Tag Archives: religion

Georgian official investigate archpriest

Georgian police arrests priest accused of plotting assassination

TBILISI, FEB. 10 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Georgian police arrested Deacon Giorgi Mamaladze, a Georgian Orthodox priest, on suspicion of planning to assassinate a senior member of the Church, potentially even Patriarch Ilia II, shocking this deeply religious country.

Deacon Mamaladze was arrested at the Tbilisi National Airport after an informant said that he was travelling to Germany carrying cyanide. Patriarch Ilia is recuperating in Germany after an operation on his gall-bladder.

In a statement, Chief Prosecutor Irakli Shotadze said: “A citizen contacted the Prosecution Service of Georgia and stated that his/her acquaintance, Father Giorgi, had asked him/her for help in obtaining the life-threatening poisonous substance cyanide. As the person who submitted the statement had found out during the meeting, Father Giorgi was to murder a high-ranking clergyman using the aforementioned substance.”

Mr Shotadze, the prosecutor, did not name Ilia II but media immediately suspected that he was the target because of the Germany link.

Politicians have also fed the febrile air of conspiracies and counter conspiracies. PM Giorgi Kvirikashvili said security around Ilias II, Georgia’s figurehead and one of its most powerful people, was to be beefed-up.

“Given the extraordinary nature of this situation, I delegated my personal security detail to Berlin,” he said in an official statement. “We have averted a calamity, a treacherous attack on the Church, an act against our country, has been prevented.”

Father Mamaladze has denied the accusations.

There was also scepticism on the streets of Tbilisi. Tsiuri, a 24-year-old lawyer, said infighting was to blame.

“Although I do not trust Mamaladze, I am sure that this entire thing was staged. Two weeks ago some rumours spread about a possible assassination attempt against the Patriarch,” he said. “Our church is fractured and different groups are fighting for power. Somebody was trying to put Mr. Mamaladze offside by discrediting him.”

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 317, published on Feb.17 2017)

Suspected arsonists torch Muslim cultural centre in Georgia’s Pankisi Gorge

TBILISI, JAN. 10 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Georgian investigators travelled to Duisi, the largest village in Georgia’s predominantly Muslim Pankisi Gorge, to inspect a suspected arson that damaged a Culture House run by the Kakheti Regional Development Fund (KRDF) earlier this month.

KRDF members said that jerry cans with fuel and oil were found inside the building and that the fire was an arson attempt.

The fire, sources said, highlights increased tension in the Pankisi Gorge between reactionary Islamists and more liberal thinkers. The IS extremist group has successfully recruited men to join their forces in Syria from the Pankisi Gorge.

Iza Bekauri, spokesperson for KRDF said that the centre has previously been threatened.

“There have been threats that we should get out of the Gorge. They said our work here in this place is unacceptable and we should leave,” media quoted her as saying.

The KRDF is a government sponsored programme that aims to help refugees in the Pankisi Gorge integrate. These are mainly ethnic Chechens who escaped from fighting in Russia’s North Caucasus in the early 2000s.

As well as providing legal assistance to Chechen refugees, the the community centre promotes educational and recreational activities for both youths and women.

A KRDF employee who wanted to remain anonymous told The Conway Bulletin that some radical elements in the Pankisi Gorge were against women using the centre.

“They like our educational activities but they don’t like our cultural events, women engagement and Women Council’s work,” he said.

Levani, a local dentist, said that a lack of education was the problem.

“Some young men don’t like the idea of women being more independent. Chechens have been living there for long time and they love Georgia. The problem is Pankisi is a remote and isolated part of our country. The problem is not Islam, the problem is limited education”, he said.

The KRDF has said it will consider suspending its activities if the area is deemed unsafe.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 312, published on Jan. 13 2017)

Georgian Patriarch Ilia II: The tireless go-between

NOV. 25 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Patriarch Ilia II, head of Georgia’s Orthodox Church, has been in Moscow all week, officially to celebrate the 70th birthday of his Russian counterpart, Kirill.

This will, no doubt, form part of his trip, as will various lengthy, ornate and beautiful cathedral and church services. But another, important, side of the trip will be the semi-official diplomacy that he pursues.

This has been a vital channel for conversations between Russia and Georgia since strained relations broke down altogether in August 2008 and triggered a war that lasted for five days. It was on a trip to Moscow four months later that Patriarch Ilia started the ball rolling for the lengthy rapprochement that is continuing today.

And Patriarch Ilia’s natural ease with Russia and his Russophile outlook go back to his upbringing. He was born Irakli Ghudushauri-Shiolashvili to Georgian parents in the Russian town of Vladikavkaz in North Ossetia. He completed his theologian studies in Moscow before returning to Georgia and making his way up the ranks of the Georgian Orthodox Church.

Patriarch Ilia was promoted to Patriarch in 1977, reportedly against the wishes of the Communist party who suspected that he had nationalist tendencies, after the death of David V. It was during these last 12 years of Soviet rule that Patriarch Ilia really established himself in the eyes of his countryman as a true patriot. He built up the prestige and influence of the Georgian Orthodox Church and also, towards the end of the Soviet rule, supported independence marches.

Now aged 83, Patriarch Ilia is able to play the elder statesman of Georgian politics and society. Georgia’s politics is a fractious, personal affair but most Georgians regard Patriarch Ilia to stand head and shoulders above the rest. He has been dubbed the most trusted man in Georgia.

And he still weighs into conflicts, soothing rows and acting as a negotiator. During the final antagonistic days of Mikheil Saakshviliv’s presidency, Patriarch Ilia was called on more than one occasion to negotiate between the government and protesters.

A deeply conservative man, his anti-abortion, anti- gay rights views hold enormous sway over public opinion in Georgia. The new government has
already started to change the constitution to enshrine marriage as an act only between a man and a woman.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 306, published on Nov. 25 2016)

Georgia-Russia mend ties via the Orthodox Church

NOV. 25 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — The head of the Georgian Orthodox Church Patriarch Ilia II flew to Moscow for a week of meetings with senior members of the Russian Orthodox Church, hooked around the 70th birthday of its leader Patriarch Kirill (Nov. 20).

Visits by Patriarch Ilia to Moscow are important because they act as an unofficial diplomatic channel between Moscow and Tbilisi. At times, such as immediately after a war between the two side in August 2008, this channel has been vital and the only way the two sides were able to communicate.

On his arrival in Moscow, Patriarch Ilia appeared to recognise the importance of these meetings.

“Georgian and the Russian Orthodox Churches have great importance for our countries and people. The relationship between us ought to be better than it is now, and we should do everything to improve the relationship between the political figures of our countries. I think we can do this. We need each other and we should help each other,” he was quoted by media as saying.

He plays an important role in domestic Georgian politics, often intervening to mediate in disputes or set the tone in national debates.

Patriarch Ilia is the highest ranking public figure from Georgia to have travelled to Moscow since the 2008 war. On a trip in 2013, he also met with Russian president Vladimir Putin. It is unclear whether he will meet Mr Putin on this trip, which is dominated by meetings with various Russian Orthodox officials.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 306, published on Nov. 25 2016)

Georgian Orthodox Church head to visit Moscow

NOV. 7 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — The head of the Georgian Orthodox Church Patriarch Ilia II will visit Moscow from Nov. 18 until Nov. 25 to, officially, celebrate the 70th birthday of the head of the Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill, media reported. Ilia II is an important figure in Georgian politics and is often used to as a conduit with Russia. In the immediate aftermath of a war between Georgia and Russia in August 2008, Ilia II was able to travel to Moscow to start talks on repairing relations. He usually meets Vladimir Putin, now Russia’s president, when he visits Moscow. His trip later this month will be his fifth since the Georgia- Russia war.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 304, published on Nov. 11 2016)

Georgia’s Orthodox Church

OCT. 7 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – >> I read earlier in the Bulletin that the Pope flew over to Tbilisi but wasn’t warmly received. This surprised me as I thought the Pope was generally greeted by massive grounds wherever he went.

>> You’re right. Georgians gave Pope Francis a luke- warm welcome. Staff at the Vatican had probably been expecting a far more friendly touch down but then Georgia has a complicated relationship with the Catholic Church.

>> So what actually happened in Georgia?

>> Essentially, although the head of the Georgian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Ilia II, greeted Pope Francis, he was made to feel unwelcome. Many Orthodox priests told their congregations to stay away from his Papal mass on the Saturday and a hardcore group of Orthodox believers followed him around shouting various slogans against the Catholic Church.

>> Right, the sound fairly active? Outside the Pope’s visit, is the Orthodox Church influential in Georgia?

>> Yes, very. Around 80% of Georgians identify themselves as Orthodox. The Patriarch, Ilia II, is one of the most powerful men in the country and is often turned to in times of crisis. He has brokered deals between rival political leaders. Presidents and prime ministers are careful to be seen attending church and meeting with the Patriarch. He is also a staunch conservative, holding views that represent those of many in Georgia.

The Georgian Orthodox is anti-gay rights and same sex marriage, for example. There are often Orthodox priests leading anti-gay rights marches.

And the Georgian Orthodox Church an incredibly influential body. Public opinion surveys consistently rank it as the most trusted public body in Georgia.

>> I see. But is the Orthodox Church involved any way in Georgia’s foreign policy?

>> Not officially. Georgia’s constitution states that the Orthodox Church is fully independent of the state. That said it has played a major role on occasion. After Georgia and Russia fought a brief war in 2008 over the disputed region of South Ossetia, it was the Patriarch who was able to reach out to the Russian side and begin to mend relations. He was in Moscow towards the end of 2008 to see the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Alexey II, for the last time. While he was there he also met up with Dmitri Medvedev, then Russia’s president. This was considered a vital first step towards pulling Georgia and Russia together.

>> So, Ilia II is definitely a bit of an all-rounded then. He seems to play a major role in domestic affairs, influencing public opinion, and also happy to deal in high level diplomacy in international affairs.

>> He’s certainly a major factor in modern Georgia. Watch out for his reaction to any issues before or after the parliamentary election in Georgia on Oct. 8.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 299, published on Oct. 7 2016)

Pope faces hostility on trip to Georgia

TBILISI, OCT. 2 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Pope Francis endured a diplomatically tough trip to Tbilisi and Baku, his second to the South Caucasus this year.

In Tbilisi, hostile Orthodox Christian followers tried to unsettle the Pope by heckling him and waving banners with anti-Catholic slogans outside each of his various meetings.

“The Vatican is a spiritual aggressor” and “Pope, arch-heretic, you are not welcome in Orthodox Georgia,” their posters read according to media reports.

The Orthodox Church, suspicious that the Pope’s real reason for making the visit was not to improve relations but to recruit followers, also called for a boycott of a Papal mass planned for a football stadium.

“As long as there are dogmatic differences between our churches, Orthodox believers will not participate in their prayers,” the Georgian Orthodox Church said on its website.

Only a few thousand people turned up to the mass, leaving the stadium looking empty.

Earlier the Pope had met with both the head of the Georgian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Ilia II and President Giorgi Margvelashvili.

The Pope then visited Azerbaijan, a country with a tiny Catholic community, where he held talks with President Ilham Aliyev aimed at improving diplomatic relations.

Pope Francis said that in both Yerevan, which he visited earlier this year, and Baku he had urged Armenia and Azerbaijan to hold peace talks.

“Armenia is a nation with open borders, it has problems with Azerbaijan and should go to an international tribunal if dialogue and negotiation is a no-go,” he was quoted as telling media.

Azerbaijan and Armenia are officially at war over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh which is controlled by Armenia-backed forces.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 299, published on Oct. 7 2016)

People in Kyrgyz city burn posters

JULY 25 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — People in Batken, south-western Kyrgyzstan, burned a government poster aimed at countering the growth of radical Islam which showed Kyrgyz women in traditional clothes transitioning into women wearing a full, black burqa. Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev unveiled the poster this month as part of the fight against a recruitment drive in Central Asia by the radical IS group. The poster has proved controversial in Kyrgyzstan because of accusations that it is stigmatising conservative Muslims.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 291, published on Aug. 1 2016)

Islamic banking grows in Kazakhstan

JULY 18 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Zaman Bank, a small bank in Kazakhstan, said it had converted into an Islamic financial institution. Kazakhstan’s Central Bank signed off on the deal. With assets of 15.7b tenge ($46.5m), Zaman has a small presence in the Kazakh banking market and only one branch, in Almaty. Zaman will now join Bank Al-Hilal the more prominent Islamic lender in the country. Islamic banking, which promotes lending with an Islamic ethos, is becoming more popular in Central Asia’s finance sector.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 290, published on July 22 2016)