By Matters India Reporter

Tbilisi: India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has handed over the relic of a 17th-century queen of Georgia’s Kakheti region revered as a saint by the Georgian Orthodox Church.

The minister was visiting Georgia July 0-11 on the invitation of his Georgian counterpart David Zalkaliani.

On the first day, the minister handed over to Zalkaliani, the relic Saint Ketevan (1560–1624) whose remains were unearthed in Old Goa in 2003.

The relic was placed inside an ornate wooden box and the minister handed it over at a religious ceremony attended by Patriarch Ilia II, the spiritual leader of the Georgian Orthodox Church, and Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili.

“Warmly welcomed in Tbilisi by FM David Zalkaliani. blessed to hand over the holy relics of St. Queen Ketevan to the people of Georgia. An emotional moment,” Jaishankar had earlier tweeted.

Considering the persistent request from the Georgian side for the permanent transfer of the relics and also taking into account the historical, religious and spiritual sentiments attached to the Saint Queen Ketevan by the Georgian people, the government of India decided to gift one part of the relics to the government and people of Georgia.

Zalkaliani said that Jaishankar’s visit will play a huge role in strengthening ties and taking relations of both countries to a completely new level.

Officials said this will strengthen the bonds of friendship and understanding between India and Georgia.

On July 10, he met representatives of the Indian community from the country’s Tsnori, Khaketi. In another tweet, the Indian minister commended his compatriots’ “hard work in the agriculture sector” that has earned a good name in George. According to him, “enterprising Indians is our global bridge.”

The remains of Saint Queen Ketevan were buried in a Catholic convent in Old Goa. She was the queen of Kakheti kingdom in eastern Georgia, which was conquered by Persian ruler Shab Abbas. In an effort to save her people, the queen surrendered herself and was imprisoned by the Persians. She refused Abbas’ orders to convert to Islam and was subsequently tortured and killed.

After her burial, Augustinian friars exhumed her remains in 1627 and a fragment of one of her hands was brought to Old Goa, the then capital of Portuguese India. Her remains were buried in a black sarcophagus in the Augustinian Convent of Our Lady of Grace in Old Goa.


(With inputs from a Times of India report.)