On August 28, the Georgian Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church celebrates the feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God. This year, on the initiative and organization of the State Agency for Religious Issues, the feast was celebrated with special solemnity together with our compatriots in Qakh district. The Chorbishop of the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, Metropolitan Theodoros (Chuadze) of Akhaltsikhe and Tao-Klarjeti, celebrated the festive liturgy in St. George’s Church in the village of Kakhingilo, Qakh district, together with the Dean of the church, Archpriest Petre Khumarashvili, and other clergy.

The service was attended by the head of the Georgian delegation - Chairman of the State Agency for Religious Issues Zaza Vashakmadze and members of the delegation, together with the local parishioners and Georgian diplomats accredited in the Republic of Azerbaijan, including: Vladimer Macharashvili, Head of the Legal Maintenance Office of the Agency, Sozar Subari, Vice-Speaker of the Parliament, Zurab Kadagidze, Deputy Chairman of the Parliament's Committee on Human Rights Protection and Civil Integration, Guram Macharashvili, Deputy Chairman of the Parliamentary Group "People's Power", Levan Ioseliani, Public Defender of Georgia, and the representatives of the Patriarchate.

Following the service, Metropolitan Theodore congratulated the local parish on the feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God, conveyed the greetings, prayers, and blessings of the Catholicos-Patriarch, and delivered a sermon on the occasion of the holiday. In his speech, the Chairman of the State Agency for Religious Issues, Zaza Vashakmadze, thanked Metropolitan Theodore, other clergy, members of the Georgian delegation, the government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the State Committee for Work with Religious Organizations, the Acting Ambassador of Georgia to the Republic of Azerbaijan, Maia Tabagari, and Georgian diplomats accredited in Azerbaijan for their support in organizing the visit.

"Most importantly, I welcome our local Georgians, who are here today and who preserve Georgian identity and the Christian faith," the Chairman of the Agency noted. He congratulated Orthodox Georgians on the feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God. "Thank God and the Most Holy Theotokos that we are with you today. I have always had to come to Qakh district on the feast of St. George, and today I am with you for the first time for the feast of the Most Holy Mother of God and have received communion with you in this holy church. I believe that the grace of today’s feast will reach not only each of you, our families, all of Georgia, all Georgians and Christians, but will also be the foundation for taking even greater steps. As introduced by the Metropolitan, we held an official meeting yesterday in Baku at the State Committee for Work with Religious Organizations, and positive steps have already begun to be taken. Representatives of the local government are present here and I would like to thank them, as well as the State Committee for Work with Religious Organizations, our counterpart agency in Baku. Accordingly, a desire to deepen cooperation was expressed and we have the hope and expectation of coming to Qakh district next St. George’s Day with a larger group, of making our visits more frequent, and of visiting not only on St. George’s Day, but also on other great Christian holidays“,  said Zaza Vashakmadze. He also spoke about the upcoming visit of the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, His Holiness and Beatitude Shio III to Qakh district and assured Metropolitan Theodore and the Patriarchate of the support and assistance of the Georgian State in preparing for and carrying out this important visit.

Sozar Subari, the Vice-Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia and Levan Ioseliani, the Public Defender of Georgia also addressed the congregation gathered for the holiday and congratulated them on the Feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God.