Their name is Legion and they are against Georgia’s European choice. As a result the Georgian church is generously provided with literature that condemns “the Satanic West,” “Masonic conspiracies against orthodox peoples” and praises “spiritual unity of the orthodox against the West.” It would not be fair to say that all of the Georgian clergymen are influenced by this propaganda but unfortunately there are more than enough. Besides, despite regaining autonomy Georgian Orthodox Church is still closely affiliated with the Russian church which still seems to be controlled by the Russia special services. It goes without saying that KGB influence could not be eradicated for 22 years. Of course, things went worse under the communist regime when church was controlled by KGB. Not only its autonomy was scrapped (and it became a part of the Russian church) but it became (like the Russian church proper itself) a subsidiary of the government. ![]() But since the annexation of Georgia by the Russian empire (the late 18th century) the church underwent drastic changes. The Georgian church once played a visible role in preserving Georgian independence and the national idea in general. Let’s concentrate on the outstanding points.ġ. This is a complex question, and so the answer is complex too. For this, one has to understand what went wrong during the 22 years of independence and how it happened that May 17 became possible. It has effectively fought crime and corruption it has managed to change its government through peaceful elections.īut is Georgia a secular state if the church can mobilize such a huge crowd and challenge the authorities? Can Georgia be a democracy when so many people do not understand basic values of liberty? These two problems may turn out much more difficult than corruption and fair elections.īut these problems are to be tackled immediately. The country has achieved a lot since the collapse of the Soviet Union. These shameful events posed new questions (or rather question marks) for the Georgian democracy. ![]() Tornike Sharashenidze is professor and head of MA Program of International Affairs at the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs.
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