On July 14, a grand baptism ceremony took place at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Tbilisi, where over 1,200 children were baptized and became the godchildren of Georgian Patriarch Ilia II. The Patriarchal Locum Tenens, Metropolitan Shio of Senaki and Chkhorotsku, blessed and congratulated the children and their parents, conveying the blessings of the Patriarch.

"Today, the whole Church rejoices that these children, as the Holy Apostle Paul says, 'are no longer children of the flesh,' that is, they are no longer only children of the flesh but have become children of the Heavenly Kingdom of God. Therefore, we should rejoice today for these children, but not only for these children, but for all the children around us; we must protect them with love, prayer, and wise care so that they may grow up to be worthy of being called children of God, as the holy Apostle John the Theologian says: 'See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!' (1 John 3)," said Metropolitan Shio in his sermon after the ceremony.

Patriarch Ilia initiated the tradition of mass baptisms in 2008. Since then, 48,000 children have become his godchildren, and the ceremony has been held sixty-nine times. The ceremony is open to the third and subsequent children born to married parents.

Photo: Georgian Patriarchate