His Beatitude Patriarch Shio III of Georgia emphasised faith’s role in society at an international symposium marking 1,700 years since Christianity became Georgia’s state religion.
The symposium took place in Tbilisi from 11 to 13 October, with sessions covering history, ethnology and archaeology, language and literature, culture and art, and religion and science.
Roin Metreveli, President of the Georgian National Academy of Sciences, and representatives of central government authorities attended the opening ceremony.
Christianity opened a new spiritual path
The Primate of the Georgian Orthodox Church addressed the participants, recalling Georgia’s Christian history and the role of faith in shaping the country’s spiritual and cultural identity.
“The history of the past two millennia bears witness that, in our country, Christianity opened an entirely new spiritual path and brought about a new religious consciousness. It taught us that the principal purpose of human life is eternal communion with the Lord; it offered us the possibility of deification and the salvation of the soul.”
Patriarch Shio III linked the symposium’s theme to three principles that he described as fundamental to Georgia’s spiritual and national history: God, Homeland and the Human Person.
“They express our spiritual and national journey over many centuries: the Lord Jesus Christ is the source and meaning of everything good in this world; the human person is made in His image and likeness; and the homeland is the place where faith, love, faithfulness, self-sacrifice, service and responsibility together form the unbroken tradition that has sustained the small but Christ-loving Georgian people to this day.”
‘Our challenge today’
The Patriarch emphasised that the Christian mission remains unchanged despite societal transformations.
“Times change, but the Christian calling remains unchanged: to strive and live in faith in the Lord, in love and self-sacrifice towards God and one’s neighbour.”
“This is precisely our challenge today: will faith remain merely an inheritance from our ancestors and empty words, or will it be transformed into action?” the Georgian Patriarch added.
Researchers and clergy from several countries attended the symposium.
Romania was represented by Archbishop Nifon of Târgoviște, Honorary Metropolitan and Patriarchal Exarch; Archimandrite Hrisostom Rădășanu; Fr Bogdan-Vlăduț Brînză; Gabriel-Victor Baclea; and Alina Munteanu.
