Georgian Orthodox Church to Launch TV Station

A new TV station under the patronage of the Georgian Orthodox Church will begin broadcasting aimed towards promoting, as the founders say, ?Georgian national values.?

Tbilisi-based Evrika TV, owned by ex-communication minister Pridon Injia, who is currently affiliated with the opposition Labor Party, will give its TV frequency for the Church’s broadcasts. Currently the frequency is leased by the Tbilisi-based TV studio Maestro, which produces reality shows and entertainment programs.

A relevant agreement was signed between Pridon Injia and the Patriarch of the Georgian Orthodox Church Ilia II in Tbilisi on January 22.

?This will not be a political television station. This will be an ethical and educational channel based on the national values. Major attention will be paid to the promotion of moral and Georgian national values, which are necessary for our country and our future,? the Georgian Patriarch said after signing the agreement.

The opposition National-Democratic Party has agreed to allot part of its office space on Rustaveli Avenue in downtown Tbilisi to the television station.

The station will be chaired by Giorgi Andriadze, former parliamentary secretary of the Georgian Orthodox Church and founder of the public movement National Lobby.

?The station will mostly air non-religious, non-political programs and, there will be no news programs,? Andriadze told Civil.ge on January 22.

The Georgian Orthodox Church already owns Tbilisi-based FM radio station Iveria and the newspaper Sapatriarkos Uckebani (Patriarchy?s Journal).

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