Tweet
GEORGIA RULED NOT TO OPPRESS ITS ARMENIAN AND AZERI CITIZENS
epress.am
07.06.2011
The Georgian parliament in an emergency measure on Tuesday adopted the
final version of a legislative amendment to the Civil Code according
to which it has become possible to provide legal status to religious
associations in Georgia - including the Armenian Apostolic Church.
These amendments, reports the RFE/RL's Ekho Kavkaza ("Echo of the
Caucasus"), have become the subject of heated debates. Opponents to the
bill referred to yesterday's statement by His Holiness and Beatitude
Ilia II, Catholicos Patriarch of All Georgia, that the final adoption
of the final version of the bill has to be postponed. They are also
protesting against the fact that the amendments were discussed and
approved in an accelerated fashion. The first reading took place on
Jul. 1 and the amendments were pushed through the second and third
readings where they were approved.
International law and Georiga's Constitution prohibit the state
to have such leverage through which it can eliminate religious
associations. But, in fact, separate laws make that possible, reports
Ekho Kavkaza. Now, religious associations have the right to register
as a legal entity of public law.
"I want to emphasize that this is an amendment to the Civil Code. For
this reason no religious group will be able to call itself [i.e.
become equal to] the Georgian Orthodox Church," said MP Lasha Tordia,
one of the initiators of the bill.
Prior to the start of the session, a group of opposition deputies
had asked parliament to halt the bill; however, they were refused.
According to the Catholicos Patriarch of All Georgia, there's no need
to rush, especially since neighboring states have not yet discussed
the status of the Georgian church in their countries, as well as the
issue of property ownership by Orthodox churches.
Theologian Levan Abashidze considers this approach to be fundamentally
wrong. "We're not talking about citizens of other countries. The
same Azeris, the Muslims, or the Christians, the Armenians, are our
citizens. And to raise such an issue - let Armenia first accept [the
Georgian Church's] status [in Armenia], then us. It means that we
don't consider this group as our citizens. If Armenia won't provide
status to the [presumably Georgian] Orthodox [church], so we have
oppress our citizens?"
"And what does the status of legal entity of public law provide to
religious groups?" the Ekho Kavkaza reporter asked Maria Arakelova,
press secretary of the Georgian Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic
Church. Among other privileges, she noted the following: "For example,
if we want to visit a prison, we will no longer need permission
from the Georgian Patriarchate. Previously we had to contact the
Patriarchate, then the justice ministry, but now we can contact only
the justice ministry."
epress.am
07.06.2011
The Georgian parliament in an emergency measure on Tuesday adopted the
final version of a legislative amendment to the Civil Code according
to which it has become possible to provide legal status to religious
associations in Georgia - including the Armenian Apostolic Church.
These amendments, reports the RFE/RL's Ekho Kavkaza ("Echo of the
Caucasus"), have become the subject of heated debates. Opponents to the
bill referred to yesterday's statement by His Holiness and Beatitude
Ilia II, Catholicos Patriarch of All Georgia, that the final adoption
of the final version of the bill has to be postponed. They are also
protesting against the fact that the amendments were discussed and
approved in an accelerated fashion. The first reading took place on
Jul. 1 and the amendments were pushed through the second and third
readings where they were approved.
International law and Georiga's Constitution prohibit the state
to have such leverage through which it can eliminate religious
associations. But, in fact, separate laws make that possible, reports
Ekho Kavkaza. Now, religious associations have the right to register
as a legal entity of public law.
"I want to emphasize that this is an amendment to the Civil Code. For
this reason no religious group will be able to call itself [i.e.
become equal to] the Georgian Orthodox Church," said MP Lasha Tordia,
one of the initiators of the bill.
Prior to the start of the session, a group of opposition deputies
had asked parliament to halt the bill; however, they were refused.
According to the Catholicos Patriarch of All Georgia, there's no need
to rush, especially since neighboring states have not yet discussed
the status of the Georgian church in their countries, as well as the
issue of property ownership by Orthodox churches.
Theologian Levan Abashidze considers this approach to be fundamentally
wrong. "We're not talking about citizens of other countries. The
same Azeris, the Muslims, or the Christians, the Armenians, are our
citizens. And to raise such an issue - let Armenia first accept [the
Georgian Church's] status [in Armenia], then us. It means that we
don't consider this group as our citizens. If Armenia won't provide
status to the [presumably Georgian] Orthodox [church], so we have
oppress our citizens?"
"And what does the status of legal entity of public law provide to
religious groups?" the Ekho Kavkaza reporter asked Maria Arakelova,
press secretary of the Georgian Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic
Church. Among other privileges, she noted the following: "For example,
if we want to visit a prison, we will no longer need permission
from the Georgian Patriarchate. Previously we had to contact the
Patriarchate, then the justice ministry, but now we can contact only
the justice ministry."