'We pray together': Georgian and Russian Orthodox churches to exchange hundreds of icons
The Georgian diaspora in Russia has announced the launch of the “We Pray Together” project, which will involve creating hundreds of icons and exchanging them between the Orthodox churches of Georgia and Russia.
The icons created as part of the project will depict Saint Gabriel and Saint Seraphim of Sarov. The organisers say the icons will share the title “Friendship of the Peoples of Russia and Georgia”.
According to the Federal Georgian National-Cultural Autonomy in Russia (FGNCA), the first batch of icons has already been painted in Georgia and is ready to be handed over to the Russian Orthodox Church.
In a statement, the FGNCA said the project would “serve as a major civilisational response to the challenges of our time” and bring the peoples of Russia and Georgia closer through their shared faith and centuries-old traditions.
The head of the Georgian diaspora in Russia, David Tsetskhladze, described the project as “one of the largest Orthodox initiatives” in the history of Russian-Georgian relations.
“We are not simply exchanging gifts. We are bringing together the patron saints of our peoples to show that spiritual kinship is stronger than any political circumstances. The exchange of hundreds of Orthodox icons will create a historic precedent,” Tsetskhladze said.
The idea of creating the icons came from a group of volunteers led by journalist and filmmaker Konstantin Tsertsvadze.
The statement also says that the initiative received the blessing of the late Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II in 2018.
Georgia-Russia icon exchange
