Tbilisi, Georgia: The Minister of Defense of Georgia, Irakli Chikovani attended the Christmas Liturgy at the Trinity Cathedral in Tbilisi on January 7, 2025, Tuesday.
The Prime Minister of Georgia, Irakli Kobakhidze, the President of Georgia, Mikheil Kavelashvili, the Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia, and the members of the legislative body and representatives of the Cabinet of Ministers also attended the Christmas Liturgy at the Holy Trinity Cathedral. So the Defense Minister attended the solemn service together with the Ministers of Georgia.
The Christmas Liturgy at the Holy Trinity Cathedral was also attended by other ministers of Georgia as well. They are:
- Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze,
- Georgia’s President Mikheil Kavelashvili,
- Speaker of the Georgian Parliament Shalva Papuashvili,
- Members of the legislative body and
- Representatives of the Cabinet of Ministers.
Thus, the defense minister attended the solemn service at the Church together with these Georgian ministers.
The Defense Minister of Georgia also gave a speech at the Holy Cathedral. During the speech, Chikovani congratulated the parishioners and military personnel on Christmas and wished them peace and prosperity.
The Prime Minister of Georgia, Irakli Kobakhidze also congratulated the whole of Georgia on Christmas after the solemn mass. The Georgian PM Shared glimpses of his visit on his official Facebook page. He also wrote about his experience at the Trinity Cathedral. He said that celebrating Christmas is a celebration of love, kindness, the renewal of the world, and wishing love and kindness to all.
Government representatives and parishioners heard the Christmas Epistle of the Patriarch before the celebration mass, in the Trinity Cathedral.
Why Orthodox world celebrates Christmas on January 7?
The Orthodox world celebrates the Nativity of the Savior on January 7, every year. There is a spiritual reason behind this. Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas on January 7 because they use the Julian calendar, which is 13 days behind the Gregorian calendar used by most Christian churches.
By 1923, due to the 13-day difference between the two calendars, Orthodox Christians celebrates Christmas 13 days after December 25. Orthodox Christians celebrate it with various rituals, festive meals, and messages. Some Orthodox Christmas ceremonies also include a Christmas Eve mass, a Christmas march, and children singing religious songs.
