On December 11, the visit of His Beatitude Metropolitan Epifaniy of Kyiv and All Ukraine to Sweden and Finland began. At the invitation of the Christian Churches of the Nordic countries – Iceland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, and Finland – the Primate of the OCU will have a number of meetings in bilateral and multilateral formats.
This is reported by the OCU website.
The Primate is accompanied by the Deputy Head of the Department of External Church Relations of the OCU, Metropolitan Yevstratiy of Bila Tserkva. Also, during the visit, the Ukrainian side is represented by the bishop of the German Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ukraine, Pavlo Schwartz, and the president of the Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Pastor Oleksandr Gross.
On December 11, the delegation from Ukraine was welcomed by representatives of the Lutheran Church of Sweden, pastor Peter Lindval, head of the department for ecumenical cooperation, and pastor Christopher Meekin.
On the morning of December 12, a meeting began at the residence of the Archbishop of the Lutheran Church of Sweden, Martin Modeus, in Uppsala, in which he and other representatives of the Church, the presiding bishop of the Lutheran Church of Norway, Olaf Fixe Tveit, who was the Secretary General of the World Church Council in 2010-2020, took part, Bishop Kristian Björnsson representing the Lutheran Church of Iceland, and others.
In the first part of the meeting, the leaders and representatives of the Lutheran Churches of Northern Europe talked about their historical path and mission in modern conditions. Metropolitan Epifaniy and Bishop Pavlo Schwartz familiarized themselves with the religious and social situation in Ukraine, especially in connection with Russia’s ongoing aggression, and with spiritual and humanitarian support for war victims.
“We are grateful to the Nordic Churches for your support to Ukraine in the time so difficult for us,” emphasized the Primate of the OCU. “We appreciate your clear and unambiguous position regarding the moral condemnation of Russian aggression against our state, thank you for the great humanitarian aid and various support programs that are being implemented thanks to your Churches both in Ukraine and for Ukrainian refugees in your countries. We believe in the victory of truth, we are fighting for a just peace for Ukraine, but without the help and support of our friends and people of goodwill from all over the world, this struggle would be much more difficult. Also, we especially thank you and all the Christians of Northern Europe for your prayers for peace and the victory of truth in Ukraine, because prayer is a spiritual weapon that helps overcome evil and darkness.”
In a long meeting, the participants exchanged opinions on a wide range of issues related to the current situation in Ukraine and its needs, as well as the challenges that should be expected in the future.
After lunch, the conversation continued around the topic of helping Ukrainian refugees who found protection from the war in Europe, in particular in Sweden, Norway, and Iceland. Representatives of the Ukrainian community in Uppsala, who work directly with forcibly displaced Ukrainians, joined the conversation.
After the meeting, its participants, as well as other invited guests, including Ambassador of Ukraine to the Kingdom of Sweden Andrii Plakhotniuk, Metropolitan of Stockholm and Scandinavia (Ecumenical Patriarchate) Cleopas, and others took part in the traditional Scandinavian ceremony of lighting candles and honoring Saint Lucia. During the event, the youth choir of the Uppsala Lutheran Cathedral sang festive hymns. There were also prayers for peace in Ukraine and those suffering from Russian aggression.
The events of this day wrapped up with an official dinner given by the Archbishop of the Lutheran Church of Sweden, Martin Modeus, and his wife in honor of the guests at his residence. The visit will continue on December 13 in Stockholm.
