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FAITH LAW SPARKS RELIGIOUS ROW IN GEORGIA
Agence France Presse
July 6, 2011 Wednesday 3:38 PM GMT
The powerful Georgian Orthodox Church strongly criticised the country's
pro-Western government on Wednesday after a new law allowing minority
faiths to claim legal status infuriated some believers.
The Georgian Patriarch -- the single most respected person in the
ex-Soviet state -- issued a statement saying that the legislation
"contradicts the interests of the Church and of the country".
"We believe that there will be negative consequences in the near
future and the authorities will bear responsibility for that," the
statement published on the Patriarch's website said.
The new law, which was approved by parliament on Tuesday, allows
other religious groups to be legally registered in the overwhelmingly
Orthodox country which also has Muslim, Armenian Apostolic, Jewish,
Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Protestant minorities.
"Georgia is a multi-ethnic and multi-confessional country and every
citizen of this country, regardless of what religion he belongs to,
must have equal rights," senior governing party lawmaker Nugzar
Tsiklauri told AFP.
But he said that the Georgian Orthodox Church would retain its
special status which is guaranteed by a constitutional agreement with
the state.
The agreement grants tax privileges to the Church, which also receives
state funding.
Orthodox Christianity has undergone a major revival since Georgia's
independence from the Soviet Union and the Church has become
increasingly influential in everyday life.
Some minorities have alleged religious discrimination, although
international rights reports have suggested that violations have
decreased under the current government.
Georgia's Evangelical-Baptist Church welcomed the new legislation.
"Different religious groups existing in Georgia have been demanding for
many years to have the right to register," Bishop Rusudan Gotsiridze
told local media.
But opposition parties said that such a sensitive issue needed wider
public discussion and called on President Mikheil Saakashvili to veto
the law.
The opposition Christian-Democratic Movement party described it as a
"very dangerous step", vowing to launch a campaign for the Church's
status to be upgraded and for Orthodox Christianity to be declared
the country's official religion.
A small group of protesters gathered outside a church near parliament
in the centre of Tbilisi to express their anger.
"This law could provoke confrontation on religious grounds in Georgia.
We demand a presidential veto," one of them, Shota Glurjidze, told AFP.
The Patriarchate -- seen by many people in the country as above any
criticism -- wields political as well as ecumenical power.
It has intervened in recent years to end an anti-government hunger
strike and to ensure that a television series that displeased it was
taken off the air.
Agence France Presse
July 6, 2011 Wednesday 3:38 PM GMT
The powerful Georgian Orthodox Church strongly criticised the country's
pro-Western government on Wednesday after a new law allowing minority
faiths to claim legal status infuriated some believers.
The Georgian Patriarch -- the single most respected person in the
ex-Soviet state -- issued a statement saying that the legislation
"contradicts the interests of the Church and of the country".
"We believe that there will be negative consequences in the near
future and the authorities will bear responsibility for that," the
statement published on the Patriarch's website said.
The new law, which was approved by parliament on Tuesday, allows
other religious groups to be legally registered in the overwhelmingly
Orthodox country which also has Muslim, Armenian Apostolic, Jewish,
Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Protestant minorities.
"Georgia is a multi-ethnic and multi-confessional country and every
citizen of this country, regardless of what religion he belongs to,
must have equal rights," senior governing party lawmaker Nugzar
Tsiklauri told AFP.
But he said that the Georgian Orthodox Church would retain its
special status which is guaranteed by a constitutional agreement with
the state.
The agreement grants tax privileges to the Church, which also receives
state funding.
Orthodox Christianity has undergone a major revival since Georgia's
independence from the Soviet Union and the Church has become
increasingly influential in everyday life.
Some minorities have alleged religious discrimination, although
international rights reports have suggested that violations have
decreased under the current government.
Georgia's Evangelical-Baptist Church welcomed the new legislation.
"Different religious groups existing in Georgia have been demanding for
many years to have the right to register," Bishop Rusudan Gotsiridze
told local media.
But opposition parties said that such a sensitive issue needed wider
public discussion and called on President Mikheil Saakashvili to veto
the law.
The opposition Christian-Democratic Movement party described it as a
"very dangerous step", vowing to launch a campaign for the Church's
status to be upgraded and for Orthodox Christianity to be declared
the country's official religion.
A small group of protesters gathered outside a church near parliament
in the centre of Tbilisi to express their anger.
"This law could provoke confrontation on religious grounds in Georgia.
We demand a presidential veto," one of them, Shota Glurjidze, told AFP.
The Patriarchate -- seen by many people in the country as above any
criticism -- wields political as well as ecumenical power.
It has intervened in recent years to end an anti-government hunger
strike and to ensure that a television series that displeased it was
taken off the air.