The Georgian Orthodox Church

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Georgian PM Irakli Kobakhidze participating in a street procession marking the Church-organised Sanctity of Family and Respect for Parents Day; 17 May 2024. Image: Mariam Nikuradze/OC Media.

2024 Georgian Parliamentary Elections

Georgian Dream proposes to recognise Orthodox Christianity as state religion

by Shota Kincha

•3 min read

On Wednesday, the Patriarchate of the Georgian Orthodox Church confirmed that Georgia’s ruling party had proposed to designate Orthodox Christianity as the state religion, but suggested that the Church remained sceptical about the proposal. Speaking to media, Church spokesperson Andria Jaghmaidze stated that members of the clergy had met with unnamed representatives of the ruling party on Monday to discuss the proposal. Jaghmaidze praised the government for its commitment to upholding ‘na

A mob led by Orthodox priests attempting to break into Imam Merab Mikeladze’s home to disrupt his prayer.

Georgia

Mob led by Georgian Orthodox priests threatens local imam over Friday prayer

by Tata Shoshiashvili

•3 min read

Georgian Orthodox priests in southwestern Georgia led a mob of 200 people in an attempt to break into the house of a local imam to disrupt Friday prayer. The mob attempted to break into Imam Merab (Yusuf) Mikeladze’s house in Adigeni in Georgia’s Samtskhe-Javakheti region on Friday. Batumelebi reported that Mikeladze had been holding Friday prayers at his house for the past ‘few years’, which some in Adigeni, including members of the Orthodox clergy, protested. Footage of the incident

Archpriest Giorgi Mamladze being released from prison. Image via IPN.

Georgia

Priest convicted in Georgian Church poison plot released early

by Tata Shoshiashvili

•2 min read

An archpriest convicted of plotting the murder of the Georgian Patriarch’s secretary-referent, Giorgi Mamladze, has been released from prison two years early. On Wednesday, the archpriest’s brother, Tornike Mamaladze, announced his brother’s release after serving seven years out of his nine-year sentence. ‘After seven years of suffering and waiting, my brother deacon Giorgi is free!’ wrote Mamaladze on Facebook. Mamaladze’s family and supporters have been actively campaigning for his re

Georgia

Georgian speaker accuses USAID of ‘financing religious intolerance’

by Tata Shoshiashvili

•3 min read

The speaker of the Georgian parliament has criticised the US aid agency, USAID, for funding ‘propaganda against the Georgian Church’ and ‘financing religious intolerance’. On Saturday, Shalva Papuashvili also accused ‘so-called civil activists’ and ‘media belonging to the [opposition parties United] National Movement and Lelo’ of attacking the Georgian Orthodox Church. Papuashvili was referring to criticism of the Church for its handling of a scandal surrounding an icon that featured Jose

Sameba Cathedral. Image: Mariam Nikuradze/OC Media

Georgia

Georgian Church calls for removal of Stalin from icon in Sameba cathedral

by Shota Kincha

•2 min read

The Georgian Patriarchate has asked the donors of a controversial icon featuring Joseph Stalin to remove the Soviet dictator from the icon. The icon, which was donated by the pro-Russian group Alliance of Patriots, chronicles the life of Saint Matrona of Moscow, a 20th-century Russian Orthodox Church saint. One of the smaller icons surrounding the central depiction of Matrona appears to feature the saint and Stalin, sparking controversy in Georgia, Stalin’s birthplace. The church asked th

Far-right protesters gathered outside the house of activist Nata Peradze on 10 January 2024. Photo: Mariam Nikuradze/OC Media.

Georgia

Formal investigation and far-right demonstration prompted by paint on controversial Stalin icon

by Tata Shoshiashvili

•2 min read

A group of far-right activists on Wednesday surrounded the house of an activist accused of painting over a controversial icon, after Georgia’s interior ministry launched an investigation into the act on charges of hooliganism. On Tuesday, activist Nata Peradze published a video on Facebook showing blue paint on an icon of St. Matrona that depicts the 20th century saint in the company of a man resembling the Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. The icon is in the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Tbilisi.

An alleged depiction of USSR leader Joseph Stalin as part of an icon dedicated to St. Matrona of Moscow. Photo: Ilia Chigladze/Facebook.

Georgia

Controversy after Stalin icon found in Tbilisi’s Sameba cathedral

by Tata Shoshiashvili

•2 min read

An icon dedicated to Saint Matrona of Moscow in Tbilisi’s Sameba Holy Trinity Cathedral depicting the saint in the company of a man resembling Joseph Stalin has stirred controversy in Georgia. Footage of the icon in Sameba was first shared on Saturday by Ilia Chigladze, a Georgian archpriest, on Facebook. Soon after, Giorgi Kandelaki, a member of the opposition European Georgia party and a researcher at the Soviet Past Research Laboratory, shot and shared footage of the icon on his social medi