Maximum Security Prison

Kutaisi Prison

On Monday I went to the Maximum Security Prison in Kutaisi, Georgia. I did not go to prison for committing a crime this time, I went to visit three prisoners: Simon, Vladimir and Alexander. I left Tbilisi in the early morning with Bishop Malkhaz, Lela Q, Beka, Gela, and several others. We arrived at the prison and passed security without much problem. We first visited with the prison Director to tell him why it is that we came.

Three prisoners expressed their desire to be baptized. The Baptist Church has been in touch with one prisoner for some time, and over time two more became interested in learning more about what it means to be a follower of Christ.

After speaking with the Director of the prison we were led to another larger room. It was a nice room, with fake-wood floors, papaya-colored walls, and spacious. After several minutes the three prisoners walked in. They had black baggy prison outfits on, with white stripes around their sleeves. They took small hurried steps around the room. We greeted each other and talked for sometime.

Then, we all sat down and the three men began asking questions to the Bishop, questions they had about things they were reading and experiencing in the prison. Another man who accompanied the group from Tbilisi, Beka, also shared some wisdom. Beka works for the Public Defender's office, heads up the Tolerance Institute, and studied Theology at the Orthodox Seminary.

The prison guards were in the room as well, listening to the discussion.

Bishop Malkhaz led the liturgy and baptized the three men. It was a wonderful moment. The floor of the room became very wet as the water dripped from the men's heads. The candles we lit sapped the floor with melted and then dried wax.

We finished our time with quite vivid conversations not only with the three men but also with the prison guards.