Parliament Speaker: Georgia’s spirit of independence has never waned; legacy passed through generations, ready for history’s next opportunity

“I congratulate you on Georgia’s Independence Day! This day is a symbol of our national will, our love of freedom, and our sense of responsibility,” declared the Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, in his address at the ceremonial parade dedicated to Independence Day.

Parliament Speaker highlighted that today’s celebration holds special significance, as this year marks the 1,700th anniversary of Christianity being proclaimed as the state religion.

“There has never been a moment in Georgia’s history when thought and struggle for independence ceased. This inexhaustible charge passed from generation to generation, always awaiting history’s next window of opportunity. Today’s celebration carries particular significance. This year, we mark the 1,700th anniversary of Christianity as the state religion of Georgia. This date reminds us that, over seventeen centuries, the Georgian state and the Georgian Church together built a spiritual and national foundation that has sustained us through even the most difficult of times. We were preserved by our own sense of identity and by three paramount treasures: love of country, fidelity to our traditions, and steadfastness of faith, whose principal creators and custodians are two institutions: the Georgian state and the Georgian Church. They cannot be separated. Their histories cannot be told apart. They are the two pillars of that one body, Georgia. Two centuries ago, both these pillars were torn from us; golden chains were bound about us, and our despoilment of faith was made their design. Since that day, we have fought for our independence, and that struggle is yet to be won,” declared Shalva Papuashvili.