Flag of Georgia

The Republic of Georgia basks in its picturesque mountain ranges and vast plains and hails as one of the earliest Catholic or Christian countries in the world. The country is led by a president as head of state and having executive powers together with the Cabinet of Georgia led by the president-assigned Prime Minister. Originally calling themselves as Kartvelebi, the people went through struggles and travails under the hands of the Russian and Soviet colonizers. For a while, the country lived in communism owing to the Soviet Union’s ideals. Georgia took its name from the people’s strong reverence to St. George of the Christian faith.

The country’s early adoption of the Christian religion has guided the way of leadership and governance in Georgia to be just and pro-right. The country’s devotion to St. George, much like England’s patron, has proven to be a guiding compass towards where the country stands to date. As a show of their devotion to their patron, St. George, the Georgian flag host to the five St. George crosses. After about 500 years of its non-usage, the medieval version of the flag was reinstated in 2004.

To date, the Georgian flag emblazons the five crosses with one central red-colored cross dividing the white background into four distinct quadrants each holding one of the four smaller versions of the red crosses. Some scholars contend that the four additional smaller crosses might have been added during the reign of George V who was known to be the brilliant and the splendid king who drove out the Mongols from Georgia. Symbolically, the five crosses of their patron saint could suggest reverence to the Five Holy Wounds of Christ. The concept of the Georgian flag is perhaps one of the few that is greatly intertwined with the country’s principal religion.