Mamuka Khazaradze Expresses Full Support to the Patriarch

"We express our full support to the Patriarch in this difficult situation,“ said Georgian businessman Mamuka Khazaradze, the founder of TBC Bank and Anaklia Development Consortium, who recently established new public movement Lelo.

He, on behalf of the public movement Lelo, responded to the recent developments in the Patriarchate of Georgia with a special statement, noting that the Church must solve its own internal problems and that it needs protection, as an institution.

The statement refers to yesterday's meeting of the Holy Synod, which ended with scandalous results. In particular, the Metropolitan of Chkondidi, Petre Tsaava, being fired from the position of Bishop by the Synod because he submitted incriminating evidence against Patriarch Ilia II.

“We do not even need to be reminded that in the most difficult historical moments it was the Georgian Orthodox Church that helped our people maintain hope and a sense of unity," the founder of ‘Lelo’ said. "It was the basis of unity not only for Georgians but for everyone, including non-Georgians and non-Orthodox. Although the Church was often in a hard situation for internal or external reasons, we all took care of it as a foundation of the country's existence.

"Anyone who tries to destroy the Church today poses a threat to our country," Khazaradze went on. "This great responsibility must be well understood by everyone inside and outside the Church. Otherwise, the banal geopolitical games and pseudo-revolutionary attitude within the Church, or explicit interference by the government to own and manage it, can further aggravate the condition of the whole country and its future.

"First, the government must stop its deliberate policy, aimed at seizing and destroying institutions and governing all the directions and fields.

"We urge everyone to rid themselves of their passions and find a way out of this situation together. We are all children of this country, however, only a calm, reasonable attitude and a good faith in one another will save us from this situation today.

"We express our full support to Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II in this difficult situation, wishing him well-being and health," Khazaradze said in closing.

By Ana Dumbadze