Georgia’s Patriarch delivers annual Christmas epistle

Patriarch of Georgia Ilia II outlined a number of issues in his annual Christmas epistle today as the leader of Georgia's Orthodox Christian Church led religious service to celebrate the date at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Tbilisi.

In his Christmas message the Patriarch touched on subjects of love, family values, marriage and issues of human relations, among other topics.

The Orthodox Church leader had the following to say about social and human issues in the traditional epistle:

Human relations

Ilia II noted a global trend of "receding feeling of true love" being replaced by "virtual feelings", adding the same dynamic was apparent in Georgia.

He attributed the problem to a culture of "selfish interests" in human interactions and said relationships based on such ground were "short-lived".

Family values

The religious leader touched the subject of disintegrating families, stressing the failure of spouses to "stand above personal interests" and "pay each other necessary respect".

The Patriarch noted the plight of children growing in family conditions of disagreement and conflict, reminding parents that material well-being would not be able to prevent negative psychological effects of family stress on youth.

Marriage

The Christmas epistle also focused on the subject of marital life, with Ilia II speaking about the religious importance of the institution.

The church leader also said the values demonstrated in family life were "love, common endurance in hardship and service to fellow humans."

Importance of language

Another topic of the Patriarch's customary Christmas message was the effect of "negative speech and thoughts" on people.

The epistle stressed the importance of words, noting their effects were "overlooked" in daily life by individuals who frequently resorted to "insults, libel and lies" in their language.

Georgia celebrated Christmas on January 7 due to the two-week difference between Gregorian and Julian Calendars. As the Patriarch delivered his annual message, the celebrations were joined by Georgia's President and Prime Minister alongside officials.