Georgian hegumen: Murder of Sviatohirsk monk is pain for all Christians

Hegumen Nazary Basilaya. Photo:UOJ

Abbot of the Georgian Orthodox Church Nazary Basilaya called the attack on the residents of Sviatohirsk Lavra and the murder of monk Varsonofiy a tragedy that has deeply affected the clergy and all Christians, reports the UOJ in Georgia.

According to the abbot, the Church has for decades remembered the persecution of clergy, murders, and similar acts of violence. However, what happened at the Sviatohirsk Lavra he described as an exceptionally grave trial. "We, as clergy from a brotherly country, sympathize and share the great sorrow that has befallen the Lavra," said Father Nazary.

The clergyman expressed hope that all the circumstances of the attack will be investigated and that the memory of the murdered monk will be properly honored.

Abbot Nazary also called on believers to pray that such tragedies would not be repeated and that the Church would not again face persecution and violence. "We ask the Lord that such incidents not be repeated and that we do not return to those old times that both the Georgian Church and other Churches endured during the Bolshevik regime," he noted.

As the publication mzk.ge previously reported, a monk was brutally murdered at the Sviatohirsk Lavra, while two others were wounded.

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