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…]
Ana Bagration-Gruzinsky and Davit Bagration-Mukhraneli at their wedding. (marshalpress.ge)
Two families claiming to be from Georgia’s Bagrationi royal dynasty have gone to court over a dispute regarding who is authorised to speak and give away gifts in the name of Georgia’s defunct monarchy.
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The debate at the Parliament’s Legal Committee on 19 September (/parliament.ge)
A new bill on cannabis has been introduced to parliament by Georgia’s Interior Ministry which would fully legalise consumption at home while still imposing fines for the purchase and possession of the drug. The draft law, which came in response to a Constitutional Court ruling legalising cannabis use, has faced criticism from both conservatives and rights groups.
Meeting of the Holy Synod (patriarchate.ge)
The Georgian Orthodox Church has come out against ‘the legalisation’ of drugs in Georgia, saying it is considering denying religious rituals to Orthodox Christians who die of an overdose. In a meeting of the Holy Synod, the Church’s ruling body, they called for harsh sentences for drug dealers, while also advocating treatment for users. [Read more…]
A priest attending counter-rally on Sunday (Mari Nikuradze /OC Media)
Georgia’s Orthodox Church distanced themselves from neo-Nazi groups, at a press conference at the Patriarchate on Monday, according to Netgazeti. Announcing their plans for 17 May — International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia — the Church urged any ‘aggressive’ groups to abstain from participating in events, and disavowed neo-Nazi group the Nationalist Socialist Movement — National Unity of Georgia. [Read more…]
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…]
Patriarchate of Georgia (Mzia Saganelidze - RFE/RL)
Two Turkish citizens wanted in Turkey for ‘terrorism’ had been hiding in the Tbilisi residence of Georgian Patriarch Ilia II, Georgian opposition TV channel Rustavi 2 reported on 16 September. Giorgi Andriadze, an academician with close ties to the Patriarchate, has claimed that the suspects were not terrorists, but members of a persecuted ethnic minority. [Read more…]
(Facebook)
Georgia’s Orthodox Church has returned a donated house to it’s previous owners, after they threatened to sue the Church for mismanaging the property. The Zugdidi–Tsaishi Diocese in north-western Georgia announced their decision in a statement on their Facebook page. [Read more…]
(Facebook)
A man who donated the house of his deceased son to the Georgian Orthodox Church now plans to sue them, for mismanaging the property, according to LivePress. Valter Akubardia gifted the house along with a plot of land to the Church in 2009.
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