A Response to Leons Gabriels Tavians' "Between Oriental Orthodoxy and European Modernity: Georgian Orthodox Church, Market Economy, and Social Message (original) (raw)
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Georgian Orthodox Church and Georgian society in the 20th–21st centuries
Poland-Georgia: Society-culture-faith-history, 2018
The text deals with the issue of the current role and place of the Georgian Orthodox Church over the centuries of its history, with special consideration of the issue of the restoration of autocephaly at the beginning of the 20th century and the place currently occupied by the Orthodox Church in Georgian society. A separate thematic topic is the perception of its identity by the inhabitants of this country in connection with the Orthodox religion, as well as contemporary trends prevailing in the Georgian Church, including the trend of secularization as well as the phenomenon of the politicization of Orthodox institutions in Georgia. A separate theme is the issue of discrimination against non-Orthodox religious associations in Georgia in relation to the law.
Orthodox Religion and Politics in Contemporary Eastern Europe, 2018
This book explores the relationship between Orthodox religion and politics in Eastern Europe, Russia and Georgia. It demonstrates how as these societies undergo substantial transformation Orthodox religion can be both a limiting and an enabling factor, how the relationship between religion and politics is complex, and how the spheres of religion and politics complement, reinforce, influence and sometimes contradict each other. Considering a range of thematic issues, with examples from a wide range of countries with significant Orthodox religious groups, and setting the present situation in its full historical context, the book provides a rich picture of a subject which has been too often oversimplified.
The Georgian orthodox church: Corruption and renewal
Religion in Communist Lands, 1975
In the summer of 1974 Keston College received some long and detailed documents which described a state of deep corruption in the Georgian Orthodox Church,and also the beginnings of a movement for purification and renewal. The charges against the Church's highest officers were so serious that it was felt at Keston that, despite the intricate detail and many other factors indicating the documents' authenticity, final judgment should be delayed until enquiries could be made and time had produced documentary and other confirmation-or the contrary.. Now, a year later, more than enough confirmation is available. In all, some 20 samizdat documents have arrived by various routes from Georgia, about half of. them directly concerned with the church situation, and others partially SO.l Articles by outsiders, analysing them, have begun to appear.2 But first some history. Today Georgia is one of the Soviet Union's 15 republics, with a population of less than five million, yet its statehood and Christianity are much older than Russia's. Georgia was converted in the early fourth century. Two centuries later its Church gained autonomy from the Patriarch of Antioch and in the eighth century autocephaly. Politically, after many centuries of rule or domination by Persians, Byzantians, Arabs, Seljuk Turks, Mongols, Ottomans and again Persians, with occasional periods of independence, Georgia became part of Russia in the first years of the nineteenth century. As a result, the Church lost its autocephaly in ISI I, and vigorous russification began: Church Slavonic was made compulsory in the churches, and Georgian was banned. Only in March 1917, when the tsarist order collapsed, was the autocephaly restored (though the Russian Church did not recognize this until 1943), and between 1915 to 1921 it was reinforced by Georgia's brief independence. When the Bolsheviks annexed the country in 1921 the Church was prominent among the resisters and suffered savage persecution. Today, out of nearly 2,500 Orthodox churches open before 1917 only 40 remain in operation (plus a few which belong to the Russian Church). This decline is much more drastic than in the Russian Church, where the equivalent figures are about 54,000 and 7,500, i.e., one in seven churches surviv
The Orthodox Church of Georgia: a Voice of Unity? (IECS Report 4)
Throughout history, the Georgian people have often dealt with outside threats, and Orthodox Christianity was one of the main factors which preserved a sense of distinctiveness among Georgians during times like these. The OCG has naturally been cast in the role of a guardian of the Georgian identity and independence. In the last decades the church has been able to claim as such a privileged position in society and in the political sphere. Geographically outside of Europe and rarely making headlines in the West, Georgia is usually out of sight and thus out of mind. Yet for those with an interest in Orthodox Christianity, for its intersection with the political sphere and specific positions with regard to ecumenism, the Orthodox Church of Georgia represents a fascinating case. The present text explores the role of Georgian Orthodoxy in relation to society, the state, and other Christian churches in the context of Georgia’s Soviet history. (http://www.ru.nl/ivoc/english/publications/reports/)
Certain Aspects of Georgia-Russian Relations in Modern Historiography, David Muskhelishvili Editor, Caucasus Region Political, Economic and Security Issues, Nova Publishers, New York, 2014
Khatuna Kokrashvili, The Russian Empires Religious Policy in Georgia (the first half of the 19th century) The turn of the 18th-19th centuries the use of religious factors in political interests noticeably strengthened in the Russian empire. As a matter of fact Orthodox Christianity served as a means of assimilating neighbouring territories and leading its own colonial policy. In the first half of the 19th century after the annexation of the Georgian state the church reform carried out in Georgia by the imperial power, served a definite aim that of the abolition independence of the Georgian church, inculcation of the rules of the Russian divine service and the establishment of the church organization controlled by the state as much as possible. It also implied the radical structural-administrative reorganization of the Georgian church, the commutation of the church taxes i.e., the change from paying taxes in kind to paying money and the secularization of church lands; apart from that the reorganization of the order of the divine service and the change of the position of the lowest layer of the clergy was planned. The result of the church and religious policy, carried out by the imperial power, was that the autocephaly of the Georgian church was abolished, the status of Catholicos-patriarch of Georgian Church was canceled and the position of exarch was established. The rules and principles of governance, structural-administrative form of the Georgian Church also was changed and it became completely subjected to the Holy Synod of the Russian Empire. Consequently, the Ecclesiastical law standards and the legal rights of the Georgian Church was broken; The inviolability of church property was also violated and, alongside it the Georgian clergy found itself dependent on the state exchequer. Apart from that, owing to the reform carried out, the close connection of the church with its parish was severed. With time the church became the means of carrying out the Russianizing policy in Georgia. The appearance of religious sects in Georgia is a direct result of Russia‘s colonial policy. On the other hand, the measures, taken towards the Catholic church conditioned the development of the process of Armenian Georgian Catholics. Thus, at the compulsory and forcible church policy of the Russian power, the establishment of the state control on the church, the attempt to suppress national traditions and the persecution of the national culture, the weakening and very often the destruction of the connection between the church and its folk, all these circumstances became the reason for the development and aggravation of the contrary processes among the local inhabitants of both Christian and non-Christian faith. As could be expected such a policy gave birth to religious indifference, and in other confessional groups to an acute anti-Orthodox reaction.
CHALLENGES AND PROBLEMS OF ORTHODOX THEOLOGY IN MODERN GEORGIA
Theology and Life, 2023
Georgia is an ancient country located in the Caucasus region, which has left its mark on the history of the Orthodox Church. This article deals with the situation of Orthodox theologians and theology in modern Georgia, the challenges they face and the reasons for all of this. The first part of the article refers to three distinguished Georgian theologians of the twentieth century, namely-Grigol Feradze, Ioane Kvatchadze and Elia Melia, their life path, work and academic career. It is worth noting the fact that all three of them created their academic heritage outside of Georgia, and because of the Soviet authorities, they were not given the opportunity to use their talents and skills in their homeland. In the second part, the thoughts of Mrs. Tamara Meskhi have already been conveyed. Ms. Meskhi, from 1978 to 1993, worked as a lecturer of Greek language almost continuously first in Mtskheta and then in Tbilisi theological seminary. Ms. Meskhi is a direct eyewitness of the history of the main theological schools of modern Georgia and recalls the interesting details that might be interesting for the readers. At the end of the article, author talks about the general and main challenges that the Georgian Orthodox Church has and the main steps that need to be taken to solve them.
Master Thesis , 2014
The emergence of religious nationalism in post-socialist countries is not a novelty. The relationship between the Church and state has always been the subject of debate. However, the collapse of the Soviet Union and the raise of religious nationalism in Central and Eastern European countries brought issues and challenges. The dimension of the religious nationalism and the type of the church-state relationships varies from country to country. In Georgia we face the growth of the power and the popularity of the Georgian Orthodox Church. As surveys suggest the Church is the most trusted institution in Georgia, and the Patriarch Ilya II the most popular public figure. On the one hand Georgian political elite strive to join the Western organizations and build a liberal nation-state, but on the other hand the Church interferes in almost every domain of life; including political, social, cultural and even private. My research tends to offer new insights on the topic and examine the possible reasons, conditions under which the Georgian Church became extremely strong political and social institution. I will argue that the Soviet experience greatly contributed to the emergence of religious nationalism. The ideological vacuum that was created after the breakdown of the Union was filled up by the Georgian Orthodox Church, which started to shape a new ideological framework. I will demonstrate that the discourse is Orthodox and is based on the religious sentiment. The ideological framework the Church is trying to provide is antiecumenical and aims to influence on the decision-making process in Georgia. The study will examine the reasons of the sudden turn to religion and the leverage the Church is trying to use in order to demonstrate its authority; as the most powerful social and political institution to mobilize people and make an impact on the social and political life.
LEGAL AND SOCIAL STATUS OF THE GEORGIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH: CHALLENGES AND PERSPECTIVES
Teka Komisji Prawniczej PAN Oddział w Lublinie, t. XIII, 2020, nr 2, 2020
This article aims to overview the Georgian Orthodox Church's role and status in modern Georgia. The Author in the paper aims to analyze basic problems and challenges, which Georgian society and state have regarding the Church and religious entities, also, to create some practical recommendations for better regulation of this issue in the future.