The Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia, Shalva Papuashvili, together with Members of Parliament, attended a solemn Divine Liturgy in Mtskheta marking Svetitskhovloba and the 1,700th anniversary of the proclamation of Christianity as the state religion in Georgia.

Following the solemn service, Shalva Papuashvili addressed those gathered at Svetitskhoveli Cathedral and spoke about the significance of the day.

“Today is a historic Svetitskhovloba. We are commemorating the date when, 1,700 years ago, our ancestors made a decision to embrace the true faith and embark on a path they traversed as if on their own Golgotha, never once deviating from it. 1,700 years ago, here, in this very place, King Mirian did not simply adopt a new religion; he embraced a new system of values and established a new cultural framework for himself and his people. Had it not been for the Christian cultural framework, we would not have had “The Knight in the Panther’s Skin”, we would not have had “Thou Art a Vineyard”, we would not have had Georgian polyphonic singing, and we would not have had Vazha-Pshavela and Ilia Chavchavadze. Without the Christian system of values, we would not be the nation we are today. Our generation has traversed its own Golgotha; at the same time, we are the generation that, by the will of the Lord and through human hands, witnessed a miracle that restored the Georgian Church from the ashes. For half a century, we have been witnesses to and participants in this miracle. Therefore, on this day, we must especially remember our Holy Patriarch, Ilia II. Our generation has been granted the honour of celebrating 1,700 years of Georgia’s Christian statehood and of turning this page for future generations in the coming century. Our future generations will undoubtedly gather here, in this very place, 100 years from now to celebrate the 1,800th anniversary, and then another 100 years later, and so on, for as long as this world exists. This is our mission, our goal, and the spiritual purpose of our nation”, - Shalva Papuashvili stated.

The Divine Liturgy at the Patriarchal Cathedral of Svetitskhoveli was celebrated by His Holiness and Beatitude Shio III, Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, Archbishop of Mtskheta-Tbilisi and Metropolitan of Pitsunda and Tskhum-Abkhazia.

The service at Svetitskhoveli Cathedral was also attended by President of Georgia Mikheil Kavelashvili and representatives of the legislative and executive branches of government.