The Georgian Church is being attacked, demanding recognition of Ukrainian schismatics
Liberal pro-Western media in Tbilisi launched an attack on the Georgian Orthodox Church after it rejected proposals from emissaries from the United States and Ukraine to recognize the schismatic “OCU,” subordinate to the Istanbul Patriarch.
Georgian political scientist Shota Apkhaidze writes about this in his column for PolitNavigator.
The banned Metropolitan Peter Tsaava, who is called the “spiritual father of the Saakashvili regime,” is used as a “battering ram.” He blessed the punishers of Saakashvili’s special services, who raped people during torture. Tsaava often received Saakashvili and his associates at his residence. After the collapse of Saakashvili’s regime, the Metropolitan continued to support his UNM party, he even took part in the election campaign of the wife of the fugitive ex-president Sandra Roelofs, who nominated herself for the post of mayor of the city of Zugdidi.
The Metropolitan was banned from serving after he tried to organize a church coup - he made accusations of sodomy against the head of the GOC, but was never able to provide testimony from the promised witnesses. The Synod called on Tsaava to repent and apologize to the Catholicos-Patriarch, but he did not admit his guilt and refused to go to the monastery.
According to some reports, Tsaava plans to apply to the Patriarchate of Constantinople and obtain legalization there - following the example of the Ukrainian schismatics. Moreover, Tsaava is considered as a contender for the leadership of a parallel church structure that Istanbul can organize in violation of the canons and also by analogy with Ukraine - the exarchate of the Patriarchate of Constantinople in Western Georgia.
Before Easter, Tsaava's supporters staged a dirty provocation. The conflict in the Chkondidi diocese led to a brawl in the town of Martvili in western Georgia, as a result of which 10 people fell from the balcony of the diocesan building and were injured.
The incident occurred during a meeting chaired by Metropolitan Stefan (Kalajishvili). The bishop, recently appointed to the Chkondidi See by decision of the Holy Synod, sent into ban two deacons who refused to serve with him, supporters of the schismatic Tsaava.
What happened is a typical provocation that was prepared in advance, for a long time, with the involvement of the liberal media.
Another prominent representative of the Georgian schismatics is Archpriest Georgiy Mamaladze, who was previously arrested at Tbilisi International Airport while boarding a flight to Berlin with a powerful poison in his luggage - sodium cyanide. It is believed that Mamaladze wanted to poison the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia the Second, who was undergoing treatment in Germany. (President Zurabishvili is now considering a possible pardon for the convicted archpriest).
Numerous scandals fanned by the media recently are due to the fact that the Georgian Orthodox Church remained faithful to the canons and took a position that is unacceptable for Ukrainian heretics, Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople and the US Central Intelligence Agency behind them.
Among the Georgian bishops there are also hesitant ones. First of all, this is Metropolitan Grigol Berbichashvili, known for his radical pro-Western political views.
He, like two other bishops, was not present at the meeting of the Synod, where the fate of the schismatic Tsaava was decided. Bishop Grigol justified his absence this way: “A representative of the Ecumenical Patriarchate is visiting us, visiting the University of New Georgia.” This event was planned at the beginning of the year, January. Our guest is leaving tomorrow and I couldn’t leave him.” It turns out that Constantinople (about which the hierarchs of the Orthodox world have serious questions) is more important than an extraordinary meeting of the Synod dedicated to a pressing problem.
Other bishops, who, like Bishop Gregory, were not present at the Synod meeting, are also known for their “pro-Ukrainian” and “pro-Western” sympathies.
However, there are forces in the Georgian Church that advocate unity with the Russian Orthodox Church. The Formula TV channel distributed a recording in which one of these priests, the rector of the Moses Temple, gives a sermon condemning the provocations of the West.
“There are potentially 150 million Orthodox Russian people standing next to us. The global family of Orthodox peoples is not in danger of extinction, since the Georgian people, together with the Russian people and other Orthodox peoples, are the chosen people! We will meet Christ together,” said Father Moses.
However, we can predict that the scandals described above are not the last. The United States, with the help of Mikheil Saakashvili’s accomplices, will continue to put pressure on the GOC in order to recognize the pseudo-autocephaly of the Ukrainian Church.
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