Indian PM Narendra Modi Comments on the Uncovering of the Relics of Orthodox Saint Queen Ketevan of Georgia

Indian PM Narendra Modi. Pic – Wiki

OCP News Service – 29/7/21

New Delhi- India: Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India briefed how the Indian researchers and scientists uncovered the relics of the 16th-century Saint Georgian queen, Ketevan the Martyr from the Augustine Roman Catholic Church in Goa. She is canonised by the Georgina Orthodox Church. “India handed over the holy relic or icon of Saint Queen Ketevan to the Government of Georgia and the people there,” PM Modi stated in the ‘Mann Ki Baat‘, the monthly radio programme, reports the Hindustan Times. The PM also stated that the appreciation received by India during the handing over ceremony remain ‘very memorable’ that echoed the strong bilateral relationship between India and Georgia.

On behalf of the Government of India, the External Affairs Minister Dr Jaishankar handed over a part of the relics of the 17th century Saint Queen Ketevan to the Georgian authorities (David Zalkaliani, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia) on the 9th of July 2021.

Ketevan the Martyr or St. Queen Ketevan was a Queen Kakheti, a kingdom in the Eastern region of Georgia. She was tortured and killed by Muslims in Iran for refusing to convert to Islam. She was canonized by Patriarch Zachary of Georgia. Her relics are believed to take to Goa in 1627 and was interred in the St. Augustine Complex. It was later discovered in 2005. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), the CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad made DNA Analysis and confirmed the authenticity of the relics.

Source:
OCP News Service