We are presenting to your attention the speech of Giorgi Maisuradze, Georgian historian and professor of the Ilia State University of Tbilisi, which was delivered on the event of the 24^th of April, in Tbilisi, dedicated to the commemoration of the Armenian Genocide, and at which H.E. Kevork Archbishop Noradounguian was also present. Professor makes interesting emphasises in his speech, which serve us to better understand the relationships between the Armenian and Georgian people in the context of a deeper comprehension of the life of the Armenian Catholic communities living in Georgia. The Georgian and English texts of professor Maisuradze were kindly provided to us by the Embassy of Armenia in Georgia, for which we express our cordial gratitude.

“It is a great honour and a heavy mission for me to address you with a speech on this deeply tragic day. This day, along with Independence Day, is one of the most significant in the modern history of Armenia. While the Republic of Armenia celebrates the restoration of its statehood and liberation from the Soviet Empire on September 21st, April 24th is a day of mourning, when the Armenian people remember one of the most horrifying moments in their long and rich history and pay tribute to the memory of the hundreds of thousands of compatriots who were deported and killed in the Ottoman Empire during the First World War.

Both celebration and mourning hold special significance in the lives of individuals and nations, as joy and sorrow connect people and forge them into a united national body, defining their collective unity and identity. It is equally true for large and small nations; however, for smaller nations, historical memory carries even greater importance, as their history is a history of survival and preservation of identity.

It is symbolic that the remembrance of this tragic date and speaking about it is happening here in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. At the beginning of the last century, the founder of Georgian historical science, Ivane Javakhishvili, wrote: “Every educated Georgian should be familiar with the much-suffering yet profoundly interesting history of their neighbouring brotherly nation, the Armenians.” For a Georgian, knowledge of Armenian history is necessary not only to broaden one’s intellectual horizons but also, in some ways, part of their history, as the histories of the Georgian and Armenian peoples are so closely intertwined that it is impossible to separate them.

It would be hard to find two other nations whose destinies are so closely bound together as those of the Georgians and Armenians. Both countries appeared on the stage of world history simultaneously, still in ancient times, and both share, so to speak, an equally long historical experience. Both embraced Christianity during the same period. It was precisely the defence of Christianity that became the primary marker of identity and cultural uniqueness for both peoples. Due to their geographical location, Georgians and Armenians have shared the same fate throughout their long history. It cannot be coincidental that in the 11th century, the Georgian chronicler Leonti Mroveli described the ethnarchs of the Armenian and Georgian peoples—Haos and Kartlos—as brothers. One might say that Georgians and Armenians are historical twins. There has not been a single external or internal event in the history of one that did not affect the other. Georgia and Armenia were equally targeted by the ambitions of neighbouring great empires, and they had to defend themselves or fight for liberation side by side.

Even in the Middle Ages, the Georgian and Armenian states were headed by the same royal dynasty. Every great empire that sought to dominate the Georgian and Armenian peoples tried to set these brotherly nations against each other, to ignite hostility between them, but the result more often turned out to be cooperation and alliance. The histories of both countries attest to this. Georgians and Armenians have so much in common, rarely found among other neighbouring peoples. It is deeply symbolic that the protagonist of the first monument of Georgian literature, The Martyrdom of Saint Shushanik —the holy martyr Queen Shushanik— was the daughter of Vardan Mamikonyan, one of the greatest heroes of Armenian history. Georgian and Armenian cultures are so closely related and similar that they have often been the subject of scholarly debates among historians over which cultural elements belong to whom.

However, rather than being a source of contention, such facts are, in truth, something to be proud of. Nowhere is this more evident than in the culture of Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, which, especially during the 18th to 20th centuries, served as a cultural centre not only for Georgians but also for Armenians. It is a matter of equal pride for both Georgians and Armenians to claim the great Armenian poet of Tbilisi, Sayat-Nova, whose poems are part of both Armenian and Georgian poetry; or the Tbilisi-based playwright Gabriel Sundukyan and his play “Pepo”, which is a pearl of Georgian theatre; or the great Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian, who was born and raised in Tbilisi and whose music reflects the traditions of both Georgian and Armenian musical cultures; or the great film director Sergei Parajanov, without whom Georgian cinema art is unimaginable. Nor should we forget the names of the great Armenian entrepreneurs and philanthropists who played a major role in shaping the face of Tbilisi—figures like Mikael Aramyants and Alexander Melik-Azaryants, who left an indelible mark on the history and present of the city. This list could be continued endlessly.

The emergence of contentious issues between neighbouring and kindred peoples is directly linked to the rise of nationalism in the 19th century—a phenomenon that was, at a certain historical stage, a necessary part of the formation of modern nations. However, nationalism, which necessarily involves creating an exaggerated perception of one’s nation and asserting its superiority over others, contains within itself harmful elements, both toward neighbours and toward oneself. It can alienate two kindred peoples from each other and throw them into pointless squabbles, from which neither benefits. The negative consequences of nationalism are best expressed by the medical term “autoimmunity”, established in contemporary social sciences, which as if to defend one’s own identity, damages and destroys oneself. Only another dangerous phenomenon – imperialism – benefits from this, which easily defeats and swallows people alienated from each other. The First and Second World Wars were imperialist wars that brought nothing but suffering and tragedy to the peoples of the world. Unfortunately, imperialism has not disappeared from history, and today it reminds us of its horrifying nature with new intensity.

In 1918, Georgia and Armenia gained independence simultaneously. In 1921, both countries were consecutively occupied by Soviet Russia, and despite their will, they were forced to spend 70 years as part of the Soviet Empire. Since 1991, both nations have been building their independent states, and along this path, they have had to overcome numerous political and economic challenges. On this difficult journey, just as many times throughout their long history, Georgia and Armenia need to stand side by side once again to avoid the horrifying tragedies of the past and to achieve free, democratic, and peaceful development”.

Fr. Hovsep Galstyan

Secretariat of the Ordinariate

28^th of April, 2025