President Kavelashvili: Closer we are to God, more challenges we can overcome together with Mother Church

“I would especially like to greet our people of Upper Adjara, the residents of this truly unique and special region. Today, Upper Adjara is filled with celebration, as so many people have become part of the Mother Church and received baptism. This is truly a great celebration for each of us,” Georgian President Mikheil Kavelashvili said.

Kavelashvili made the remarks in Adjara while attending a mass baptism at the Skhalta Diocese. He said the entire nation and country were rejoicing.

“It is symbolic that Upper Adjara is a special region and a gateway to Christianity. It was here that Andrew the First-Called and Simon the Canaanite first preached the Christian faith. It was here that the Georgian people embraced the faith that remains our principal religion and the values we continue to cherish and protect.

It is also very important that this year our homeland, our country, marks 1,700 years since Christianity was declared the state religion in Georgia. The entire nation commemorated this milestone, and it represents a tremendous responsibility for each of us.

Georgia is one body. We all know our history and the challenges it has been filled with, as well as how many saints and heroes we have. We have never accepted an invader’s harsh treatment of our land, our identity, our faith or our traditions.

This is who we are, the essence of our lives: who we are, what we represent and what we must become in the future. Our faith and our Orthodox Apostolic Church, around which all of Georgia is united, safeguard all these values.

It is a great privilege to be here today in this truly unique region. I would like to bow my head in respect to the people of Upper Adjara, who have endured tremendous hardship but preserved their identity and their love for their homeland. Today, we are witnessing the continuation of that legacy.

To borrow the words of our Holiness, the path that all of Georgia is following, together with our people of Upper Adjara, is a path the entire country must walk — the path toward the Lord. This is the essence of our lives,” Kavelashvili said.

The president added that Georgia remained united and that the country’s people were its greatest strength.

“We will always remain strong and develop our country, but people are always the most important thing. What matters most in a person’s life is their purpose. We are a nation of profound faith that has taught us, over centuries, a unique wisdom: that we must be soldiers of Christ, under the Lord’s protection.

To borrow the words of our Holiness once again, the closer we are to the Lord, the more easily we will overcome difficult times and the more challenges we will be able to face. The further we move away from Him, the more challenges and problems we will encounter.

This is the lesson drawn from our entire history and experience. Our ancestors taught us this, and we have a duty to follow their example; we have no other path. Together with our Mother Church, we can certainly put this into practice, and today is a clear example of that.

It is a great joy to see you here today in this truly unique and distinctive region. This is a celebration for our entire nation, for all of Georgia.

Once again, I will say that Georgia is one body. It cannot be otherwise. Our differences lie only in our unique culture, our distinctive traditions and character, just as our Georgian polyphony is unique. These differences strengthen and unite our truly exceptional nation.

Once again, I congratulate you on this day. May God bless our homeland,” Kavelashvili said.