A Georgian girl lights candles in an Orthodox Cathedral in Tbilisi, Georgia, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2008.
Posted on 09/07/2008 11:56:43 AM PDT by Tailgunner Joe
Georgians streamed to Sunday Mass a month after the start of a war with Russia and prayed for lasting peace while Russian forces remained dug in deep inside Georgian territory.
A day before European Union leaders are due in Russia and Georgia in an effort to ease the crisis, Moscow gave no sign it would accede to their demand to withdraw its troops to pre-conflict positions. Nor was there any letup in Russia's aggressive rhetoric.
At the Kashueti church on the main avenue in Tbilisi, Georgia's capital, Georgian Orthodox faithful lit candles and lined up to kiss the glass pane over an icon depicting Jesus Christ. Women in headscarves crossed themselves before they stepped out into the sunlight.
``We prayed for peace and for freedom,'' said Ia Kipshidze, 21, a student who stood with two friends outside the church. She said she and her friends want Russian forces to leave the country.
As in Russia, which is also predominantly Orthodox Christian, the Georgian Orthodox Church has experienced a major revival since the Soviet collapse. Churchgoers said they did come specifically to mark a month since the war broke out. ...
Russia recognized South Ossetia and the separatist Black Sea province of Abkhazia as independent nations after the five days of war and has ringed the regions with checkpoints the West says violate the terms of a cease-fire brokered by French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Russia also has forces deeper in Georgia, including in the Black Sea port of Poti. ...
The EU expects Russia to withdraw its forces to their pre-conflict positions, Kouchner said.
But there has been no sign of Russian plans to do so. ...
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin ...likened the situation of South Ossetia to that of Srebrenica ...site of Europe's worst mass carnage since World War II.
(Excerpt) Read more at hindu.com ...
Not being sacriliges here, but I hope this little girl is lighting a candle for Bush and McCain’s campaign too!
Georgia needs the fervent prayers of all the free world.
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