The
Georgian people have again expressed their great love of and trust in His
Holiness Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II of Georgia, bringing more than 1,000
children to be baptized and become the primate’s Godchildren in a mass
ceremony.
This 53rd
such mass Baptism took place on Sunday at Tbilisi’s Holy Trinity Cathedral,
with more than 1,000 souls being united to Christ our God in His holy Orthodox
Church, reports the official website of the Georgian Orthodox Church.
The
previous mass Baptism was held on January 21, with 708 children receiving the
Sacrament at that time. After Sunday’s Baptism, His Holiness has about 35,000
Godchildren.
With the
first mass Baptism on January 19, 2008, Patriarch Ilia commenced his initiative
to help improve the dire demographic situation in Georgia caused by post-Soviet
abortion rates. Such mass celebrations are held four times a year in which the
primate personally baptizes and becomes the Godfather for the third and later
children of married Orthodox couples.
According
to the latest statistics, the country has a population of 3,718,200. According
to the forecast of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), this number may
drop to 2,985,000 people by 2050.
After the
celebration of the Sacrament that united more than 1,000 souls to Christ our
God in His holy Orthodox Church, each child was presented with a baptismal
cross, a baptismal certificate, and a copy of the patriarch’s Paschal epistle,
reports Georgia Online.
His
Holiness, the most trusted man in Georgia, addressed his ever-growing flock
with a sermon, stating, “May the Lord protect my Godchildren, and may the Lord
protect their parents and siblings. God bless all of Georgia.”
Source: http://orthochristian.com/112504.html
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