The Orthodox Church of Georgia is attracting a post-communist
generation in need of a point of reference. Nine years after the Rose
Revolution, the young generation reflects the hopes and contradictions
of this ancient Christian nation, torn between desire for freedom and
preservation of tradition.
About thirty kilometers from Tbilisi, nestled in a valley, the
village of Norio seems lulled by the winter. A snow-covered route snakes
through the forest to the monastery of Gvtaeba. Restored in 1993, the
monastery was funded in the sixth century by St. Antoine of Marktopi. At
the top of a ridge nearby stand a tower and a giant cross at the place
where the Syrian monk lived alone for fifteen years. (Continue reading)
