South Ossetian Government Supports Ossetian Orthodox Autocephaly

The South Ossetian government has confirmed its support for the eventual independence of the Orthodox Church in South Ossetia from both the Georgian and Russian Orthodox Churches. Ossetian Orthodox Christians hope for the recognition of their ecclesiastical independence on the basis of the early conversion of their ancestors, the Alans, to Orthodoxy in the 300s. More 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.

South Ossetian Supreme Court Rules Out Term Limits Referendum

The South Ossetian Supreme Court has ruled that it is illegal for President Eduard Kokoity to hold a national referendum to abolish restrictions keeping him from running for a third consecutive term as president. More here.

South Ossetian Orthodox Bishop Retired

The Old Calendrist 'Holy Synod in Resistance' of the Greek Orthodox Church has granted the head of the Orthodox Church in South Ossetia, Bishop George of Alania, retirement due to his ongoing health issues. Bishop Ambrose of Methone, an auxiliary to the first hierarch of the Synod in Resistance, has been appointed locum tenens of the Diocese of Alania. More here.

Russia Approves Visa-Free Travel with South Ossetia, Abkhazia

The Russian government has concluded agreements with the newly independent states of South Ossetia and Abkhazia allowing for visa-free travel between the three countries. More here.

Council of Europe Criticizes Georgia for Human Rights Abuses

A draft report of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has criticized the government of Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili for human rights abuses in the aftermath of the 2008 invasion of South Ossetia by Georgia. More here.

Georgia, South Ossetia Exchange Detainees

The Georgia and South Ossetia have exchanged detainees as per an agreement reached between the two governments on 17 February. Both sides continue to detain citizens of the other's country whose release has yet to be negotiated. More here.

Armenia, Artsakh, and Abkhazia in the News

President Serzh Sargsian of Armenia has repeated Armenia's intention not to recognize the independence of South Ossetia, Abkhazia, and Kosovo until the status of the Armenian Republic of Artsakh on the territory of what was Nagorno-Karabakh and southwestern Azerbaijan. Although the governments of Armenia and Artsakh are close the former does not formally recognize Artsakh's independence from Azerbaijan in the hope of resolving the dispute between Azerbaijan and its former region peacefully. More on President Sargsian's statements here.

In other news, representatives of Abkhazia's Armenian minority recently met with President Sergey Bagapsh of Abkhazia to discuss the role of the community in developing the country. More on that here. The Armenian government, despite its reluctance to recognize Abkhazian independence, is active in supporting that country's Armenian minority, as evidenced by its recent donation of Armenian-language books to Abkhazia's Armenian schools.

And lastly, the Russian government has given Abkhazia a loan of $67 million to rehabilitate its railway system, which was damaged during the country's war for independence with Georgia. More on that here.

Patriarchal Omission Prompts Georgian Reaction

The omission of the new title of Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II (Ghudushauri-Shiolashvili) as Metropolitan of Pitsunda, Sukhumi, and Abkhazia in a recent letter from Patriarch Kirill (Gundyayev) of Moscow has prompted the Church of Georgia to reiterate its historically inaccurate claim to the existence of one Local Orthodox Church on the territory of what today is Georgia and its permanent jurisdiction over all Georgian, Abkhaz, and Ossetian Orthodox Christians. More here.

South Ossetian Bishop on Leave

According to the website of the Synod in Resistance of the Greek Orthodox Church Bishop George of Alania, the only Orthodox Christian hierarch caring for the Orthodox faithful in South Ossetia due to the tensions between the Churches of Russia and Georgia over their canonical status, is on a year's leave of absence from his diocese due to health issues. In the meantime Bishop Ambrose of Methone is responsible for the care of the diocese. More here.

Pictured is Bishop George of Tskhinvali and Alania [South Ossetia].

Orthodoxy in Abkhazia and Ossetia

The United States has criticized restrictions on religious freedom in independent Abkhazia and Ossetia, formerly autonomous republics that were united to Georgia under Joseph Stalin and officially remained parts of Georgia until 1999 and 1991 respectively. In both countries independent Orthodox Churches have been established due to the phyletism of the Georgian Orthodox Church, which had established jurisdiction over both republics following the restoration of its autocephaly in the early 1900s.

In Abkhazia the Abkhazian Orthodox Church declared its separation from the Church of Georgia in 2009, reestablishing the Catholicosate of Pitsunda that had existed from the 1470s till its abolition by the Russian government in 1814 and had exercised jurisdiction over the western Georgians, Abkhaz, and Ossetians. As far as I'm aware the Abkhazian Orthodox Church remains without hierarchs as it is waiting for the Russian and Georgian Orthodox Churches to negotiate recognition of Local Orthodox Churches in Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

In Ossetia the Ossetian Orthodox faithful were initially care for after South Ossetian independence by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (...in Russia :-) ), but later submitted to the the Holy Synod in Resistance as the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad in the former USSR fractured into various synods. The Holy Synod in Resistance has organized the Ossetian Orthodox as a self-governing eparchy, the Diocese of Alania (the ancient name for Ossetia).

More on the US report can be found here. The official website of the the Ossetian Orthodox Church can be found here. Interfax's report on the Abkhazian Orthodox Church's appeal for an autocephalous Orthodox Church of Abkhazia can be found here.

Pictured is an Orthodox church in Ossetia.