On May 17, Georgia celebrates the Day of Family Purity and Respect for Parents. In honour of this occasion, a march was held today, beginning at Kashueti Church and culminating at the Saint Trinity Cathedral.

Before the march, citizens gathered at St. George’s Kashueti Church, where the participants were addressed by the Locum Tenens of the Patriarchal Throne, Metropolitan Shio (Mujiri) of Senaki and Chkhorotsku.

The march was attended not only by citizens but also by prominent government officials, including Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili, President Mikheil Kavelashvili, Georgian Dream Secretary General and Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze, among others.

In addition to the event in Tbilisi, marches dedicated to the Day of Family Purity and Respect for Parents took place in ten major regional cities across Georgia.

This day was officially designated as the Day of Family Purity and Respect for Parents in 2014, with the blessing of His Holiness Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, Archbishop of Mtskheta-Tbilisi, and Metropolitan of Bichvinta and Tskhum-Abkhazia, Ilia II. The observance has been held annually since then.