In a late-night statement on April 27, the Patriarchy of the Georgian Orthodox Church issued a sweeping endorsement of the ruling party’s policy proposals to curb activities of civil society groups and the queer community. The statement comes as the Parliament readies to endorse the highly controversial law on agents of foreign influence in its second reading.
The statement starts by tying the “recent events” to “the geopolitical changes on the global scale” and warning that “we have no right to mistake.” It argues that “the line of confrontation is now drawn on a field of combat against values and state sovereignty.”
Asserting that the progress should be based on the motto “Fatherland, Language, Faith,” it laments the “alternative reality created by media and social networks” that belies “facts and arguments.” The statement then says that “emotional actions shall not be allowed to break stability and peace” and calls for “in-depth conversation and healthy debate.”
Voicing respect to “the sincere initiatives and striving of our children,” it says the issues at stake are “delicate and vital” and argues that the manipulation of “healthy activism of the future generation for particular political interest and propagating vicious ideology” would be harmful.
It recalls that the government “declares and articulates clearly” that its objective, coinciding with the majority of the Georgian people,” is European integration, which the Church also supports. But the Patriarchy argues that “it is a fact” that during the years, “non-governmental organizations or televisions funded from abroad has been running a campaign to discredit the church, alongside with growing propaganda of the LGBT way of life.”
“Imposing the foreign, unusual, and dangerous ideologies is enhancing polarization,” reads the statement and while saying “the Church neither expects nor needs support in ideological matters,” it adds the government “has clearly embarked on the path of defending the traditional values.”
It then lambasts the recent resolution of the European Parliament, saying, “inscribing in the resolution that Georgian state shall not adopt the law that would prevent LGBT propaganda among youths, constitutes a pressure against the values recognized by the majority of the country’s population” and implies the lack of “full recognition of Georgia’s sovereignty.”
The statement concludes by saying that “The Georgian Church considers its priority to strengthen the word of our Lord among the Georgian population. We want to defend our traditions, the sanctity and importance of family, protect the Georgian culture, aim at living in a shared state with our Ossetian and Abkhaz brothers, stay away from any conflict in the face of the most difficult political processes ongoing in the world, and to ensure peaceful coexistence within our country, which is impossible without the fullest possible state independence.”
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This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)