Daily Georgian Times, Georgia
March 10 2007
Georgian Patriarch on "Goodwill Mission" to Russia
At the invitation of his Russian counterpart, Patriarch of the
Georgian Orthodox Church Ilia II paid a four-day visit to Moscow
March 1-5. President Mikhail Saakashvili described the visit as a
"goodwill mission" and a "public diplomacy effort."
The leader of Georgia’s orthodox believers was invited to Moscow to
attend the presentation of the 13th volume of the Orthodox
Encyclopaedia, which devotes articles to the history of the Georgian
Orthodox Church. Accompanied by an 80-man delegation, the Georgian
Patriarch departed to the Russian capital in a direct charter
Tbilisi-Moscow flight of Georgian Airways (Airzena), making the first
precedent since October 3, 2006, when Russia imposed a transportation
embargo against its pro-Western neighbor over the so called `spy
row.’
The charter flight was arranged at the request of the Georgian
Patriarch. Earlier, Russia imposed an economic and transportation
embargo on the Tbilisi administration, banning imports of Georgian
wine and mineral waters. The sanctions against Georgia have included
the deportation of hundreds of Georgian nationals residing in Russia.
Since the sanctions started, Georgia and Russia have been exchanging
accusations and have never reached a compromise. This is why such
value is attached to the Georgian Patriarch’s visit; it is hoped that
this visit will make a change.
The strengthening of relations between the Russian and Georgian
churches is a guarantee of the preservation of friendship between our
two nations, Alexy II, Patriarch of Moscow and All of Russia, said at
a meeting with Ilia II in Moscow’s St. Daniel Monastery on March 2.
`The consolidation of the pacifying, beneficial impact of the Church,
which brings spiritual revival to the people, is the foundation of
our hope for the future, for the well-being of Georgia, for accord
between its public forces, for unbreakable and eternal friendship
between our nations,’ according to Russia’s Itar Tass news agency.
Relations between the Georgian and Russian Orthodox Churches have
become tense with regard to the conflicts of Abkhazia and South
Ossetia during the past several years. On several occasions the
Georgian Orthodox Church accused the Moscow Patriarchate of violating
church law. The latest complaint was voiced in early January when
Georgian Patriarch’s Office accused Russia of church separatism after
Russia’s secular and spiritual authorities blessed the translation of
the Gospel into Abkhazian, the official language of Georgia’s
breakaway province without having consent from the Georgian
Patriarch.
A special reception to present the Abkhazian gospel was held in
Moscow on January 10. Russian President Vladimir Putin along with the
Russian Patriarch attended the event. This fact stirred up widespread
discontent in Georgia as the Abkhaz Church is under the jurisdiction
of Georgian Orthodox Church – a fact officially recognised by the
Russian Orthodox Church.
Spokesperson for the Georgian Patriarchate Zurab Tskhovrebadze
commented in January: "Religious separatism is being pushed by
[Russia] along with political separatism. Anti-Georgian forces are
making every effort to detach this [Abkhazia] region from Georgia
both politically and spiritually. Disregard for the consent of the
Georgian Orthodox Church [for translating the Gospel], is nothing but
a gross violation of religious law."
The Russian Orthodox Church has rebuffed these allegations, saying
that it only provided "humanitarian" assistance to the breakaway
provinces. Recent talks in Moscow focused only on positive side of
the bilateral relations in a bid to build a bridge between the
conflicted parties.
Georgian Patriarch emphasized that the first direct flight to Moscow
[performed after the embargo] symbolically coincided with the first
day of spring, hinting at the optimistic expectations for the visit.
"I believe a goodwill relationship will resume [between Georgia and
Russia] and peace will be re-established," he told reporters.
Catholicos-Patriarch of all Georgia Ilia II [secular name: Irakli
Gudushauri – Shiolashvili] was born on January 4, 1933, in
Vladikavkaz, capital of Russia’s Republic of North Ossetia. However,
his parents were from Georgia’s Kazbegi region. The future Patriarch
professed his monastic vows while a graduate student of the
Theological Academy in 1957 and was enthroned on December 23, 1977.
>From 1978 – 1983, Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II was Co-President of
the World Council of Churches [WCC]. According to the Georgian
Patriarch’s office, "His Holiness has received the highest Church
awards from Patriarchs of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Orthodox
Churches of Antioch, Jerusalem, Alexandria, Russia, Georgia, Greece,
Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, Czechoslovakia and almost all other
Orthodox Churches." Over the past decades, Ilia II has been one of
the most highly respected personalities in Georgia thanks to his huge
contribution to restoration of the religious life in Georgia after
the 70-year history of Soviet atheism as well as to his balancing
role during the country’s post-independence political turbulences.
Speaking at a meeting with media representatives on November 23,
President Saakashvili voiced his hope that Patriarch’s Moscow trip
would make a breakthrough in the stalemated Russian-Georgian ties.
`It seems that the government [of Georgia] is mulling over
stabilising the strained relationship with Russia and is pinning its
hopes on religious leverages," leader of Tbilisi-based NGO National
Lobby Giorgi Andriadze told GT. As Andriadze said, after a 6
month-suspension, even a one-time operation of a Tbilisi-Moscow
flight is a remarkable achievement "demonstrating the considerable
and yet unexhausted diplomatic potential of our church."
Pursuant to historical records, Georgian’s Orthodox Church was
established in the forth century by the Holy Apostles Andrew the
First Called, Simon Canaanite and Mathew. In the 4th century,
Christianity was announced the state religion of Georgia which over
the centuries shaped the essence of Georgian culture and politics. In
the 5th century, the Georgian Orthodox Church obtained autocephaly
[independence] from Antioch. In 1811, Russian Synod stripped Georgia
of autocephaly and put it under Russian Church’s jurisdiction. Almost
a century later in 1917, the Georgian church regained independence.
In Georgia, Orthodox Church enjoys great support and the largest
number of followers. According to the 2003 census, 83.9% of
Georgia’s population is Orthodox Christian, Muslim population makes
up 9.9%, while Armenian-Gregorian believers account for 3.9%,
Catholic 0.8%, other 0.8% and 0.7% are atheists.
Georgian Times,By Maia Edilashvili