Patriarch Shio III reflects on 1,700 years of Christianity as Georgia’s state religion

His Beatitude Patriarch Shio III of Georgia emphasised faith’s role in society at an international symposium marking 1,700 years since Christianity became Georgia’s state religion.

The symposium took place in Tbilisi from 11 to 13 October, with sessions covering history, ethnology and archaeology, language and literature, culture and art, and religion and science.

Roin Metreveli, President of the Georgian National Academy of Sciences, and representatives of central government authorities attended the opening ceremony.

Christianity opened a new spiritual path The Primate of the Georgian Orthodox Church addressed the participants, recalling Georgia’s Christian history and the role of faith in shaping the country’s spiritual and cultural identity.

“The history of the past two millennia bears witness that, in our country, Christianity opened an entirely new spiritual path and brought about a new religious consciousness. It taught us that the principal purpose of human life is eternal communion with the Lord; it offered us the possibility of deification and the salvation of the soul.”

Patriarch Shio III linked the symposium’s theme to three principles that he described…