On May 26 of this year, students of the Tbilisi Theological Seminary, together with the Seminary’s Dean, Father Giorgi Vashalomidze, and New Testament instructor Revaz Mujirishvili, visited the Racha region. They made a pilgrimage to the churches of Nikortsminda and Barakoni.
At Nikortsminda Cathedral, Father Giorgi Vashalomidze and the students, including Hieromonk Abel Bogvradze, Father Giorgi Mkhatvrishvili, and Deacon Dimitri Japaridze, served a moleben and a memorial service in remembrance of those who sacrificed their lives for the independence of Georgia, as May 26 is celebrated as Georgia’s Independence Day.
The representatives of the Tbilisi Theological Seminary were hosted in Ambrolauri by the wine company Gonadze Winery, specifically by the company’s director, Mr. Sulkhan Gonadze. The guests tasted Khvanchkara, a wine made from a local grape variety. A small conference was also held in one of the halls, with the participation of the Seminary’s faculty members and students. As the event coincided with the feast day of St. Euthymius the Athonite, special attention during the conference was devoted to this great Georgian ecclesiastical figure and scholar.
Presentations were delivered by: Revaz Mujirishvili, lecturer at the Tbilisi Theological Seminary, on The Translation Methodology of St. Euthymius the Athonite: Understanding the So-Called Omissions and Additions. Father Giorgi Vashalomidze, on Nikortsminda Cathedral. Nikoloz Chumburidze, a first-year Seminary student, on The Significance of St. Euthymius the Athonite’s Translational Legacy in the History of Georgian Canon Law. Davit Kheladze, a second-year Seminary student, on Barakoni.
The visit concluded with a pilgrimage to the Church of the Iviron Mother of God in Ambrolauri, where the group was hosted by its Dean, Archpriest Elizbar Sopromadze.
The Tbilisi Theological Seminary expresses its gratitude to the governing hierarch of the diocese, Bishop Vakhtang of Nikortsminda, and to Father Elizbar for their warm hospitality.
