The sixth pastoral tour of Reykjavik, Iceland, was carried out by Metropolitan Cleopas of Sweden and All Scandinavia, from Friday, June 3, to Sunday, June 5, 2022, on the occasion of the feast of St. Apostle Bartholomew, the curator and patron saint of the above parish, which was founded in April 2019, during the Patriarchal Visit of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, in October 2017.
The Metropolitan, accompanied by Archimandrite Alexandros Loukatos, Head of the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Annunciation of the Virgin Oslo, arrived in Reykjavik on Friday, June 3, where they were welcomed by the Honorary Consul of Greece in Iceland, Rafn Alexander Sigurdsson.
The next day, Saturday, June 4, 2022, the Metropolitan collaborated with Sigurdsson and Fr. Alexander, on issues related to the parish and the Greek community, and on the evening of the same day, the Sigurdsson couple offered a dinner, which was attended by the Bishop, Fr. Alexander and Evangelos Kyrou.
On Sunday, June 5, the Metropolitan presided over the Divine Liturgy, which took place in the chapel Friðrik Friðriksson, along with Fr. Alexandros Loukatos.
At the end of the Eucharistic Synaxis, Metropolitan Cleopas sent his wishes to the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew for his upcoming name day.
In his sermon, Metropolitan Cleopas spoke about the celebrating Apostle Bartholomew, pointing out the need to preserve the missionary morale and the link of love between the members of the local Church, recalling the characteristic phrase of Archbishop Anastasios of Albania: “A Church without missionary work is a Church without a mission.”
A reception took place at the premises of the above church, during which the Bishop expressed his gratitude publicly to Sigurdsson for his full support in the organization of his pastoral visits to Reykjavik, as well as Fr. Alexander and the Metropolitan Church of Oslo, for their moving moral and financial contribution to the work of the Holy Metropolis.
He promised that God willing, he would visit the Greek community of Iceland again on January 14-15, 2023, for the Great Sanctification of the Epiphany and the cutting of the vasilopita.
The Eucharistic Synaxis was attended by the Sigurdsson couple, Evangelos Dimitropoulos, President of the Association of Greeks of Iceland, members of the parish, and newly arrived people from Greece.
In the afternoon, the Metropolitan and Fr. Alexander met with members of the Greek Diaspora, where they discussed the possibilities of teaching the Greek language to the Greek children of the country and promoting the Greek Christian culture, by organizing cultural events.
On Monday morning, June 6, the Metropolitan of Sweden returned to the seat of his province in Stockholm and Father Alexander in Oslo.
Photos: Fr. Alexandros Loukatos and Mr. Nikolaos Konstantatos
