Head of the Georgian Orthodox Church, Ilia II. (Mari Nikuradze / OC Media)
The Georgian government has allocated at least ₾890,000 ($320,000) to celebrate a new religious holiday on 12 May — the country’s consecration to the Virgin Mary. [Read more…]
Giorgi Gakharia and Irakli Kobakhidze meet the patriarch (patriarchate.ge)
Georgia is to withdraw a cannabis cultivation bill after a meeting between senior officials and the head of the Georgian Orthodox Church. The government also said they would discuss ways to legally limit the Constitutional Court’s rulings on drug policy. [Read more…]
Archpriest Giorgi Mamaladze
The Tbilisi Court of Appeals has upheld the conviction of an archpriest for plotting to murder the secretary-referent of the head of Georgia’s Orthodox Church, Patriarch Ilia II. [Read more…]
Ilia II, the head of the Georgian Orthodox Church (Ambioni.ge)
A number of leading figures in the government have echoed anti-drug messages from the Patriarch’s annual Christmas epistle. Ilia II, the head of the Georgian Orthodox Church, stressed the ‘importance of elaborating an anti-drug policy’.
Shio Mujiri (Patriarchate.ge)
Georgian Patriarch Ilia II has named metropolitan Shio Mujiri as incumbent of the patriarchal throne. Mujiri will take over the Church in the event that Ilia II becomes ill or dies, until a new patriarch is elected. [Read more…]
The Head of Georgia’s Orthodox Church Patriarch Ilia II (Patriarchate.ge)
The Head of Georgia’s Orthodox Church Patriarch Ilia II has said that foreigners in Georgia should know their place. The Patriarch addressed his parish on 28 September at Tbilisi’s Holy Trinity Cathedral Youth Centre, according to Netgazeti. [Read more…]
Giorgi Mamaladze
The archpriest accused of plotting to poison a ‘high ranking member’ of Georgia’s Orthodox Church walked out of court in protest on 19 May, after Tbilisi City Court decided to close hearings into his case to the public. [Read more…]
IDAHOT marked in Tbilisi (Luka Pertaia/ OC Media)
Queer rights activists successfully marked International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia on 17 May in Tbilisi, under heavy police presence. Meanwhile, priests and supporters of Georgia’s Orthodox Church took to the city’s central streets to mark ‘Family Purity Day’. The day passed largely without violence. [Read more…]
The imbroglio over the alleged attempted poisoning of a ‘high-ranking priest’ shows no signs of fading away. The Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia has promised to disclose further details, but questions remain about what is going on in the Georgian Patriarchate, one of the most influential institutions in the country. Given the furor surrounding the murder attempt, covert clashes between Georgian Orthodox clerics have begun to leave the shadows.
The archpriest detained for allegedly attempting to poison a ‘high ranking cleric’, Giorgi Mamaladze, has denied the accusation, and has invoked the right to remain silent under questioning. Meanwhile, prominent religious figures have suggested that his detention is an attempt to distract people from corruption within the Church.
