Georgian Church celebrates 1,700 years of Christianity
A festive Divine Liturgy was celebrated at Svetitskhoveli Cathedral in Georgia, attended by primates and representatives of Local Orthodox Churches.
On October 14, 2026, a Divine Liturgy was celebrated at Svetitskhoveli Cathedral in Mtskheta to mark the 1,700th anniversary of Christianity's proclamation as Georgia's state religion, Orthodoxia News Agency reports.
The service was presided over by Patriarch Shio III of Georgia and Archbishop Rastislav, Primate of the Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia. Georgian hierarchs and representatives of other Local Orthodox Churches concelebrated. The celebrations coincided with the feast of Svetitskhovloba, associated with the veneration of the Lord's Robe.
In his address, Patriarch Shio emphasized that faithfulness to Christ had helped the Georgian people preserve their faith and national identity through times of trial. He recalled the preaching of St. Nina, Equal-to-the-Apostles, through whom King Mirian III and Queen Nana converted to Christianity in the fourth century. Speaking of the Lord's Robe as a symbol of the Church's unity, the Primate urged the faithful to safeguard that unity and defend the truth of the faith.
Archbishop Rastislav noted that the Georgian Church and the Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia are united by their apostolic faith, Eucharistic communion, and the heritage of the Holy Fathers. He presented Patriarch Shio with an icon containing a particle of the relics of St. Ludmila as a symbol of the spiritual bond between the two Churches.
As the UOJ previously reported, a UOC delegation arrived in Georgia to attend the celebrations marking 1,700 years of Christianity in the country.
