Georgia

Published by Prawostawny Serwis Internetowy, September 12, 2005

Patriarch of Georgia Visits Poland

The beginning of September was very important for the Orthodox Church in Poland. The Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church was visited by the Patriarch of Georgia Elias II. The patriach was in Poland from 2 to 6 September.

From the very beginning, most of the time spent by the head of the Georgian Church in Poland was dedicated to get to know the life of the Church in Poland. That is why the patriarch visited Orthodox monasteries – the female one on the Holy Mountain of Grabarka and the male one in Suprasl (both near the eastern border of Poland). The delegation spent some time in simple parishes in different parts of the country, where there are large communities as well as the smaller communities living in diaspora.

On Saturday evening (3 September), the Patriarch celebrated the all night vigil in Bialystok and on Sunday a Divine Liturgy together with the bishops of the Polish Church. During his visit in Poland, the patriarch visited two concentration camps in Poland – the one in Majdanek and another – Auschwitz - (Oświęcim) – where St. Archimandrite Gregory Peradze died. St. Gregory was the Georgian monk who lived and worked in Poland, teaching Orthodox Theology at the University of Warsaw. During the war, he was imprisoned and then murdered in Auschwitz.

During his visit in Cracow, the patriach met with the Roman Catholic metropolitan of Cracow, Stanislaw Dziwisz, who for many years was the assistant of the Pope John Paul II.

At the very end of the visit, the Patriarch met with the state authorities and the President of Poland, Aleksander Kwasniewski. The President was very happy about the fact that the relations between the Orthodox Churches in Poland and in Georgia are developing in a very good direction. The president also expressed his appreciation of the relations between Poland and Georgia and sent his greetings to the Georgian President Michael Saakaszwili.

The relations between the Churches in Poland and in Georgia are very friendly. In 2003, the head of the Orthodox Church in Poland, Metropolitan Sawa, visited the Church in Georgia. In 2004 and 2005, there were two pilgrimages from Poland to Georgia organized by the Fellowship in honour of St. Gregory Peradze which is active in the cathedral parish in Warsaw, the capital of Poland. During both trips Polish faithful could see the most honoured spiritual places in Georgia, as well as meet with the living relatives of St. Gregory Peradze and to talk with the Georgian Patriarch. The visit of the head of the Georgian Orthodox Church is another signal of the good atmosphere between the Churches in Poland and in Georgia.

Anna Siegieñ



Volume 7 Number 37 - Tuesday, September 13th, 2005	A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY