Indian Foreign Minister Dr. S Jaishankar handed over a part of the holy relic of St. Queen Ketevan to Georgia at a ceremony in Tbilisi, Georgia’s capital. Jaishankar handed over the relic to his Georgian counterpart David Zalkaliani in the presence of Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia and the Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili. Indian Foreign Minister is on a two-day visit to Georgia.
Warmly welcomed in Tbilisi by FM @DZalkaliani. Blessed to hand over the holy relics of St. Queen Ketevan to the people of Georgia. An emotional moment… pic.twitter.com/1eGaQpnjVE
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) July 9, 2021
St. Queen Ketevan was a 17th century Georgian Queen who attained martyrdom in Iran’s Shiraz. Her relics were found in St. Augustine Convent in Old Goa in 2005. It is believed that her relics were brought to Goa in 1627.
At the instance of the Archaeological Survey of India, a DNA analysis was carried out on the relic by the CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, and confirmed its authenticity.
In September 2017, at the request of the Georgian Government, India had sent the holy relics to Georgia. The relics were taken to different Churches of Georgia and were returned to India on September 30, 2018.
Considering the persistent request from Georgia for a permanent transfer of the Holy Relics and also taking into account the historical, religious, and spiritual sentiments that are attached to the St Queen Ketevan by Georgians, India decided to gift a part of the Holy Relics to Georgia. The Foreign Ministry said that this gesture will strengthen the bonds of friendship and understanding between the two countries.
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