Cypriot Archbishop Visiting Georgia

Archbishop Chrysostomos II (Demetriou) of the Cypriot Orthodox Church has begun a visit to Georgia at the invitation of Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II (Gudushauri-Shiolashvili) of the Georgian Orthodox Church. More (in Greek) here.

Georgian Orthodox Patriarch Blames Outside Forces for Division with Abkhazia

Commenting on the 19th anniversary of the Abkhazian war for independence, Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II (Gudushauri-Shiolashvili) of the Georgian Orthodox Church has said that Georgians and Abkhaz need one another and that it is outside forces that are trying to ruin the "good relations" between the Georgian and Abkhaz nations, not the tide of Georgian nationalism that has swept the country since the collapse of the Soviet Union. More (in Greek) here.

South Ossetia, Abkhazia Free to Join Russian Federation

In a televised interview with Russia Today on the 2008 Ossetian War Russian President Dmitriy Medvedev has stated that there are no standing preconditions preventing South Ossetia or Abkhazia from joining the Russian Federation. Although the Russian government recognizes the independence of both Abkhazia and South Ossetia it has also allowed Abkhazian and South Ossetian citizens to become Russian citizens due to the limited international recognize of the South Ossetian government. More here.

Georgian President Confirms Support for Church

During a recent visit to Kutaisi's ancient Cathedral of the Dormition, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili reiterated his government's support of the Georgian Orthodox Church, noting its assistance in the cathedral's renovation as well as the renovation of some 500 other Georgian Orthodox churches and monasteries. More here.

Georgia Encouraging Afrikaner Immigration

As part of its efforts to rebuild the Georgian economy the government of President Mikheil Saakashvili is encouraging disgruntled Afrikaner farmers from South Africa to immigrate to Georgia and start new lives there. There are already some Afrikaners who have moved to the country and even received citizenship. More here.

Georgian Orthodox Church Concerned by Potential Return of Churches to Armenians

Despite calls from the Georgian Orthodox Church for calm, Georgia's large Armenian minority remains tense in the aftermath of this past weekend's large demonstrations against a law allowing the registration of the Armenian Orthodox Church in Georgia and four other minority religious organizations. While the head of the Armenian Orthodox Church in Georgia refused to comment on recent events, other representatives of Georgia's Armenian community who were interviewed said that most of the hysteria over the new law was whipped up by the hierarchy and clergy of the Georgian Orthodox Church, noting that of the six historic Armenian Orthodox churches in Tbilisi only two were still in use, whilst two others lay in ruins and two more had been appropriated by the Georgian Orthodox Church, which may now under the terms of the new law have to return them to the Church of Armenia. (In total there are more than 300 Armenian Orthodox churches in Georgia, of which only 40 are currently used by the Armenian Orthodox Church.) More here.

Georgian Orthodox Church Backs Down on Religious Minorities Law

The Georgian Orthodox Church has backed down from its strident, at times somewhat hysterical, opposition to a new law granting legal status to minority religious organizations in Georgia after a representative of the Georgian government informed a session of the Georgian Orthodox Holy Synod that the new law did not grant minority faiths equal standing with the Church of Georgia. More here.

Tbilisi Marches Protest New Legislation on Religious Organizations

Large protest marches took place over the weekend in Tbilisi, Georgia, to protest the Georgian government's enactment of legislation allowing the country's minority religious organizations to register with the state. The marches, the largest in recent years, were fueled by concerns that southeastern Georgia's Armenian minority will use the new legislation to gain equality with ethnic Georgians and by the Sunday sermon of Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II (Gudushauri-Shiolashvili) of the Georgian Orthodox Church, who said the new laws "humiliated the Church" and those behind them would "definitely be punished." More here and here.

Georgian Legislation Discussed by Saakashvili, Catholicos Karekin During June Visit

The Armenian Orthodox Church has welcomed the legislation of the Georgian government to allow the registration of Georgia's minority religious organizations, which was recently signed into law by President Mikheil Saakashvili. The groundwork for the legislation was apparently laid during the visit last month of Catholicos-Patriarch Karekin II (Nersessian) of Echmiadzin with the Georgian president. More here.

Georgian Opposition Joins Patriarchate in Calling for Repeal of Legislation on Religious Minorities

Georgian opposition parties are backing calls by the Georgian Orthodox Church to annul recent legislation granting legal status to five minority religious organizations present in Georgia, among them the Armenian Orthodox Church. Some opposition leaders have claimed the legislation, intended to protect the rights of Georgian citizens, inflame ethnic tensions, whilst others have begun calling for legislation that would grant the Georgian Orthodox Church official status as the country's state church. More here and here.

Georgian Parliament Passes Law Allowing Registration of Armenian Orthodox Diocese

The Georgian Parliament has finally passed a law to allow for the registration of Georgia's largest minority religious organizations, first among them the Armenian Orthodox Church's diocese in Georgia. Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II (Gudushauri-Shiolashvili) of the Georgian Orthodox Church opposed the new law, saying that national debates should be held to establish whether a majority of Georgians supported the measure. Georgian ultranationalists also opposed the law, saying that neighboring Armenia and Azerbaijan should be required to register the Georgian Orthodox Church in their countries first despite the miniscule size of their Georgian communities. More here and here.

Armenian Orthodox Church Comments on Catholicos Karekin's Visit to Georgia

Commenting on the recent visit of Catholicos-Patriarch Karekin II (Nersessian) of Echmiadzin to Georgia Bishop Arshak (Khachatrian), chancellor of the Armenian Orthodox Church of Echmiadzin, said that throughout Catholicos Karekin's time in Georgia he faced obstacles put in place by both the Georgian government and the Georgian Orthodox Church. Bishop Arshak also noted that the communique released by the Georgian Orthodox Church on the meeting of Catholicos Karekin and Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II (Gudushauri-Shiolashvili) of Mtskheta-Tbilisi did not represent both Churches despite the Georgian Orthodox Church's claim to the contrary.

Despite Patriarch Ilia's comments yesterday on Catholicos Karekin and the latter's visit, during today's press conference Bishop Arshak expressed his hope that relations between the Churches of Armenia and Georgia would continue to develop. More here and here.

Georgian Orthodox Patriarch Says Armenian Orthodox Counterpart "In A Hurry"

Commenting on his failure to release a joint statement with Catholicos-Patriarch Karekin II (Nersessian) of Echmiadzin during the latter's visit to Georgia, Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II (Gudushauri-Shiolashvili) said that his Armenian Orthodox counterpart was "in a hurry" and "young and should gain more experience."

The two patriarchs failed to release a joint statement on their work towards resolving long-standing issues between the Armenian and Georgian Orthodox Churches because of Patriarch Ilia's insistence that Armenia transfer churches in northern Armenia to the tiny Georgian minority in Armenia in exchange for the return of historically Armenian Orthodox churches belonging to Georgia's large Armenian minority that are currently used by the Church of Georgia. More here.

Catholicos Karekin Meets with Parents of Jailed Armenian Activist in Georgia

During a visit to the Armenian community in southeastern Georgia, Catholicos-Patriarch Karekin II of Echmiadzin has met with the parents of jailed Armenian activist Vahan Chakhalyan. The release of Chakhalyan was brought up during Catholicos Karekin's recent meeting in Tbilisi with Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II (Gudushauri-Shiolashvili) of the Georgian Orthodox Church. More here.

Holy New Martyrs of Ajaria

Joyous feast! In Georgia the Sunday of Pentecost is also the commemoration of the Holy New Martyrs of Ajaria who suffered under the Turkish Yoke in the 18th century.

When Ajaria, a region in what today is southwestern Georgia, was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire its Turkish rulers strongly encouraged its Georgian inhabitants to convert to Islam in the hope of detaching the area from its long association with the rest of Orthodox Georgia. As part of this push to convert Ajaria to Islam in 1790 the area's rulers organized a massacre of those who were steadfast in their Orthodox Faith and were encouraging others to likewise resist Islam, with the faithful being tortured and guillotined and their bodies dumped in Ajaria's rivers.

More (in Russian) on the sufferings of the Ajarian New Martyrs can be found here. May their blessings and prayers be with us all!

Catholicos Karekin Visits Georgia

Catholicos-Patriarch Karekin II (Nersessian) of Echmiadzin has begun a visit to Georgia at the invitation of Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II (Gudushauri-Shiolashvili) of Mtskheta-Tbilisi. The visit is apparently the first to what today is Georgia undertaken by a first hierarch of the Armenian Orthodox Church of Echmiadzin since the late 1800s. During his stay in the country Catholicos Karekin will meet with Patriarch Ilia, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, and the clergy and faithful of the Armenian Orthodox Church in Georgia. More here.

Patriach Ilia Calls for Clemency from the Georgian Government

Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II (Gudushauri-Shiolashvili) of the Georgian Orthodox Church has called on the government of President Mikheil Saakashvili to be merciful to the members of opposition parties detained after the recent Independence Day demonstrations in Tbilisi. During the breakup of the demonstrations earlier this week Patriarch Ilia blessed clergy to shelter supporters of the opposition in a church near the Georgian Parliament. More here.

Georgian Opposition Members Arrested in Monastery Refuge

Thirty members of Georgian opposition parties who took refuge in the famous Qintsvisi Monastery in eastern Georgia after yesterday's Independence Day clashes have been arrested in the Monastery by Georgian police. More here.

Anti-Saakashvili Protesters Dispersed, Arrested in Tbilisi

The Georgian police have dispersed protesters at Independence Day celebrations in Tbilisi at the urging of controversial President Mikheil Saakashvili. Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II (Gudushauri-Shiolashvili) of the Georgian Orthodox Church did not attend the parades that were held following the incident, in which one died, many were injured, and others were detained by the police. More here.

Moscow, Tbilisi Universities Sign Agreement

St. Tikhon's Humanitarian University in Moscow and St. Andrew's Patriarchal University in Tbilisi have signed a agreement that will widen educational cooperation between the universities and the joint publication of Georgian and Russian-language theological works in Georgia and Russia. More here.