However, the Georgian Orthodox Church (GOC) appears to oppose these constitutional changes, fearing that they serve the government’s possible intention to increase control over the church.
On August 27, the clergy of the High Hierarchy held a meeting under the chairmanship of Metropolitan Shio Mujiri, locum tenens of the Georgian Patriarch, on the topic of constitutional changes in the relations between the Church and the State.
According to the representative of the Patriarchate’s press office, there is no such official offer from the government to the GOC, and the meeting was held on the basis of an unofficial proposal. It was also noted that deliberations on this issue haven’t been completed yet and future meetings of the Synod are planned.
At present, the relations between the State and the Church are regulated according to the Constitutional Agreement of 2002, which emphasizes that “the State and the Church confirm their readiness to cooperate, observing the principle of mutual independence”.
Both the press office of the Patriarchate and the Metropolitan of Akhalkalaki and Kumurdo, Nikoloz Pachuashvili, confirm that the position of the Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II to maintain the relations according to the agreement has not changed and will be respected by the Synod.
“…Declaring [Orthodox Christianity] as a state religion is very dangerous,” Metropolitan Nikoloz Pachuashvili told Formula TV. “The best [system] we could have is what we have today, the Georgian Orthodox Church has the highest status, and a [interference by] person can only spoil that.”
Metropolitan Pachuashvili also pointed to the example of Greece, which has recognized Orthodox Christianity as the state religion, stating: “Neither the Archbishop nor the Bishop of Greece can be appointed by the Church unless the Greek Parliament has confirmed it. If the Minister of Education does not confirm it within three weeks, the candidacy is withdrawn… The state completely determines the budget, and this means that it has full control…”.
The same opinion was shared by Protopresbyter Giorgi Zviadadze, who also spoke to Formula TV: “The Georgian Church has the same position as the position of the Patriarch [before]. The government has a very correct and good attitude towards the Church, which is very important in many areas. At this stage it is not right to talk about changing the Constitutional agreement”.