Ecumenical prayer under the arches of Surb Etchmiadzin Church in Tbilisi |
On January 24, 2014 under the arches of Surb Etchmiadzin Church annual ecumenical prayer for the unity of Christians was served. Prayer motto was: «It is impossible to divide the body of Christ». The Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Holy Church in Georgia in 2014 took over the Chairmanship of Council of Leaders of Christian Sister Churches and Denominations. At the invitation of the Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Georgia, the Head of the Roman Catholic Church in Georgia, His Eminence Bishop Giuseppe Pasotto, the Head of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Georgia, His Eminence Bishop Hans-Joachim Kiderlen, the Head of the Evangelical Baptist Church in Georgia, His Eminence Bishop Ilia Osepashvili and groups of clergy and parishioners from other Sister Churches and denominations took part in ecumenical prayer. The Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Georgia, His Grace Bishop Vazgen Mirzakhanyan in his welcoming speech mentioned the standpoint of Armenian Church regarding the Ecumenical Movement and its active participation in the united prayer. He stressed that the Armenian Church, having two thousand years of history, is always ready for dialogue with other religious denominations, he transmitted to all participants of the ecumenical prayer blessing from His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians. His Grace marked all feasts and religious ceremonies, religious hymns, 9 divine services and 7 sacraments of the Armenian Christian Church. At the suggestion of His Grace, the Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Georgia during the ecumenical prayer conducted the 9th Rest Service, during which they prayed for stopping the bloodshedand terrorin Syria, lessening civil tensions in Ukraine and worldwide peace. The Churches that took part in ecumenical prayer prayed for forgiveness,repentanceand mercy. Althoughthe language and cultureof the participants weredifferent, butin all prayerssoundedonemottoof Christian unity: as it is impossible to divide the body of Christ, it is impossibleto divideChristians. Warmth andbreathe ofunited prayerand mutual support prevailed in old Surb Etchmiadzin Church of Tbilisi. At the end of the service theFirst EpistleofSt. Paulto the Corinthians (Chapter One, 1-17) was readin Armenian and Georgian. The State Minister of Georgia for Reconciliation and Civic Equality, Mr. Paata Zakareishvili, Headof the Tolerance Centreat the Public Defender's Office, Beka Mindiashvili,the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to Georgia – His Excellency Richard Norland, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federal Republic of Germany to Georgia – His Excellency Ortwin Hennig, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Poland to Georgia – His Excellency Andrzej Cieszkowski, Apostolic Nuncio to Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan - Archbishop Monsignor Marek Solczyński, Deputy Ambassadorof RA to Georgia VahagnAfyan, Advisor Levon Torgomyan and others attended the ecumenical prayer. The ecumenical prayer ended with the blessing of four bishops.
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