessed Pascha, along with spiritual and physical health ahead of the great feast.