The Feast of St. Barbara

The Orthodox Church celebrates the feast of St. Barbara on December 17. The Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, His Holiness and Beatitude Ilia the Second, conducted a St. Barbara's day liturgy at the Holy Trinity Cathedral yesterday morning.

The Patriarch met children living in the conflict zones at the cathedral after the liturgy. His Holiness sanctified the cloister complex at the cathedral and the Georgian people. “I congratulate the whole Christian world on the day of St Barbara. We are very glad that children from Abkhazia are with us today. God bless you all, and remember that Georgia will certainly unite,” the Patriarch stated in his sermon.

The children expressed their happiness and their gratitude to the Catholicos-Patriarch. They will participate in a three-day project called ‘We and Peace - No to Violence’ organised by the NGO ‘Peace and Harmony’ and the Ministry of Education and Culture of the legitimate Government of Abkhazia. The project will promote friendship between children living beyond the Enguri River and those in different regions of Georgia and develop the values of peace and humanity among them.

St. Barbara died as a martyr for the Orthodox Faith at the beginning of the fourth century. She was the daughter of a rich pagan. Having secretly become a Christian she was condemned to death by beheading by her father. St. Barbara is considered the patron of children. Her prayers are invoked when young people undergo medical treatment, when people want to have children and as protection against unexpected death without confession. The wonderworking relics of St. Barbara are kept at St.Vladimir’s Cathedral in Kiev.