The Ambassador of the European Union to Georgia, Pawel Herczynski has met with the Patriarchal locum tenens, Metropolitan Shio Mujiri of the Eparchy of Senaki and Chkhorotsku and other Georgian priests.

The meeting was held at the Georgian Orthodox Patriarchate on October 4.

Pawel Herczynski said that Georgia is a country with a great culture and history, in whose life the Orthodox Church has a special role and importance, which is confirmed by the fact that, according to research, the Orthodox Church has the highest rating in Georgia and the Church represents a great authority for the population.

"Metropolitan Shio (Mujiri) and the priests thanked the guest for his visit and noted that Georgian traditions and values must be taken into account in the process of rapprochement with Europe. The priests emphasized the importance of the traditional family and the need to protect Christian values," the Georgian Patriarchate said.

According to the Patriarchate, the Ambassador of the European Union said that Europe does not mean the loss of nationality and spiritual and cultural values, on the contrary, Europe promotes the rapprochement of different nations, peaceful coexistence and added that not only Georgia will benefit from the membership of the European Union, but also the European Union itself, because Georgia with its culture and values will become an important member for the European Union.

The parties also discussed the problems of the people living in the vicinity of the occupied territories:

"It was noted with sadness that Georgians are not allowed to move to the occupied territories and even visit and care for the graves of their deceased relatives".

"Metropolitan Shio and the priests thanked the EU ambassador for his visit and interesting conversation and wished him successful work", the Georgian Patriarchate said.