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GEORGIAN PATRIARCH NEGATIVE ABOUT LAW ON RELIGIOUS CONFESSIONS LEGAL STATUS
PanARMENIAN.Net
July 6, 2011
PanARMENIAN.Net - Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II offers to
suspend parliamentary debate on the bill stipulating provision of legal
entity status to several religious units operating in the country.
"I consider it important to hold up the procedures of passing the
law in the second and third readings in the Georgian parliament and
carry out public debates on this issue, at least by television, so
that to shape a single public opinion in consensus with the Orthodox
Church, as most population of the country are Orthodox Christians,"
says the statement issued by the Catholicos-Patriarch.
The document also noted that this issue "is of paramount importance,
determining the main principles of state structure". Besides, Ilia
II stated that the Georgian Orthodox Church never came out against
and always supported the idea of granting status to other religions
acting in Georgia, according to Interfax.
Georgian parliament introduced amendments to Civil Code on July 1,
granting the status of legal persons of public law to 5 religious
units - Armenian Apostolic Church, Roman Catholic Church, the Muslim
community, the Jewish community and the Baptist church in Georgia.
Law of Georgia defines a legal person of public law as an organization
separated from the state bodies, created by the relevant law,
enact of the President of Georgia or by the administrative act of
state bodies, adopted on the basis of law, which conducts political,
state, social, educational, cultural and other public activities. The
issue of Armenian Apostolic Church status is in the agenda of the
Armenian-Georgian relations. Within the visit of His Holiness Karekin
II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians to Georgia, the
Georgian side offered to provide Georgian Orthodox Church in Armenia
the same rights as the Armenian Apostolic Church has in Georgia.
From: A. Papazian
PanARMENIAN.Net
July 6, 2011
PanARMENIAN.Net - Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II offers to
suspend parliamentary debate on the bill stipulating provision of legal
entity status to several religious units operating in the country.
"I consider it important to hold up the procedures of passing the
law in the second and third readings in the Georgian parliament and
carry out public debates on this issue, at least by television, so
that to shape a single public opinion in consensus with the Orthodox
Church, as most population of the country are Orthodox Christians,"
says the statement issued by the Catholicos-Patriarch.
The document also noted that this issue "is of paramount importance,
determining the main principles of state structure". Besides, Ilia
II stated that the Georgian Orthodox Church never came out against
and always supported the idea of granting status to other religions
acting in Georgia, according to Interfax.
Georgian parliament introduced amendments to Civil Code on July 1,
granting the status of legal persons of public law to 5 religious
units - Armenian Apostolic Church, Roman Catholic Church, the Muslim
community, the Jewish community and the Baptist church in Georgia.
Law of Georgia defines a legal person of public law as an organization
separated from the state bodies, created by the relevant law,
enact of the President of Georgia or by the administrative act of
state bodies, adopted on the basis of law, which conducts political,
state, social, educational, cultural and other public activities. The
issue of Armenian Apostolic Church status is in the agenda of the
Armenian-Georgian relations. Within the visit of His Holiness Karekin
II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians to Georgia, the
Georgian side offered to provide Georgian Orthodox Church in Armenia
the same rights as the Armenian Apostolic Church has in Georgia.
From: A. Papazian