The role of religion in peacemaking is what it should always have been - to preach love, including of those who are different from us, those who are not like us, Commonspace.eu has cited the Georgian Metropolitan Grigol, the Archbishop of Poti and Khobi, as saying whilst addressing the participants of the first South Caucasus Youth Peace Summer School in Kachreti, in the country’s east. 

In remarks at the occasion running between August 21-31, the top cleric pointed to the presence of “lot of materials” for this kind of teaching in the Caucasus region, adding “not using them is an important missed resource, especially if we take into account the fact that the vast majority of the population of our countries consider themselves believers.” Eminence Grigol also highlighted religion would play a “more effective role” in the establishment of peace when “we do not offer our believers only religious dialogues or other formal formats, but we call and teach them to firmly adhere to the divine blessing, the doctrines that from time immemorial teach us to love our neighbour, condemn violence and inspire us to be at peace with ourselves and with the world”. 

The cleric, who also serves as a Rector of the New Georgian University in Poti, warned that “wounds caused by war and conflict cannot be healed by another war! The power of mind and language is always greater than that of arms, and peace between countries should be built on the peace-loving nature of human being; All paths leading to peace today are expressions of responsible moral consciousness”.