Agence France Presse, France
March 8 2009

Resurgent Georgian Church sees influence soar

TBILISI (AFP) ‘ When the head of Georgia’s Orthodox Church offered to
become godfather to every third child born to a family last year, the
response was nothing short of miraculous.

Birth rates among Georgian families soared by nearly 20 percent and
within a year the patriarch, Ilia II, had presided over enough mass
baptisms to become godfather to more than 2,000 children.

Nearly two decades after Georgia split from the staunchly atheist
Soviet Union, such is the influence of the country’s Orthodox Church,
which has undergone a remarkable resurgence to become one of the most
trusted and powerful institutions in Georgia.

>From politics to diplomacy, even to what’s shown on state television,
the Church has extended its influence into every corner of Georgian
society.

Its many supporters hail the Church for returning Georgia to its
spiritual roots as one of the world’s oldest Christian nations and for
acting as a unifying force in a country often wracked by divisions.

But some in Georgia are beginning to worry about its growing power and
are asking questions about the blurring of lines between church and
state, as well as alleged intolerance towards religious minorities.

"Today the Church is the most influential institution in Georgia, and
this influence is growing," said Giorgi Khutsishvili, director of the
Tbilisi-based International Centre for Conflicts and Negotiation.

In a poll the centre conducted last year, 87 percent of Georgians
ranked the Church as the country’s most trusted institution, up from
39 percent in 2003.

Patriarch Ilia II also ranked as the most trusted figure in Georgia,
with nearly 95 percent of those polled expressing trust in the Church
leader. President Mikheil Saakashvili enjoyed the trust of just 33
percent of those polled.

Church spokesman Father David Sharashenidze said the resurgence was a
logical step after the end of Soviet-era repressions.

"Georgians hungered for religion during the Soviet oppressions and
when they ended people flocked to the Church," he said.

Recent events highlight just how much the Church’s influence has
grown.

When police clashed with anti-government protesters in November 2007,
the patriarch acted as a mediator between the authorities and the
opposition to defuse the crisis.

After Georgia’s war with Russia in August, Ilia headed to Moscow and
was the only Georgian figure to hold direct talks with Russian
President Dmitry Medvedev.

And when the Church objected earlier this year to the inclusion of
saints in a state television programme aimed at ranking the most
influential Georgians, the programme’s format was quickly changed.

With politicians jostling to be seen as close to the Church,
Saakashvili’s government has nearly tripled the Church’s funding in
this year’s state budget to about 15 million dollars. Nearly 180,000
dollars was also given separately to help finance a Church-run
television station.

But the Church’s increasingly close ties with the state and its
growing power are raising some alarm bells.

While Orthodox Christianity is not recognised as Georgia’s official
religion, the Church does enjoy a privileged relationship with the
state under a constitutional accord adopted in 2002, including being
exempt from paying taxes.

"The Orthodox Church’s funding from the state budget has increased
enormously and this is illegal as the state budget is collected from
taxpayers from all confessions, not just Orthodox Christians," said
Beka Mindiashvili, a religion expert with the Georgian ombudsman’s
office.

He said 16 percent of Georgians profess a faith other than Orthodox
Christianity and that many feel discriminated against.

Muslims living on Georgia’s Black Sea coast have complained of facing
obstacles in getting permission to build mosques, for example, and
Armenian Christians have been embroiled in numerous disputes with the
Georgian Church.

"The Church interferes in political decision-making, cultural and
educational issues," Mindiashvili said.

Criticism of the Church is exceptionally rare. When a reformist
deacon, Basil Kobakhidze, raised concerns about intolerance and
corruption within the Church in 2003, he was promptly expelled from
the church hierarchy.

Still, experts say there are signs that Georgian society is starting
to ask questions about the Church’s growing role. After the Church’s
intervention with state television this year, debate and phone-in
programmes featured critics accusing the Church of overstepping its
bounds.

"This started a public debate about the Church’s position and
influence," Georgian political analyst Giorgi Margvelashvili said. "It
was the first time we saw open debate on this issue."