Jerusalem Patriarch awards Georgian PM with honours on visit

The Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III on Monday awarded the Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili with the Order of the Knight of the Holy Sepulchre of Christ and the decorated True Cross of the Saviour.

The Patriarch noted he was pleased with the visit of the leader of the country with significant Orthodox following, the Government Administration said. The religious leader hosted the Head of the Government at the Patriarchate, with the meeting following Garibashvili’s visit to the Monastery of Cross in Jerusalem on Monday. 

The Georgian PM thanked the clerical leader for the award and for his “personal contribution” to the symbolic transfer of a plot of land near the Jordan River, close to the place of the baptism of the Christ, where a Georgian cultural centre is designated to be built.

Garibashvili also stressed the “strong historical” ties between the Georgian and Jerusalem churches and the “special importance” of a planned visit of Patriarch Theophilos III to Georgia.