Tbilisi, March 22, 2016
According to Archimandrite John (Mchedlishvili), a cleric of the Holy Trinity (Sameba) Cathedral in Tbilisi, the church has been temporarily closed, reports the Karibche newspaper.
Services according to the typicon will be celebrated in four smaller churches located on the territory of the cathedral, Fr. John said.
His Holiness Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II of All Georgia will celebrate the next Sunday Liturgy at Sioni Cathedral (of Dormition) in Tbilisi.
A fire erupted in the Holy Trinity Cathedral of Tbilisi on March 20, 2016, the day of Triumph of Orthodoxy, immediately after the festal service. The fire gutted 1200 square meters (c. 12916.7 square feet) of the building’s area.
“The cause of the fire has not yet been ascertained. The possibility that a power cable failure could have caused the ignition has not been confirmed, because the cathedral’s electrical system is in perfect order,” Archimandrite John told journalists on Monday.
It is also reported that a fundraising campaign to restore the Holy Trinity Cathedral has been launched.
