“Our culture, our identity, and our name were, are, and will always be the primary concern and arena of the Georgian Church,” writes Shalva Papuashvili, Georgian Parliament Speaker.

“First and foremost, I wish to congratulate His Holiness, who made extraordinary contributions to the recognition of restored autocephaly.”

Papuashvili emphasizes that the Church provides the vital life force that nourishes the Georgian nation, steadfastly cementing our state consciousness throughout all periods of history.

“Today marks 108 years since the restoration of the Autocephaly of the Georgian Apostolic Orthodox Church. On March 25 (12), 1917, during a festive liturgy at the Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, it was proclaimed that the autocephalous church governance—originally established by Vakhtang Gorgasali in 486 and abolished by the Russian Empire in 1811—was restored.
This was a momentous event that preceded the declaration of Georgia’s independence, the opening of the Georgian University, and other crucial milestones accomplished by our ancestors.

This year, we are preparing together with our Mother Church for a significant ecclesiastical and civic jubilee—the 1700th anniversary of Christianity becoming the state religion of Georgia in 2026. It will be a remarkable year, filled with numerous events that should reveal to our entire nation and the world our past, our history, our centuries of struggle, our hard-won reputation and our glory.

Our culture, our identity, and our name have been, are, and will continue to be the Georgian Church’s primary concern and arena. It is the Church that provides the vital life force by which the Georgian nation is nourished and which has consistently reinforced our state consciousness throughout time.

On this day of Autocephaly’s restoration, I first want to congratulate His Holiness and Beatitude, Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II, who made immense contributions to the recognition of restored autocephaly.

Today, I congratulate all citizens of Georgia, regardless of creed or nationality, because the autocephaly of the Georgian Church, like the sovereignty of the Georgian state, is the steadfast foundation of our homeland,” writes Papuashvili.