"In this time of need, our youth and students have shown particular attention to recent events which have taken place in the country, their reaction was fair and it is a barometer of our spirituality",- said the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, His Holiness and Beatitude Ilia II in the Cathedral of the Most Holy Trinity.

His Holiness congratulated the parishioners on the occasion of the Elevation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross, talked about the importance of the cross and said that the cross is the great power given to us by the Lord. The Patriarch also spoke about the situation in the country.

"Elections are close and the passions are heated gradually. We have to trust our home to the Lord. I want to note that in this time of need, our youth and students have shown particular attention to recent events which have taken place in the country, their reaction was fair and it is a barometer of our spirituality. Georgians will not tolerate the terrible actions that we all saw on television.

During one sermon, I said that such things happen in other countries as well. I was not referring to the phenomena that we all saw, I meant the facts of humiliation and beatings in prisons. We heard some rumors about the facts of mistreatment of prisoners. I often asked the minister and the deputy-ministers, how they look at this everything? After all, prisoners are already punished for their deeds and it is unacceptable to humiliate their dignity even more. They proved to me that such facts does not happen, but unfortunately it turned out to be untrue and we very sorry that this happened in our country - a country which is the lot of the Blessed Virgin. The reaction of the students was very fair. Such treatment is not allowed to people who already are in trouble and it should never happen again. I think we will set up a commission that would include clergy, our religious leaders; everyone will be more sensitive to these issues and will investigate the incident.

Some have taken my words as if I justified their actions. How can some justify these actions? This was a huge pain for me and such attitude to the person is inadmissible. I hope that with the God's help the things will get better. I've written a lot of letters on the subject, I often visited the prisons, I asked the prisoners – is there someone who is harassing them? They were not talking to me about anything even similar to what happened with them, probably they were afraid to speak. In many prisons, inmates are ill with tuberculosis, HIV infection, and there is a danger that they may infect other prisoners as well. Therefore, it is necessary to release the seriously ill prisoners for further treatment, "- said the Patriarch.

The patriarch also mentioned persons killed during the capture of Sokhumi, in particular, a priest Andrea, Yuri Anua, Mamia Alasania Zhiuli Shartava, the Mayor of Sokhumi City Guram Gabiskiriya, General Gene Adamia and all those killed in the fighting.