Tbilisi, May 18, 2026
Photo: Georgian Patriarchate Public Relations Department
The newly elected and enthroned Catholicos-Patriarch Shio III of Georgia led a festive pan-Orthodox Liturgy yesterday for the celebration of Family Purity Day.
The holiday was established in Georgia by His Holiness Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia of blessed memory in 2014, and coincides with the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia, which propagandizes in favor of immoral lifestyles. The holiday is accompanied every year by traditional processions in Tbilisi and other cities. This year, a procession was held in at least 10 cities.
For the Divine Liturgy at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Tbilisi, Pat. Shio was joined by a host of Georgian hierarchs and hierarchs from the Patriarchates of Constantinople, Antioch, Romania, and Bulgaria, the Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia, the latter of which was represented by its primate, His Beatitude Metropolitan Rastislav of Prešov, and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
The Moscow Patriarchate was also represented by His Eminence Metropolitan Ambrose of Tver though he didn’t serve because a hierarch from Constantinople was serving.
Concerning Family Purity Day, Pat. Shio said in his homily:
It’s also symbolic that today our Church and nation marks the Day of Family Purity and Respect for Parents, which was established by the late Catholicos-Patriarch of Georgia Ilia II. You will remember how much importance he placed on preserving moral values. This year we observe this day for the first time without him, yet through the celebration of this feast, his great spiritual legacy continues to live on—that love, unity and respect for family sanctity which he established in the nation throughout his entire ministry. Of course, the tradition of universal Baptisms established by him will also continue, which became conducive to the demographic advancement and spiritual strengthening of our nation.
Christian teaching refers to the family as a “small church,” that spiritual space where, to borrow from St. John Chrysostom, the Lord dwells and where through self-sacrifice, love, and prayers for one another we grow in spirituality. It’s precisely such “small churches” that create a society united by Divine grace. Dear guests, on such a day, through your presence here, we especially feel and see how Christ’s faith and love unite different nations and Local Churches into one great Christian family, founded on moral and spiritual values nurtured by the word of the Lord.
Today, in a world full of contemporary challenges, the Orthodox Church bears a most important mission. As the orientation and foundation of moral values, the unifier of the nation, it strengthens Christian values among the people. Therefore, it’s essential that both Church and state work together to ensure the worthy upbringing of future generations, to protect family sanctity and love. Everyone must realize that the family is not just a personal space, but the foundation of national identity. It’s precisely the strength of the family that determines a strong and united state.
His Holiness also addressed the crowds that gathered at the cathedral to join in the procession, warning of the dangers of harmful LGBT ideologies and the grave sin of abortion.
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