Senaki and Chkhorotsku Metropolitan Shio Mujiri, who is the Patriarch's 'locum tenens', on Thursday claimed amid the absence of torture of Christians in the modern world, church was “verbally persecuted”, during a service in the Tbilisi Trinity Cathedral on St.George’s Day. 

He noted the “proof of this is the constant insults and slanders that are heard in the public space addressed to the clergy”, and highlighted “Christians should also be martyrs because they should defeat their passions”. 

The top cleric said the sins included debauchery, drunkenness, drug addiction, lust for fornication, love of silver, greed, gambling, irritation, anger, hatred, judgment, sadness and boredom, arrogance, falsehood and others. 

“If these passions and sins become a human habit, then they become idols of our soul. By serving and obeying them, we become idolaters”, he added.