The Patriarchate of Georgia made an explanation regarding the address of the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II to the congregation.
As stated in the statement of the Patriarchate, the patriarch's address to the congregation was a call to prayer, to maintain peace and unity.
"The appeal of the Catholicos-Patriarch of Georgia on May 12 of this year to the congregation was a call to prayer, to maintain peace and unity. Trying to interpret it on any political basis is wrong, sad and distorts the essence of prayer. We ask the Lord to bless Georgia with peace," the Patriarchate announced.
Before that, the Patriarchate issued an appeal to the congregation of Patriarch Ilia II:
"Currently, our country is going through one of the most difficult stages of its development. We all want peace, but it is often difficult for us to achieve it, because we do not behave correctly, we do not address and worship the one who is the origin and source of peace - the Holy Trinity.
I would like to remind you of the prayer of praise to the true God of three young men: - Ananias, Azariah and Misael, whom the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, threw into a fiery furnace in order to punish them, so that the people near them would also be burned by the flames of the fire, but they remained completely unharmed, because the angel of the Lord was with them and the heat of the fire could not hurt them.
Let's ask the almighty God to save Georgia from the greatest ordeal like it did with Ananias, Azariah and Misael, and to bless us with peace and unity," - reads the appeal.
