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April 10, 2007
Georgia: Virgin Mary Sighted Near Church Where Muslims Massacred Christians
A priest at Tbilisi's famous Metekhi Church (above), Father Levan Pirtskhalaishvili, told the Georgian newspaper, ``Weekly Kaleidoscope,'' that the image of the Virgin Mary has been recently seen on a spot where in 1227 invading Muslim armies massacred up to 100,000 Christian Georgians.
The Sultan Dzhalaleddina (from Kharezm, now in Uzbekistan) seized Tbilisi in 1227 and ordered his soldiers to loot the churches and pile up the sacred Christian icons in a location that would later become city's famous Metekhi Church. The Muslim conquerors ordered the residents of Tbilisi to throw curses at the icons, or die. Nearly all opted for death.
Father Levan and his church have launched a petition to have city elders rename the square in front of the Metekhi Church, the Square of the 100,000 Martyrs.
Whether or not the Virgin Mary did appear is not the main point. Father Levan's efforts are educating Georgians about the centuries of massacre and bloodshed their ancestors suffered from the nation's Muslim neighbours.
Posted by Jean de la Valette at April 10, 2007 6:58 PM
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