UOC delegation arrives in Georgia to mark 1,700 years of Christianity

Metropolitan Serhiy of Ternopil and Archbishop Iov of Shumsk concelebrated the Divine Liturgy with Patriarch Shio in Tbilisi.

An official delegation of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has arrived in Georgia to take part in the celebration of the 1,700th anniversary of the adoption of Christianity at the state level, reports the UOC Information and Educational Department. The delegation came at the invitation of the Synod of the Georgian Orthodox Church and with the blessing of His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kyiv and All Ukraine.

The delegation includes Metropolitan Serhiy of Ternopil and Kremenets, Archbishop Iov of Shumsk, and Deacon Maksym Savchuk.

On October 11, 2026, the Divine Liturgy was celebrated at the Holy Trinity Cathedral of Tbilisi, led by Catholicos-Patriarch Shio III of All Georgia. He was concelebrated by hierarchs of the Georgian Church, Metropolitan Serhiy, Archbishop Iov, and other clergy.

In his sermon, Patriarch Shio III spoke about the importance of God’s blessing in a person’s life. He urged the faithful to accompany their undertakings with prayer and entrust them to God’s will. According to the Primate, true success depends not only on human effort but also on God’s help. After the service, the UOC delegation, on behalf of the Church’s faithful, congratulated the Primate of the Georgian Orthodox Church on the 1,700th anniversary of Christianity in Georgia. The Patriarch was presented with a copy of the Pochaiv Icon of the Mother of God.

As the UOJ reported, Patriarch Shio spoke about the influence of Christianity on Georgia's identity. According to Church tradition, Christianity became the state religion of Georgia under King Mirian III thanks to the preaching of St. Nino, Equal-to-the-Apostles.