Evlogeite; May God bless you.
To our great sorrow we learned of the repose at about 2 a.m. this morning in Stockholm, Sweden, of His Grace, Bishop Johannes (Deurloo) of Makarioupolis. His Grace, one of the Apostles of the contemporary Swedish Orthodox Church, had been ailing and bedridden for the past nine years, was ninety years old.
Bishop Johannes (Deurloo) was born near Rotterdam, Holland, on January 31, 1930. After leaving the Dutch Reformed Church in which he had been raised, he converted to Roman Catholicism and spent a short time in a Franciscan monastery. He went on to complete a three-year program in art at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Through his study of art and exposure to Iconography, he developed a keen interest in the Orthodox Church. After a crisis of conscience about matters of faith, he decided to forsake Roman Catholicism, and in 1965 moved to Sweden, where he met and, one year later, married his wife, Monica Johannesson. The couple subsequently had two children, and in 1973 the entire family converted to Orthodoxy.
In 1976, His Grace was ordained to the Diaconate by Metropolitan Irinej of what was then the Free Serbian Orthodox Church (now reconciled to the Serbian Patriarchate). In 1977, he was made a Presbyter and later raised to the dignity of Protopresbyter. Concerned about the ecumenical activities of the Serbian Church, in 1985 he petitioned to be received by Metropolitan Cyprian into what was then The Synod in Resistance. In 1990 he was awarded the Licentiate in Orthodox Theological Studies by the Center for Traditionalist Orthodox Studies in Etna, California.
After the repose of his Presbytera, who in 1999, shortly before her death was tonsured to the Great Schema with the name “Parthenia,” Bishop Johannes himself embraced the monastic life and was elevated to the rank of Archimandrite. He was subsequently tonsured to the Great Schema, and, following his election by the Holy Synod, was consecrated Bishop on the Sunday of Cheesefare, February 27, 2000 (Old Style), with the titular See of Makarioupolis. Metropolitan Chrysostomos, of blessed memory, and I both took part in the Consecration.
Bishop Johannes continued to labor indefatigably in building up the Church in Sweden. The beautiful Cathedral of Sts. Constantine and Helen, which he founded, is located in the Vårberg district of Stockholm and was completed in 1998. Its flourishing community is comprised of Swedish converts to the Orthodox Faith and Russian, Bulgarian, Romanian, and Syrian Orthodox immigrants. An accomplished iconographer, His Grace painted many of the Icons that adorn the Cathedral and for many years taught iconography.
Bishop Johannes is survived by a son, Anders, and a daughter, Schema-Nun Justina. A gifted iconographer like her father, Mother Justina has been a monastic at the Convent of St. Elizabeth the Grand Duchess in Etna, California since 1988, and, since 2016, an instructor in iconography at the St. Photios Orthodox Theological Seminary, also located in Etna.
We ask that you all offer prayers for the repose of the soul of Bishop Johannes and that the clergy in particular celebrate the memorial services appointed for the third, ninth, and fortieth days. His Grace's fortieth day falls on Wednesday, August 26 (New Style). Eternal be his memory. Αἰωνία αὐτοῦ ἡ μνήμη.
Your Humble Servant,
† Bishop Auxentios of Etna and Portland
Servant of Metropolitan Chrysostomos
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