Last Sunday, we gathered with Orthodox Christians in the Sogndal municipality in Norway. This was the first Orthodox liturgy in this municipality. The service brought together UOC faithful living in the area. After the service, we shared tea and talked at length about confession and communion, setting up parish life, systemic good deeds, and how to properly organize volunteer projects. During my ministry in this Scandinavian country, I meet not only Ukrainians at our Orthodox services. I was glad to welcome Norwegians, Poles, Colombians, and people from the Baltic states. Step by step, we are trying to incorporate parts of the service in other languages. For instance, if Norwegians are present at our Ukrainian Orthodox service, we duplicate the petitions of the Great Litany, as well as the Epistle and Gospel readings, in Norwegian. Here is one of our petitions from the Great Litany:
“For de som forsvarer Ukraina ved fronten, de sårede og savnede, fangene og deporterte, de bortførte barna, enkene og foreldreløse, flyktningene og de fordrevne, medisinsk personell og energiarbeidere, alle som lider og har lidd under den store krigen, for de som reiser, de syke og deres frelse, la oss be til Herren.”
“For those who defend Ukraine at the front, the wounded and the missing, the prisoners and the deported, the abducted children, the widows and the orphans, the refugees and the displaced, the medical staff and the energy workers, all who suffer and have suffered from the great war, for those who travel, the sick, and for their salvation, let us pray to the Lord.”
So, if you are in Norway and dream of having Orthodox divine services in your town—you know where to write. Many more missionary journeys across Norway lie ahead to build and support the life of Orthodox communities in this country!
