Patriarch Ilia II initiates on congress of all Georgians
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Tuesday, June 23
Catholics Patriarch of Georgia Ilia ll has initiated the conduction of a congress of all Georgians on the Svetitskhovloba holiday that is celebrated on October 14.
The Patriarch talked about the initiative and Georgians living abroad in his Sunday sermon. He revealed a desire that all Georgians throughout the world be officially counted.
"Today we need to think more about our compatriots who live abroad. What will happen to them? What must we do to help our fellow countrymen not to lose their language, faith, love of their country? If they lose their Georgian soul, we will lose them,” Ilia II said .
“We will invite all Georgians to the congress in Georgia and we will once again remind our flesh and blood that their ancestors are here and they should not lose their connection with the mother country,” the Patriarch declared.
The Patriarch once again touched upon the recent unprecedented flooding in Tbilisi and stressed that Georgians passed a test.
"A human cannot perceive the events done by God. The recent events once again prove that God is the ruler of the world. God sends both trials and joy.
"We thank the Lord for everything. We thank him for his great mercy. It was an ordeal and our people passed it in a worthy way. All people came out to overcome the trouble. It was really an expression of love,” said the Patriarch.
The Prime Minister welcomed the Patriarch’s initiative over the congress.
"I welcome the Patriarch’s initiative. This is a great idea, the implementation of which will allow us to unite and consolidate all the resources of Georgians around the world.
“I express my full readiness to contribute to the conduction of the congress," Irakli Gharibashvili said.
