Monastery a "symbol of peace" on Georgian-Russian border

Tbilisi, September 15 (Interfax) - Georgia has opened a new monastery on its border with Russia.

On Thursday, Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II of Georgia, consecrated the Monastery of the Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel, situated in the Darial Gorge, and led the first worship service in a church in it.

"This is a very significant church. It stands on the border with Russia. Russians are mostly Orthodox, and when a guest comes from there he will see he has come to an Orthodox and peace-loving country," Ilia II said during the opening ceremony for the monastery, at which Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili was present.

The monastery must become "a symbol of peace, unity, peaceful relations between Georgia and Russia," the Catholicos said. It would put up travelers, and political leaders would be able to hold talks there, he said.

He expressed hope that Georgia and Russia would restore good-neighborly relations.

Comments

  1. CGSeptember 15, 2011 at 11:39 PM

    I was there in late June and am amazed that it is ready for consecration already. The priest overseeing the construction is a wonderful man of great vision, and evidently much respected by the building workers there, many of whom were living on site in an almost monastic community.

    I was with a group who sang Georgian chant and as they sang impromptu in the half-finished upper church, heads popped out of all the upper window spaces and other workers came in from outside to listen.

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