Georgian Parliament Speaker on Family Purity Day: "Devil divides, God unites"

Speaker of the Georgian Parliament Shalva Papuashvili took to social media to underline the importance of May 17, Family Purity Day. According to him, that day, once associated with division and confrontation in recent history, has become a celebration of national unity and core Georgian values.

"The devil divides, God unites. May 17 had become a day of division and hostility, exploited by both internal and external provocateurs. But through the Patriarch’s blessing and national unity, it has been transformed into a day that honors the nation’s integrity, sacred values, dignity, family, children, love, and togetherness," Papuiashvili's post reads.

He emphasized that the country is aware of the challenges it faces and is determined to protect its values:
"Our homeland and our people will never fall victim to invented ideologies, no matter how hard some may try to promote them."

Papuashvili concluded his post by congratulating the public on the Day of Family Purity.

The Day of Family Purity was established in 2014 by the head of the Georgian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Ilia II, as a religious and cultural response to the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, which is also marked on May 17.

Traditionally, the Georgian Orthodox Church holds a prayer service at Kashueti St. George Church in Tbilisi at 1:00 PM, followed by a procession to the Holy Trinity Cathedral. Similar events are also held in regions across the country.