Georgia Adopting Law was Seen as Solution to Problem in Armenian Church’s Favor: Conflictologist

The Georgian authorities were able to reach an agreement with the Georgian Orthodox Church regarding the issue of the legislative amendments that threatened to seriously destabilize the country. The authorities have promised the Church that their property rights won’t be violated after which point the Holy Synod urged the congregation to remain calm, reports Russian-language news source Kommersant.

The conflict between the Church and the country’s leadership came after the parliament approved amendments to the Civil Code that conferred legal status to religious groups in the country — without consulting the Patriarchate.

“There’s nothing in the law that violates the rights of the Church. People began to think that the president had insulted the Patriarch,” said conflictologist Giorgi Abashidze.

“Also having a great impact was the fact that immediately after the adoption of these amendments, the Armenian Catholicos Karekin II thanked [Georgian] President Saakashvili,” added Republican Party of Georgia leader David Berdzenishvili. “Rivalry between Georgia and Armenia exists on the mental level and the adoption of the law without discussion or clarification was fraught with massive protests and even anti-Armenian demonstrations.”

“If we put the amendments up for a public debate, the law would never have been accepted,” one Georgian parliamentarian told the paper. “The Georgian Orthodox Church enjoys absolute authority — 99% of the population trusts the Patriarch.” These remarks are perhaps not without grounds, reports Kommersant, since starting last Saturday, thousands have been demonstrating in the center of Tbilisi in support of the Patriarch’s stance on the issue.

Left in the shadows during the debates on the amendments was, that which is crucial, not the status of the churches, but property conflicts, said Abashidze.

According to him, after the law was approved, it was suspected that what was being discussed was disputed church property being transfered to the Armenian Church. “They have claims on several Armenian churches in Georgia. The Georgian Church would like to regain some churches in Armenia considered to be Georgian, although Armenian priests have long been conducting worship there. The adoption of the law in Georgia was seen as the solution to the property issue — in the Armenian Church’s favor,” he said.

The Church did not want to escalate the conflict with the authorities. “The Patriarch is not a fan of revolutions; he is in favor of compromise, though he could’ve gone against the authorities many times,” concluded Abashidze.