Tbilisi, May 20, 2019
Photo: 1tv.ge
“Some thought the blessing of the family on May 17 was directed against someone, but we have no antagonism; we are worried about Georgia,” His Holiness Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II of Georgia said in his homily on Friday, May 17, celebrated as Family Purity Day in Georgia since 2014.
“We should think about Georgian families, about the future of Georgia,” the beloved archpastor continued. His homily for the day is published on the site of the Georgian Orthodox Church.
Family Purity Day was launched by the Patriarch himself five years ago and coincides with the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia, which was launched in 2005.
“We note that this event is peaceful and it does not aim at any kind of aggression. It is the expression of our community’s support towards traditional values. The Church is distancing itself from any kinds of violence,” the Patriarchate said in a previous statement.
More than 500 couples were married in mass ceremonies throughout Tbilisi the day before. Such mass wedding ceremonies, coinciding with Family Purity Day celebrations, began in 2017.
Pat. Ilia also emphasized, according to unchangeable Orthodox teaching, that a family is created only by one man and one woman. He also recalled that the Lord commands us to honor our parents and urged his flock to seek their parents’ blessings, which can “work miracles.”
“I appeal to all of you, who have a mother and father, or at least one of them—kneel before them and ask their blessing. The blessing of a mother and father works miracles; you will see a miracle in your life, you will be happy,” he said, reports InterPress News.
The day was also marked by procession without thousands of faithful that ended at Holy Trinity-Sameba Cathedral in Tbilisi. The wonder-working Atskuri Icon of the Mother of God was carried in the holy march.
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