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Why Georgia’s Patriarch did not attend cross raising ceremony in Bagrati?

The Catholicos Patriarch Ilia II did not attend the cross raising ceremony at Bagrati, which caused a lot of questions. The ceremony was attended by President Saakashvili and other government officials.

Rezonansi asked public figures about their opinion.

Lado Vardosanidze, Architect: I do not know how to assess this fact. Maybe the patriarch does not feel good or he had some other work to do. I cannot say that there is any confrontation between patriarch and the state as it will only make the situation tenser.

Geno Nadirashvili, Singer: I think the patriarch will definitely visit Bagrati and pray there. It is not easy to understand why he did not come there at that particular ceremony. I think he had his own reason.

Anzor Toidze, Demographer: Maybe he was not in Georgia, but what concerns me is that Bagrati lost its natural face. The current temple is very artificial. I saw its facade and it is not Bagrati as it was. Of course I welcome its restoration but its initial face should have been maintained for sure. One more point I would like to highlight, they say that Russian artillery destroyed the temple but this is not true. They should not tell lies to people.