| Ecumenical Prayer in the Cathedral of Saint George in Tbilisi |
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Every year the ecumenical prayer is presided by one of the four Churches. This year the Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church has assumed the obligation of the chair of the council of leaders of Christian sister churches and denominations. On January 25, 2018, in Tbilisi, the ecumenical prayer was held in the Cathedral of Saint George. In attendance for the ecumenical prayer, imbued with the spirit of love and peace, were Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Armenia to Georgia Ruben Sadoyan; Mariusz Maszkiewicz, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Poland to Georgia; Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Georgia Mr. Johannes Douma; Mr. Georgii Nazarov , Charge d'affaires of the Embassy of Ukraine in Georgia; Zaza Vashakmadze, Head of the State Agency for Religious Issues; first Deputy State Minister for Reconciliation and Civic Equality Lasha Darsalia; the personnel of the Tolerance Centre under the Public Defender, the representatives of diplomatic missions accredited in Georgia, diplomats, the clergy of different churches, The Primate of the Armenian Diocese in Georgia, His Grace Bishop Mirzakhanayan; offered welcoming remarks to the attendees; he transmitted the blessing and warm greetings of His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians to all the participants of the prayer. In his remarks, the Diocesan Primate appreciated the gathering together of Christians, who are seeking God’s mercy, highlighted ethnic and religious diversity, emphasized the importance of preserving the national and religious identity, as well as similar meetings. Bishop Vazgen touched upon the history of the ecumenical prayer and those traditional gatherings, the participation of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church and the dioceses of Armenians dispersed throughout the world, which is the united prayer for the end of bloodshed and terrorist acts, the The prayer service was offered under the motto from the Book of Exodus (Bible):"Your right hand, O LORD, is glorious in power”, it was prepared by the Churches of the His Grace Bishop Giuseppe Pasotto, the leader of Apostolic Department of Caucasian Latin Catholics; the Head of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Georgia, His Grace Bishop Marcus Shox; the Head of the Evangelical Baptist Church in Georgia, His Grace Bishop Merab Gaprindashvili; joined in prayer. Despite the variety of cultures and languages, the motto of Christian unity pronounced in all prayers was the same: deliverance from captivity and from abuse of human dignity, the call to fill our souls with unity and Christian love. “Let’s join our hands together, let’s not put our hands into chains, but take the shackles off, and with the love of Christ that has filled our souls, pray to God with the words Jesus Christ taught us.” The ecumenical prayer ended with the blessing of four bishops. Considerable work had been done by the clergy and officials of the Armenian Diocese in Georgia, namely Rev. Father The contemporary ecumenical movement is often said to have started with the 1910 Edinburgh Missionary Conference. Conference attendees came to an agreement that the Christian unity would strengthen the apostolic activity and the Churches itself. The Evangelical Baptist Church was one of the initiators of Ecumenical Prayer services in Georgia.     |
Over the past thirty years the ecumenical prayer has been organized in Georgia, with the participation of four Christian denominations and their faithful, including the Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church, the Roman Catholic Church in Georgia, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Georgia the Evangelical Baptist Church in Georgia.
