Archbishop Mor Dioscorus Benjamin Atash ordains new priest at Syriac Orthodox Church of Mor Kyriakos in Västerås, Sweden

VÄSTERÅS, Sweden — Syriac Orthodox Archbishop Mor Dioscorus Benjamin Atash, Patriarchal Vicar of the Syriac Orthodox Archdiocese of Sweden, presided over a Divine Mass on Sunday morning at the Church of Mor Kyriakos in Västerås, Sweden. The service was conducted in cooperation with Archbishop Mor Philoxenos Yusuf Çetin, Archbishop of the Syriac Orthodox Archdiocese of Istanbul, Ankara, and İzmir.

The Mass was attended by a congregation of hundreds, including priests, deacons, deaconesses, and devoted members of the Syriac Orthodox community in Västerås.

During the service, Deacon Toma Akyüz was ordained as the new parish priest for the Church of Mor Kyriakos. His ordination was a moment of joy and spiritual significance for the parish.

Father Toma Akyüz, a native of the village of Hah in the historic Tur Abdin region in what is now southeastern Turkey, has dedicated his life to faith and service. He studied at the Patriarchal Seminary of Saint Ephrem in Daramsuq (Damascus) and the Monastery of Saint Eugene in Tur Abdin. For the past 12 years, he served as a priest for the parish of Saints Peter and Paul in Adıyaman, Turkey, before assuming his new role in Västerås.

The ordination ceremony and Divine Mass were marked by heartfelt prayers and a sense of unity, underscoring the enduring strength of the Syriac Orthodox Church and its faithful around the world.