Georgian President hopes Church will elect "pro-European" Patriarch
Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili. Photo: gettyimages.com
Georgian head of state Salome Zourabichvili said on her official visit to London that the situation with the Church of Georgia is "very difficult" due to the "weakness" of 91-year-old Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II, Sova News reports.
Zourabishvili also expressed hope that in the future the Georgian Church will "follow the pro-Western rhetoric" and "will be able to elect a pro-Georgian and pro-European Patriarch, not a pro-Russian Patriarch".
"I think that the Orthodox Church here, as in any other Orthodox country, is very close to the government, tends to follow the changes of accents and nuances," she said.
Zourabishvili's statement has already been commented on by the pro-government Georgian Dream party. Its leader, former Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, said that the President's remarks are a direct attack on the Patriarch and the Church and that Zourabishvili herself is "a big anti-Georgian phenomenon".
"I think this speaks very well of Salome Zourabishvili herself. The mask she has worn throughout this period has been torn off," he said.
As reported, the Georgian Patriarch supported the country's steps to join the EU.
Read also
Kosovo to enact law restricting Serbian Church, experts say
Analysts warn that the new "Law on Foreigners" in Kosovo could restrict the presence of clergy, believers' access to shrines, and increase pressure on the Serbian community.
Congress Speaker: Demand to introduce Sharia law in USA is a serious problem
The Speaker of the House of Representatives stated that there is growing concern in society about attempts to impose Islamic law, which is incompatible with the American Constitution.
UK government introduces restrictions on "anti-Muslim hostility"
UK authorities have adopted a new definition of "Islamophobia" which, according to experts, could provide Muslims with special protection and restrict freedom of speech.
Dumenko brings icon in Church Slavonic to Ministry of Health
Epifaniy presented cardiologists with an Intercession icon, with inscriptions in Church Slavonic, which his structure calls a "sign of the Moscow tradition".
ISIS supporters carries out terrorist attack at anti-Islamic protest in NY
Near the home of New York's Muslim mayor, radicals threw two makeshift bombs at protesters during an anti-Islamic rally.
Hryshchuk: If UOC hands over its church itself, angle grinders aren't needed
An OCU chaplain called on UOC believers to accept the loss of the shrine for the sake of their own "enlightenment".