On the eve of the feast of Epiphany, Friday, January 5, 2024, with the temperature reaching -11°C, the service of the Vespers was celebrated at the St. George Cathedral in Stockholm, followed by the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil, with Metropolitan Cleopas of Sweden and All Scandinavia presiding in chorostasia.
Immediately following the Divine Liturgy, he also celebrated the service of the great blessing of the water.
The Ambassador of Greece to Sweden Her Excellency Ms. Ekaterini Foundoulaki was on hand for the services.
On the day of Epiphany, Metropolitan Cleopas celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the St. George Cathedral in Stockholm, assisted by the parish priest of the Cathedral the Very Rev. Archimandrite Bartholomew Iatridis and the Rev. Deacon George Arvanitides.
According to the tradition for the day’s services, shortly before the service of the great blessing of the water, Metropolitan Cleopas invited all the children in attendance to come forward, forming a circle around the table with the vessel containing the water to be sanctified, to observe the service of the immersion of the Holy Cross into the water, while he explained to them the details of the service.
That afternoon, Metropolitan Cleopas traveled to Denmark, where he celebrated the Divine Liturgy on the Sunday of the Synaxis of St. John the Forerunner, at the St. George of Ioannina Parish in Roskilde, assisted by the Very Rev. Archimandrite Sosipatros Stefanoudis.
The Ambassador of Greece to Denmark Mr. Frangiskos Kostellenos attended the service, together with his wife.
In his sermon, the Metropolitan praised both the children and young couples for attending and participating in the day’s services, reminding everyone in the congregation of the importance of this feast in the life of the Church and the course of human events.
After the Divine Liturgy, in keeping with the local custom, the entire congregation headed to the adjacent lake, again with a temperature of -11°C, where the service of the immersion of the Holy Cross took place, with Mr. Periklis Rentopoulos of Rhodes retrieving the cross from the water.
Later, all those in attendance returned to the church hall, where the Metropolitan blessed the vasilopita, offered Mr. Rentopoulos a small pectoral cross as a blessing, and blessed the meal that was generously offered by Mr. Michael Brilakis of Crete.
During the luncheon, the youth and ladies of the congregation sung traditional holiday carols.
