Patriarch’s Christmas epistle: humans, Christian values should stand first

Georgian Patriarch Ilia II said in his Christmas epistle that a human and encouragement of Christian values should be prioritized. 

He said that science and technologies have progressed much. However, they will not help an individual to stay close to God. 

The patriarch stated that Georgia has undergone lots of challenges and will have to go through others in the future. 

“Of course, each of us has our own cross to carry. However, there are general hardships like the pandemic. People are depressed by constant negative information, closure, deaths… Of course, we have lost many people and we must be cautious, but we must not be desperate and afraid,” Ilia II said. 

He stated that a soul is crucial and people should care not to be in eternal tornure after death.