Millennial anniversary of Georgian cathedral
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(st-catherine.ru) - On October 14, 2010, with the blessing of His Beatitude, Metropolitan JONAH of All America and Canada and by invitation of the Georgian Orthodox Church, His Grace, Bishop MICHAEL of New York and New Jersey together with Archimandrite Zacchaeus, Representative of the Orthodox Church in America to the Moscow Patriarchate participated in the celebration of the 1000th Anniversary of the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Life-Giving Tree in Mtskheta, Georgia. Also accompanying His Grace, Bishop MICHAEL was Archpriest Alexander Tandilashvili who, while still a cleric of the Georgian Orthodox Church, serves in the Orthodox Church in America's Diocese of New York and New Jersey.
The celebration began with the festal Divine Liturgy led by His Holiness and Beatitude ILIA II, Archbishop of Mtskheta and Tbilisi, Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, together with His Beatitude ANASTASIOS, Archbishop of Tirana, Durres, and All Albania and also His Beatitude, Metropolitan CHRISTOPHER, Archbishop of Prague and Primate of the Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia; Representatives of each of the 15 Local Autocephalous Orthodox Churches; and hierarchs and clergy of the Patriarchate of Georgia at the Cathedral of the Life-Giving Tree in Mtskheta. A very special blessing for all in the Cathedral was the presence of one of the nails that were used when Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was affixed to the cross and crucified for us and for our salvation on Golgotha. Following the Patriarchal Divine Liturgy, this holy item was available for veneration.
Following the Divine Liturgy congratulatory remarks were offered by the Primates of the Churches of Albania and the Church of the Czech lands and Slovakia to the Primate of the Georgian Orthodox Church. Likewise, official greetings of His All Holiness, Patriarch BARTHOLOMEW of Constantinople, New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch were read by his representative at the event, His Eminence, Metropolitan JOHN of Pergamon. Afterwards, a festal luncheon was offered for all the guests together with His Holiness and Beatitude, Patriarch and Catholicos ILIA II of Georgia. Following the luncheon, His Grace, Bishop MICHAEL of New York and New Jersey and Archimandrite Zacchaeus were received by the Georgian Patriarch for a private meeting during which the greetings of His Beatitude, Metropolitan JONAH of All America and Canada together with those of the Holy Synod of Bishops, the Clergy, Monastics and Faithful of the Orthodox Church in America were conveyed.
