Where God Weeps - the suffering church in focus
Countries » Georgia
The situation of the church in Georgia
The serious political problems that in 2008 resulted in armed clashes with Russian troops have not, generally speaking, influenced religious freedom in the country. In spite of the dramatic situation, the principles established by Article 9 of the Constitution that reads, “The state shall declare complete freedom of belief and religion, as well recognising the special role of the Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Georgia in the history of Georgia and its independence from the state”, have generally been respected.
There has been no change in the legal status of other organisations, such as the Catholic Church, which enjoy recognition only as private non-profit organisations. There are some who would like to see the Churches publicly acknowledged as religious associations.
This situation does not, however, prejudice their normal activities.
The privileges agreed in the 2002 Concordat enjoyed by the Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church which, for example, include the right to veto the building of places of worship by other religious communities, remain unchanged.
Other Religious communities have some difficulties in their relations with the Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church. This is attributed to above all, the attitude of some of the clergy, who often express disdainful opinions of other religions in schools. Examples cited include describing the making of the sign of the Cross as performed by the Catholic Church and the Protestant communities as the “sign of Satan.”
Such verbal excesses obviously do not encourage good ecumenical relations.
In spite of this there are no reports of violations of the free exercising of the rights, even of those of religious minorities. Violations are discouraged by very strict legislation regarding attacks on these rights. At the Prosecutor General’s Office there is a department for the protection of human rights which is also tasked with ensuring rights of religious organisations are upheld. The work done by this office was recently praised for its impartiality by religious minorities such as Jehovah’s Witnesses.
How you can help
Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) supports several projects in Georgia. You can support these projects by donating via their national offices.
Below you can find one or more finished projects ACN supported in the past.
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The clinic run by the Camillian Fathers[1] in Tbilisi does not have any wealthy patients. Instead it is the extremely poor and the refugees who come here, because they cannot afford expensive treatment and are grateful for the treatment the brothers provide free of charge. The Camillian Fathers have been running the clinic for 10 years now; it was a gift from Pope John Paul II. Read more >>
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The activities on the roof of the church in Tskhaltbila looks very dangerous. There are several men standing up there, with very little in the way of safety. The noise of their hammering echoes far across the land. Read more >>
Statistics
Population: 4.22 Million
Christian Population: 3.59 Million
Religious statistics:
Christians 85.1%
Muslims 10.5%
Agnostics 4.1%
Others 0.3%
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