Syriac Catholic Patriarch Mor Ignatius Yawsef III Younan arrives in Sweden for official pastoral visit
STOCKHOLM — On Thursday, after an extended period without a visit, Syriac Catholic Patriarch Mor Ignatius Joseph III Younan, accompanied by priests and bishops, arrived at Stockholm International Airport for a pastoral visit to meet with Syriac Catholics in the Swedish capital and its suburbs.
The delegation was received at the airport by priests and bishops from various churches in Sweden as well as the director of Suroyo TV, Yacoub Mirza, and Ambassador of Lebanon in Sweden Hassan Saleh. After a short reception in the airport lobby, the group left for the new Martyrs’ Church in Akala, north of Stockholm. The Patriarch will consecrate the Martyrs’ Church this Sunday, 1 May.
Mirza stated to our news desk that the visit is much appreciated by the Syriac people living in Sweden and that Patriarch Ignatius Yawsef III Younan was pleased to meet the representatives of various Syriac sister-churches and civil organizations at the reception. Mirza spoke of the importance of the Patriarchal visit, wishing him lasting success in his pastoral work.
Sweden has a sizable Syriac population of some 200,000 Syriacs – affiliated with the different churches of the Syriac (Aramean-Assyrian-Chaldean) people, i.e., the Chaldean Church, the Syriac Catholic Church, the Syriac Orthodox Church, the Syriac Maronite Church, the Assyrian Church of the East, and Syriac Protestant churches.
Moreover, it is one of the largest ethnic groups in Sweden. Syriacs are very successful and integrated with major Syriac communities in Södertälje, Örebro, Gothenburg, Stockholm and in the suburbs of the capital. The high degree of integration is shown by several Syriacs who have offered the Swedish government, an advocate of democracy and human rights, to integrate part of their own history, i.e. the Sayfo Genocide of 1915, in the official Swedish school books.
There are five Syriac Members of Parliament in the Swedish Riskdag: Tony Haddou (Left Party), Robert Hannah and Roger Haddad (both Liberalerna), Robert Halef (Kristdemokraterna), and Abraham Halef (Social Democrats). Ibrahim Baylan was the former Minister of Enterprise.
For the article in Arabic see SyriacPress Arabic