The Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, Ilia II has addressed the participants of the seventh meeting of world and traditional religious leaders in Kazakhstan, where he spoke about the current situation in the world and spiritual conditions of people.  

"On behalf of the Orthodox Church of Georgia, I cordially welcome all the participants of this conference, which discusses a very important issue - the role of world and traditional religious leaders in the spiritual and social development of humanity in the post-pandemic period.

“It is widely known that in our time of secularization and apostasy, many problems have accumulated and the struggle against truth and morality has gained a new intensity”, said the Patriarch.  
He stated that “proponents of secularization put forward the idea of ​​false freedom devoid of morality and put forward the principle of the permissibility of everything: whatever I want is natural, possible and acceptable”.

“Such an attitude poses a special danger to the next generation, forming what falsely orients them, pseudo values ​​and loyalty to the gravest sins, which results in the loss of the perception of true freedom and the true meaning of life.

“All this was compounded by the pandemic, which instilled mass fear and alienated both countries and individuals”, said the country’s spiritual leader. 

Ilia II stressed that current hostilities in Ukraine “sow fear in the world community, which is a serious challenge for the whole world”.  

“In general, there is a feeling that we have found ourselves in a situation where no one knows what will happen tomorrow.

“It is our duty to overcome post-pandemic difficulties, to help the victims of the war as much as possible and to pray for peace. Believing in the true God and walking in his way frees the person, the society from all phobias and fills their hearts with peace, courage, courage, love, loyalty and the desire to live for others.

“This is a state of the soul when fear is no longer able to defeat us and disturb our inner world, our spiritual peace.

“This reality must be found by a person. This is the main purpose of our life!” said the Patriarch. 

 In the final note, the Patriarch expressed hope that the work of the session would promote inter-religious dialogue and peace, mutually respectful coexistence of religion and culture, and create conditions for the protection of spiritual values ​​through common efforts.