Metropolitan Cleopas on the Divine Liturgy in the Swedish language

The Divine Liturgy is the “heart” of the beingness of the Church and the revelation of the Kingdom of God within the world.

In the Divine Liturgy, the Word of God becomes accessible to the people, and the people, successful turn, connection themselves to God done praise and thanksgiving.

In this theological reality, connection is not simply a means of communication, but a spot of incarnation and communion.

The Church always proclaims Christ “in different tongues” (Acts 2:4).
Pentecost is the model, for each Apostle heard “the mighty works of God” successful his ain language.
The section dialect is not simply a regular idiom; it is the vas done which a idiosyncratic thinks, prays, and experiences the world.

When the Divine Liturgy is celebrated successful the connection that speaks to the bosom of the faithful, past the Word genuinely becomes adjacent — some to the rima and to the heart.
The universality of the Church does not abolish particularity.
Christ became man, “in each mode similar us;” but for sin.
Just arsenic the Incarnation took spot successful a circumstantial place, time, and language, truthful excessively the Divine Liturgy is called to clasp the linguistic and taste uniqueness of each community.
The usage of the section dialect successful the solemnisation of the Divine Liturgy testifies that the Church is not a overseas body, but genuinely “dwells among the people.”

Moreover, dialects are bearers of representation and culture. When they are included successful worship, they bash not simply “facilitate understanding,” but sanctify the full taste acquisition of the people.

Thus, the section connection becomes a conveyance of divine knowledge, and contented itself is transformed into a theological witnesser and surviving experience.

In the 4 nations that marque up the Holy Metropolis of Sweden and All Scandinavia, determination erstwhile prevailed the content that lone the usage of the Greek connection conferred dignity and holiness.

However, specified a presumption reveals a deficiency of knowing of the world that the holiness of the Divine Liturgy flows from the Holy Spirit, which acts “always and everywhere,” and not from the antiquity oregon formality of the language.

The usage of the section dialect does not diminish holiness; rather, it reveals the nearness of God, who “speaks arsenic a person to a friend.”

Understanding the needs of our section Church and being profoundly moved by the astir regular attendance of respective young people, mostly natives, and recognizing their tendency to comprehend, arsenic acold arsenic humanly possible, some the services being performed and the doctrines of the Orthodox faith, we initially published the Divine Liturgy successful a trilingual substance successful 2017, and the Akathist Hymn successful a bilingual substance successful 2019, arsenic an offering from our beloved concelebrant, His Eminence Metropolitan Agathangelos of Fanarion, and from the Publishing Ministry “Apostoliki Diakonia of the Church of Greece.”

We person besides established the solemnisation of the Divine Liturgy wholly successful the Swedish language, 1 Saturday each month, opening today, Saturday, September 6, 2025, astatine 10:00 a.m., connected the juncture of the opening of the caller ecclesiastical year.

Furthermore, for respective years, we person been organizing lectures and seminars for Catechumens and the precocious baptized, successful some English and Swedish. These volition resume erstwhile again connected Thursday, September 18, 2025, astatine 6:00 p.m., astatine the facilities of the St. George Cathedral of Stockholm.

The aforesaid missionary effort is carried retired successful each our parishes by our dedicated clergy and volunteers, whom I sincerely convey from the bosom for their sacrificial ministry.

In this way, and arsenic is the lawsuit each Sunday, isolated from Greek, the Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, and English languages are besides utilized successful the assorted section parishes.

Thus, the solemnisation of the Divine Liturgy successful the section dialect is not simply a linguistic choice, but a theological enactment that shows that God speaks successful the connection of His people, embraces the full quality experience, and sanctifies it.

In this way, the Church remains faithful to her mission, arsenic commanded by the Risen Lord, “to preach the Gospel to each nations,” successful a mode that is living, familiar, and salvific.