Ilia II

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Mikheil Saakashvili being blessed by Patriarch Ilia II during his inauguration in 2008 at the Bagrati Cathedral. Official photo.

Georgia

Patriarch Ilia II urges Saakashvili to end hunger strike

by Shota Kincha

•2 min read

The head of the Georgian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Ilia II, has urged former president Mikheil Saakashvili to end his hunger strike. On 1 October, hours after he was placed in the 12th Prison in the city of Rustavi, Saakashvili announced he was going on hunger strike demanding his freedom. The former Georgian President faces a minimum of six years in prison after being convicted in absentia on several counts of abuse of power, including ordering an attack on political opponent Valeri Gelash

Patriarch Ilia II. Photo: Mariam Nikuradze/OC Media.

Georgia

SSG Files: Georgian Patriarch Ilia II planned to resign in 2020

by Shota Kincha

•2 min read

The head of the Georgian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Ilia II, planned to step down in 2020 for unknown reasons, files allegedly leaked from the State Security Service of Georgia (SSG) show. This is the latest report from around 3,000 files allegedly leaked from the SSG on 12 September, many of which involve senior clergy from the Georgian Orthodox Church. [Read more on OC Media: Leaked ‘kompromat’ against the clergy rocks Georgia] According to the alleged surveillance files, Dimitri Shiolas

Georgia

Nuns shut out of convent over Ilia II sodomy allegations

by Shota Kincha

•2 min read

Two nuns were locked out of their cloister on Thursday evening shortly before the curfew began after they joined a rally in Tbilisi against the Patriarch of the Georgian Orthodox Church, Ilia II. Nuns Sosana Bolkvadze and Nino Gamkrelidze found themselves shut out of their convent in the Chkondidi Diocese after they arrived back from the protest. The two had also refused to mention Ilia II in their prayers. The Chkondidi Diocese centred in Martvili, a town located between the western Georgia

A woman lighting a candle in Tbilisi's Sameba Trinity Cathedral on 7 April. Photo: Mariam Nikuradze/OC Media.

COVID-19

Georgian Orthodox Church remains unyielding as Easter celebrations approach

by OC Media

•5 min read

The Georgian Orthodox Church has resisted calls to restrict upcoming Easter celebrations to limit the spread of COVID-19. Public health authorities have warned that mass gatherings in churches, as is usual in Georgia over Easter, could lead to a widespread outbreak of the virus. Asked about the celebrations on 6 April, Paata Imnadze, Deputy Director of Georgia’s National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), urged Christian believers to pray at home. ‘Let’s pray at home for each other and for

Georgia

Georgian president refuses to pardon ‘poison plot’ archpriest Giorgi Mamaladze

by OC Media

•4 min read

Georgian president Salome Zurabishvili has refused to pardon Giorgi Mamaladze, a controversial archpriest convicted of plotting the murder of Shorena Tetruashvili, the secretary of Patriarch of the Georgian Orthodox Church Ilia II, in September 2017. Zurabishvili’s move came despite an official plea from the Church’s ruling body, the Holy Synod, to pardon Mamaladze. Zurabishvili pardoned five convicts on 6 January, upon lifting the moratorium she had put on her authority to pardon followi

Georgia

New allegations against Georgian Orthodox Church as archbishop accused of sexual assault

by OC Media

•4 min read

New allegations of sexual misconduct have emerged against the clergy of the Georgian Orthodox Church. On Tuesday, Dusheti Archbishop Zosime Shioshvili was accused of sexually assaulting a male student at the Tbilisi Theological Academy in the 1980s, when he was rector of the institution. The allegations come scarcely a week after accusations of homosexuality and molestation of ‘young men/boys’ were levelled against the head of the Church, Patriarch Ilia II. The allegations against Shioshv

Georgia

Georgian archbishop accuses Patriarch Ilia II of ‘pederasty and sodomy’

by OC Media

•6 min read

A high ranking member of the Georgian Orthodox Church has accused the head of the Church, Patriarch Ilia II, and other high ranking church officials of having sexual activity with men, including underage boys. Archbishop Petre Tsaava, a member of the Church’s ruling body, the Holy Synod, made the accusations on 31 October following a Synod meeting. ‘The Chair of the [Holy] Synod personally stripped me of archpriesthood, which I think was unjust. The reason behind it was my exposing of the