Early last November, a most significant event took place in Georgia. Pope John Paul II visited our country. That it was a great honour for the country is obvious. On November 9, the Pope met with the representatives of Georgia’s intelligentsia. The President and Catholicos Patriarch, His Holiness and Beatitude, Ilia II welcomed our honoured guest at this meeting.

President Shevardnadze on the occasion of the visit of His Holiness Pope John Paul II

The significance of your visit transcends the boundaries of Georgia and, I trust, it will play a great and noble role in establishing peace throughout the entire region, and advancing the ideal of a Peaceful Caucasus.

Values which are sacred to every Christian - tolerance, charity, compassion, respect for diverse faiths, harmonious coexistence - have always been cherished by Georgians.

John Paul II, whom Georgia and the Caucasus welcome for the first time, can truly be described as one of the most distinguished figures of our epoch. One who has been able to harmoniously combine spirituality with statesmanship.

“In the beginning was the Word,” - for this reason it is no wonder to us that the words of the helmsman of the Vatican and the Roman Catholic Church carry such enormous moral weight with all humankind.

Georgia’s spiritual guide and leader, His Holiness and Beatitude, Catholicos of All Georgia, Ilia II together with whom it was my great honour to invite our esteemed guest, is likewise an exemplar of spirituality and wisdom.

It is divinely symbolic, Your Holiness, that you have come to us on the eve of a new millennium. As we mark two thousand years since the birth of Christ and three thousand years of Georgian statehood. May your visit, this wonderful and historic event, become a symbol of the true communion of Georgia with the Western world, European civilisation.

Remarks of His Holiness and Beatitude, Catholicos Patriarch of Georgia, Ilia II

When we speak of the significance of churches, we also note past contribution - and certainly,  the past of the Roman Church is glorious. Remarkable and brilliant individuals have served in it, as has also been the case in the Georgian Church. Both Churches have created unique respective cultures, but we cannot only be proud of our past. Our present is also important.

In the presence of those representing our public, scientific and cultural life, I want to note once again that Pope John Paul II is indeed a remarkable personality. Together with our President, he is an architect of processes that have affected the entire world. Our meeting today coincides symbolically with the tenth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, which is celebrated the world over. It was not so long ago that I saw that horrible wall. And then it was impossible to imagine that it would so soon be dismantled. Indeed, your contribution to that event, Your Holiness, as that of our President, Eduard-Giorgi Shevardnadze, was significant.

I want to take this opportunity to tell you of our church’s close ties with the scientific, intellectual and cultural community which strengthen the  spirituality of our country and its people.

We must realistically consider today’s situation. The 20th Century is closing. True, we have achieved great things in science and technology, but at the cost of mankind having often found itself on the edge of a precipice. And it may happen that we may do so again, and that it will prove to be fatal. Therefore, in the complex situation in the Caucasus and Georgia, the visit of Your Holiness assumes immense significance. We hope that the problem of such hot spots as Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh and others will be peacefully resolved through international effort.

Your visit has brought our peoples closer together, our churches, our nations, and we will be forever grateful for it. I wish you long life and health. The world is expecting much from you yet.