On December 18, a ceremonial event dedicated to the 93rd
anniversary of the birth and the 48th anniversary of the
enthronement of His Holiness and Beatitude Ilia II, Catholicos
Patriarch of All Georgia, Archbishop of Mtskheta and Tbilisi, and
Metropolitan of Bitchvinta and Tskhum–Apkhazeti, was held at the
Tbilisi Theological Academy and Seminary.
Students
from all faculties of the Tbilisi Theological Academy and Seminary
participated in the event titled ‘Even Today I Continue to Preach in
Georgia’ -
Hierarchs’
Reflections on the Spiritual Mission of Saint
Nino.
The
theme was defined within the context of the 1700th anniversary of
the proclamation of Christianity as the state religion and aimed to
study and analyze the sermons of His Holiness the Catholicos
Patriarch of All Georgia, Ilia II, as well as those of our great
hierarchs - Gabriel Kikodze, Leonide Okropiridze, and Kalistrate
Tsintsadze - highlighting the apostolic mission of Saint Nino and
the spiritual mission of the Georgian nation.
The participants and attendees of the academic event were welcomed
by the Rector of the Tbilisi Theological Academy and Seminary,
Professor Archpriest Giorgi Zviadadze, Doctor of Theology,
Philology, and Political Science.
He
noted that it is a joyful and yet significant occasion that the
Tbilisi Theological Academy and Seminary, as a higher theological
institution founded by the Patriarch, always commemorates with
particular reverence and gratitude the jubilee dates of the person
whose contribution has been immeasurably great to the life of the
institution and, more broadly, to the revival of the country’s
spiritual life, ecclesiastical education and science.
The following presentations were delivered at the jubilee event:
1. Tornike Razmadze – ‘The Georgian Idea’ (based on the sermons of His Holiness the Catholicos Patriarch of All Georgia, Ilia II) - Faculty of Academy, 1st-year student.
2. Luka Simonishvili – ‘A Loving Heart’ (based on the sermons of His Holiness the Catholicos Patriarch of All Georgia, Ilia II) - Faculty of Academy, 1st-year student.
3. Irine Chukhtiashvili – ‘On the Mission of Saint Nino’; ‘Saint Nino as a Saint of Pan-Georgian and Local Significance’ (based on the sermons of Catholicos Patriarch Leonide Okropiridze) - Faculty of Christian Psychology, 4th-year student.
4. Nika Chumburidze – ‘For the Freedom of Women’ (based on the sermons of Catholicos Patriarch Leonide Okropiridze) - Faculty of the Theological Seminary, 1st-year student.
5. Tako Gigiani – ‘The Chief Guard’; ‘We Always Defended Our Existence with the Cross’ (based on the sermons of Catholicos Patriarch Leonide Okropiridze) - Faculty of Christian Art Studies, 4th-year student.
6. Miranda Chiabrishvili – ‘1600 Years of the Christianization of Kartli’ (based on the words of Catholicos Patriarch Leonide Okropiridze) - Faculty of Christian Psychology, 3rd-year student.
7. Ana Kupunia – “The Patron of Literacy” (based on the sermons of Catholicos Patriarch Leonide Okropiridze) - Faculty of Church Architecture, Iconography and Restoration of Easel and Monumental Iconography, 3rd-year student.
8. Lidia Sevastova – “The Church Elects Us” (based on the sermons of Catholicos Patriarch Leonide Okropiridze) - Faculty of Church Architecture, Iconography, Restoration of Easel and Monumental Iconography, 3rd-year student.
9. Levan Saliashvili – “Christianity Through Nanina” (based on the sermons of Catholicos Patriarch Kalistrate Tsintsadze) - Faculty of the Theological Seminary, 3rd-year student.
10. Fotine Gunia – “The Path with the Lamp of Enlightened Faith” (based on the sermons of Bishop Gabriel Kikodze) - Faculty of Christian Art Theory and History, 2nd-year student.
The ceremonial event was led by the first-year student of the Faculty of Academy Tornike Razmadze. The Choir of the Tbilisi Theological Academy, under the direction of Lekso Gremelashvili, performed hymns. The program included the Kontakion of Saint Nino (from the Gelati Choir School) and ‘Soul Cleansed’ (9th Psalm of Holy Wednesday).
The event was attended by professors, instructors, staff, and students of the Tbilisi Theological Academy and Seminary.
