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Church-State Dispute in Tbilisi Exposes Anti-Armenian Undertones
July 15, 2011 - 1:28pm, by Molly Corso
GeorgiaEurasiaNet's Weekly DigestReligion
A boy is baptized at St. George Kvashveti Church in Tbilisi in May
2007. A surge in popularity, coupled with the high standing of
Patriarch Ilia II, head of the Georgian Orthodox Church, has made the
church one of the most influential institutions in Georgia. (Photo:
Molly Corso) A dispute over efforts to strengthen the legal rights of
minority religions has opened a new fault line in Georgia's fractured
political landscape. It is also helping to define the limits of the
governing United National Movement's influence.
Civil code amendments, passed on July 5, will allow `those faiths that
are considered legal religions by member countries of the European
Council' to register as full-fledged religious
organizations. Previously, such groups were only able to register as
charities or non-government organizations.
The changes, which have been praised by the international community,
sparked outrage among Georgian Orthodox Church faithful, many of whom
see them as an attempt to undermine the Church's special role in
society, a position facilitated by funding from the state budget and
tax breaks. During an early July protest, hundreds of Georgian
Orthodox believers and priests marched through downtown Tbilisi,
carrying Georgian icons and flags, to the city's main Sameba (Holy
Trinity) Cathedral. The protest, one of the largest ` and most
colorful ` in recent memory, offered a powerful reminder of the
popular strength of the Georgian Orthodox Church.
At the core of Church supporters' opposition is a concern that the law
will make it possible for the Armenian Apostolic Church to contest the
ownership of scores of churches. A wave of anti-Armenian sentiment has
bubbled to the surface in TV talk shows, blogs and Facebook
discussions on the amendments.
Much of the heated rhetoric started to subside on July 12 after a
meeting of the Church's Holy Synod, which called for calm. At the same
time, the synod urged parliament in the future to discuss with the
Patriarchate draft legislation related to religion so as `to avoid any
possible complications.' President Mikheil Saakashvili attended a
liturgy conducted by Patriarch Ilia II at Svetitskhoveli Cathedral the
following day, providing a visual reminder that tension had eased.
The speed of the vote on the amendments ` after just a few days of
parliamentary debate ` and the vote's timing --- on the heels of a
publicized trip to Tbilisi by the head of the Armenian Apostolic
Church, Catholicos Garegin II ` helped fuel tension, noted Giorgi
Khutsishvili, director of the International Center on Conflict and
Negotiation.
The lack of extensive preliminary discussions with Patriarch Ilia II
-- a man generally seen as the most revered public figure in Georgia `
created an appearance that the governing party was `arrogant,'
Khutsishvili said. The 78-year-old patriarch had requested that the
final vote be delayed until a full discussion with the Church could be
held.
`I think that lots of things in Georgia are politicized which are not
really political. And sometimes some actions of the government
contribute to politicizing the issues,' Khutsishvili said.
United National Movement MP Davit Darchiashvili, who supported the
amendments, told EurasiaNet.org that the changes had been under
discussion for `a long time.' [Editor's note: Darchiashvili formerly
served as executive director of the Open Society Assistance Foundation
` Georgia, part of the Soros Foundations network. EurasiaNet.org
operates under the auspices of the Open Society Institute, a separate
part of the Soros network].
`If taken from July, one may ask why [the law was passed] so quickly,
but sometimes too long discussions can be -- sometimes
--counterproductive,' he said. `It could have just caused additional
sparks of emotion ¦ and in the end the issue would have been
undecided again. If we believe it needs to be done, let's just do it.'
Darchiashvili dismissed allegations that the government felt pressured
by Catholicos Garegin II's visit. `Several religious denominations
felt [their old status as non-governmental organizations] as
discrimination,' he said. `If that is how they perceived it, why
shouldn't we address that concern?'
The Georgian Orthodox Church, though, functions as more than just a
religious institution; its privileged position and growing popularity
has made it a `political actor,' said Marine Chitashvili, the director
of Tbilisi State University's Center for Social Sciences. `[Patriarch
Ilia II] is still an authority. ¦ He has no authority de jure, but,
de facto, he has a huge authority,' Chitashvili said.
Chitashvili described the resurgence of nationalism amid the debate
over the status of minority religions as `artificial,' a phenomenon
brought on by people's shock that the decision was made so quickly,
and not based on any real animosity between Georgians and
Armenians. Even so, efforts by the Armenian minority in Georgia to
broaden their cultural rights have rankled officials in Tbilisi. The
Georgian and Armenian governments also went through a bout of tension
in 2009, when two Georgian-Armenian community activists faced
espionage allegations.
The two countries have the world's oldest (Armenia) and third oldest
(Georgia) organized churches, and signs of a cultural rivalry are
evident.
Khutsishvili said the controversy over the amendments serves as a
reminder that the separation between religion and politics in Georgia
is not wide. `[I]t showed once again that religion is the most
sensitive issue in Georgia,' he said. `It is also somehow a risk that
in the future any dispute on a religious issue may easily grow into a
political one.'