Family Purity Day is observed in Georgia on May 17.

On the occasion of the day, the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, Archbishop of Mtskheta-Tbilisi and Metropolitan of Bichvinta and Tskhum-Abkhazia, His Holiness and Beatitude Shio III, will conduct the first festive liturgy at the Holy Trinity Cathedral (Sameba) in Tbilisi. The information was released by the Patriarchate’s Public Relations Service.

According to the Patriarchate, the liturgy will be attended by delegations from various local churches and other guests who arrived specifically for the enthronement of His Holiness. A procession will also be held.

“On May 17, Family Purity Day is observed in Georgia.

The Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, Archbishop of Mtskheta-Tbilisi and Metropolitan of Bichvinta and Tskhum-Abkhazia, His Holiness and Beatitude Shio III, will conduct the first festive liturgy at the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in Tbilisi.

The liturgy will be attended by delegations from various local churches who arrived specifically for the enthronement of His Holiness, as well as other guests and members of the clergy and monastic community of the Georgian Orthodox Church.

At the same time, at 11:00 a.m., a traditional procession will begin from Kashveti Church of Saint George the Great Martyr to the Holy Trinity Patriarchal Cathedral. The procession will include parish communities and their clergy, as well as Sunday schools from both the Mtskheta-Tbilisi Diocese and other dioceses of the Georgian Orthodox Church. At Sameba Cathedral, the faithful arriving with the prayer procession will receive a blessing from the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia.

Given that May 17 falls on a Sunday, parish clergy are blessed to begin liturgy earlier than usual so that parishioners may participate in the procession,” the statement says.