Tbilisi, May 27, 2026
Photo: sazu.ge
His Holiness Catholicos-Patriarch Shio of Georgia delivered a message on May 26 marking the country’s Independence Day, urging Georgians to understand freedom not merely as a political achievement but as a spiritual and moral responsibility.
“True freedom isn’t only the outward expression of independence and the inheritance of the past,” he said, “but above all it concerns the spiritual condition of the person and demands great responsibility from us,” reports the press service of the Georgian Church.
Pat. Shio opened his address by describing May 26 as one of the most significant dates in Georgian history, saying it embodies the centuries-long struggle of the Georgian people for liberty, for the Christian faith, and for national values. He also noted that the restoration of the autocephaly of the Georgian Orthodox Church preceded the achievement of state independence, and that the Church has always served as the spiritual foundation and the basis of national unity on the path toward independence.
The Patriarch expressed particular gratitude to those Georgians who gave their lives in the long struggle for freedom, saying their sacrifice and service obligate the living to cherish and protect what was won.
He also paid tribute to the late Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II, whose half-century of leadership he described as a vital pillar in strengthening the spiritual and civic unity of the nation, Georgian national consciousness, and the international standing of both the Church and the country.
The Patriarch also noted that this year marks the 1,700th anniversary of Christianity being declared the state religion of Georgia, calling the occasion a reminder of the spiritual foundation that has shaped Georgian identity, culture, and civic consciousness across the centuries. He said the Christian faith taught the Georgian people the meaning of true freedom, love of God and neighbor, steadfastness in times of trial, and self-sacrifice for the homeland.
His Holiness then turned to the younger generation, warning against what he called false modern ideas about liberty. He said contemporary society often tells people that freedom means rejecting all constraints, whereas true freedom means responsibility, faith in God, inner strength, honest and moral living, and the overcoming of vices. Only a generation raised with these values, he said, will be able to preserve the country’s unity and state independence.
The Georgian primate closed by calling on Georgians not to treat independence as merely a political inheritance from the past, but to work daily to strengthen it. He said Georgian statehood should be founded on love of God and country, justice, peace, unity, tolerance, and service to human good, since a strong state is built only when these virtues prevail in society and the people are united in loyalty to common national goals and spiritual-moral values.
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