Delegation from St Woolos Cathedral Newport visit Kutaisi: A report by Rev. Fr. Mark Soady

May 2008

Reverend Fr. Mark Soady, Minor Canon
Catherine Hayman - Cathedral Warden,
Brian Cox - Cathedral Administrator

Arrival in Tbilisi

Dominating the skyline of Tbilisi is a statue called ‘The Mother of Georgia’. In one hand she holds the horn of welcome, in the other a sword. She is a symbol of the way the Georgians fulfil their Christian faith: they are the most welcoming of people.

It was Lent in Georgia and we were impressed that so many people were fasting and how seriously they were taking it. Our guidebook said, “The Georgians have through history laughed and danced themselves through all their difficulties.”
How mad is arriving in Tbilisi the capital city, at 2 a.m. on the first night and after an hour’s drive to our apartment to be drinking toasts at 3 o’clock in the morning?

Then after more toasts at 9 a.m. it was off to celebrate Lady Day by visiting a number of Tbilisi’s older churches and its new Cathedral.

The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity built at the turn of the Millennium and paid for by public subscription, dominates the Tbilisi skyline. Here it was that we joined the Patriarch, members of the Georgian government and hundreds of others for the Feast Mass.

On our way to Kutaisi (a three hour drive during which the madness of their driving became more evident) we called in on Georgia’s former capital and to its ancient Cathedral that contains pieces of the cross our Lord died on, a piece of his mantle and the mantle of Elijah. More Class A relics per square feet than anywhere outside the Holy Land or Rome!

Our first full day in Kutaisi

This was spent visiting ancient Christian sites, the most famous of them being Gelati Monastery, on the way to which we were welcomed at a smaller one by a Father David and the gruesome history of the place described. The gory origin of the name of the river far below, the Red River, and the presence of two skulls were both linked to that history. A formal dinner hosted by the Kutaisi – Newport Association at the English Language Centre ended the evening, when in the presence of the Governor of Imereti numerous toasts were drunk and gifts exchanged.

Our second and final day in Kutaisi was more formal with visits to Newport Street, a meeting with the Mayor in the Council offices and with the Metropolitan (equivalent of our Archbishop).

We presented more gifts and delivered letters of good wishes from the Mayor of Newport and Bishop Dominic. From the Mayor of Kutaisi I received a precious icon of St George and from the Metropolitan a ring, made at the Seminary and inscribed with the words “God bless you”.

With us throughout our visit to Kutaisi was Fr Andrew – who, as a fifteen year old, visited Newport and stayed at the Deanery. On our last night we were entertained to dinner at his house, with his father – a priest- who had also been a guest of Dean Frank & Mrs Ena Jenkins. Although there was a place set for her at the table, Fr.Andrew’s wife hardly sat down as she was constantly bringing fresh dishes of food to the table until there was, literally, a mountain of food in front of us as we raised our glasses of Georgian wine again and again in the toasting ritual.

During the evening we saw photos from their visit to Newport and reminisced about the good times they had had with them.