Catholic Easter in the Country of Georgia

H A P P Y  E A S T E R

Best wishes for a wonderful Easter filled  with sweet friends and the joy of spring.

Kimi

It is lucky I was assigned so close to the Georgian capitol of Tbilisi so I can attend one of the three Catholic churches in Georgia - two of which are in Tbilisi. Mass attendees see a melting pot far more than in the States (although our Raleigh churches are pretty diverse as well)  Georgians are  95+% Orthodox since, I think, it is part of their national identity. They are very open and interested in the Roman Catholic church, and they also welcome me to their church which I enjoy very much.

The one comical incidence was when I joined some Georgian friends in their journey to a wonderful little village of their ancestors.  It housed maybe 20 families at the most.  One neighbor came to greet us upon our arrival to the house.  She had I think 6 kids with her.  My friend bent over and carefully whispered in my ear "catolici."  :-)

A little history on the church I attend in Tbilisi....

  Saint Peter and Paul Catholic church was built in 1870 with the order of Konstantine Zubalashvili, the lead of the Roman catholic parish and supporter. Many of the Catholic churches in Georgia were decommissioned - I guess that is the word - under the Soviet times.  After the Soviet times, they were given to the Georgian Church.  But this one survived.  Pope John Paul II visited Georgia in 1999 and performed Mass here.  They want to erect a statue of him and are collecting funds for it.  I am not a fan of spending money like this and prefer they put up a plaque and use the money to exemplify what we believe is one role of the Church - to care for one another. 

 The Orthodox church does not have many initiatives to care for the poor as we do in the states. The current Patriarch was here in '92 when the Soviets fell. I think his main goal was to re-establish their national faith community. And he has done a wonderful job of that.   

Here is the church on Easter Sunday. Felt funny to take a picture, but... Lovely church

Easter was a lovely affair at our church.  We had a pot luck afterward, organized by a lovely couple from Britain that have been here for the better part of 15 years, and always supporting the church.

We had mostly Indian, African and Sri Lankan food. It was great. Coffee, tea and a tasty sweet pudding.  I love that we can meet people from all over the world on Sundays... visitors, medical students, international travelers, Georgians,  It was a blessed Easter.  And the regulars are Irish, British, Austrian, African, and other nationalities as mentioned above.  

Later we celebrated Easter dinner at a local American restaurant in Tbilisi, owned by a US Air Force retiree who moved here.  She found and serves the best bacon in the country.  

A few fellow Catholic ex-pats celebrating Easter

Easter decorations are so interesting.  Everyone grows little wheat gardens before Easter,
 so they are nice and high as you can see here.  Then they put in their traditional RED Easter eggs.

The other Catholic Church in Tbilisi is the Catholic Cathedral of the Virgin Mary, built in 1804. Long is the history before the church was even built.  It started with the XIII century when a mission of Catholics started their activities in Georgia. They have a lovely church, but no English Mass. I have yet to figure out about all the pictures on the sides of the aisles.  As you can see they are not the regular Stations of the Cross.

This coming week is Orthodox Easter. It began on Palm Sunday ( our Easter) and continues.  National holiday starts Thursday through Monday.  And Easter Monday is NOT because it is the start of baseball season!  I feel privileged to be invited to several homes to celebrate over the holiday.  ... to be continued.