Merry Christmas!
Georgia celebrates Christmas - one of the most holy feasts
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Today Catholic Christians all over the world are celebrating one of the most important religious celebrations – Christmas, the birth of Jesus Christ.
To welcome the day, bells of churches were ringing in Bethlehem, the Vatican and in Georgia’s Cathedral of Our Lady in the historical part of Tbilisi in recognition of the largest Christmas Eve celebration.
Christian pilgrims celebrating this holy feast in Georgia, a country that holds great significance in the history of Christianity, attended Midnight Mass to mark Christmas Eve in churches around the country. A procession was led by Bishop of the Georgian Catholic Church Guseppe Pazzoto.
Bishop Pazzoto, the most senior Catholic cleric in the country, said he wished this holy feast would become a very important day for all people.
"We wish you a very merry Christmas and peace.”
Christian pilgrims celebrating this holy feast in Georgia. Photo by N. Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
In his Christmas message Pazzoto also wished blessings to Georgian Orthodox Christians who celebrate Christmas on January 7 in accordance with the Orthodox tradition.
Christmas greetings from Georgia’s President
Georgia’s President also offered Christmas wishes to all people who celebrate this feast today.
I congratulate all our fellow citizens who celebrate Christmas on this special day, with all my heart. We believe this celebration is related to the renewal and the faith of a bright future. I wish love, prosperity, peace and happiness to all families in the country on this special day.”
The Christian community who celebrates Christmas on December 25 is not too large in Georgia.
Latest data revealed there were about 50,000 Catholics in Georgia, or about two percent of the total population. Most lived in the southern part of the country, where Catholicism spread in Georgia in the 13th Century.
There are two Catholic churches in Tbilisi. Mass is provided in Georgian language in both. Guseppe Pazzoto was appointed Bishop of the Georgian Catholic Church in 2000 and since then he has become fluent in Georgian.