Georgian Patriarch ready to share church lands with population
Tbilisi, August 30, 2010 - Interfax
Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II has come up with the initiative of sharing the lands of the Orthodox Church with the population and building special communities on them.
"The Georgian Church has several thousand hectares of land at its disposal. I am ready to present all this land to people who will build villages of the 21st century there. I have spoken of that with the president and Cabinet members many times and they have demonstrated readiness to offer all possible support to this initiative," the Patriarch said in his Sunday sermon in St. Trinity Cathedral in Tbilisi.
He said that many parts of Georgia with fertile lands are deserted because people are moving to cities in search of jobs.
He named Israel's kibbutzes as an example.
"The latest reports say that this year 11,000 young people failed to pass entrance examinations to colleges and universities. What will these young people do? We suggest setting up schools in Georgia in which young people could learn practical trades and grow spiritually," the Patriarch said.
