Salome Zourabichvili has awarded Paul Zazadze, Chairman of the Georgian Catholic Association of Istanbul, the Order of the Golden Fleece for his work to promote Georgian culture abroad, to preserve Georgian cultural and historical heritage and his special support for the Georgian diaspora.

The President thanked the Zazadze family for its dedicated work for the country and for the Georgian people, stating, “this award is very symbolic because your family has deserved it from the moment it settled in Istanbul and became the patrons of the Georgian religious treasure. This sanctuary is a Georgian treasure in Istanbul with its manuscripts and books and it’s unfortunate that the Georgian society still does not know the value of what’s stored there and that it is all thanks to your family. Were it not for the Zazadze family and your father, all this probably would have been lost. This award is given for the work you, your father and your whole family has done, a sign that the Georgian state appreciates this work, this contribution to the preservation of the Georgian cultural heritage and the Catholic Church in Georgia. And I want to emphasize that the Catholic Church is a very big part of our history and still is very important in our cultural life, has existed for so long and continues to exist and our diversity and tolerance are reflected in that as well. We must not forget this part of our country and culture and give it the place it deserves in our nation. Today, I’m happy to give you this award on behalf of the Georgian people, the Georgian state”.

Paul Zazadze thanked the President for her appreciation of the work of three generations of the Zazadze family.

“It’s a great honor for me to receive this unique award today, given to me for what my family and foundation have been doing for three generations for the Georgian Catholic Church and the Georgian community in Istanbul. We’ve taken on a very important responsibility, to preserve, protect and enrich this religious and cultural, truly Georgian treasure. And because we are Georgians, we want it to benefit Georgia. Since the work of my father and grandfather, we’ve done our best for Georgia, they kept this place with their own sweat, blood and heart and they left us the opportunity to do things that will be useful and beneficial for Georgia. We have a very rich library with about 80,000 books, documents, pictures and letters that we want to make useful for the culture and history of Georgia. So this is our role, we’re doing it and we are trying to do everything for Georgia”, - he said.