The Angels & Demons within the Georgian Orthodox Church

The more time goes by, the more the Georgian Church comes to resemble the holy Roman Bishopric. Cyanide, conspiracy, poisoning, murder – surprisingly, we hear these terms not in Constantine’s 15th century basilica in Rome, but in 21st century Tbilisi at the headquarters of the Georgian Apostolic Church. Apart from these connections with the medieval Roman Church, there are others, for example, the battle for the throne of the future Patriarch is quite similar to those of popes Alexander VI, Pius III and Urban VII. What is so rotten in the Georgian Church, then?

The cyanide case, which started in February when a high church official was arrested on charges of planning a murder, is about to grow into a religious investigation and the plot has been thickening in such a way that we might soon find other church officials seated beside Archpriest Giorgi Mamaladze in court. These expectations are further enhanced by the new charges that the Patriarchate’s legal service has laid against the Metropolitan of Martvili Diocese, Bishop Petre, who is accused of being the leader in an unaccomplished conspiracy to dethrone Patriarch Ilia II.

Lawyer of the Patriarchate, Edisher Karchava, openly declares having evidentiary documents against Bishop Petre, saying he will show them only to the Holy Synod. “I have evidence and if members of the Holy Synod are interested, I can show them and prove that bishop Petre is leading a fight against Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia and wants to dethrone and murder him. This, as well as the information that I possess, are written proof,” he said.

The Prosecutor’s Office has already showed interest in the claims made by Karchava, but Bishop Petre has not been called in for questioning yet.

Whether Bishop Petre really wants to be rid of Ilia II and become the next Patriarch is unknown, but as they say here, there is no soldier that does not dream of becoming the General. Thus, though it would be no surprise if Bishop Petre wanted to become the next Patriarch, the question is just how do his dreams align with reality? Because, according to the Canonic rule of the Georgian Church, only Ilia II has the right to declare his successor. Prior to the cyanide case, it was suggested that Bishop Dimitri (Ilia II’s nephew) was being prepared to take on the role as the next Patriarch. However, following the scandal, he declared he had no desire to do so, since his name was connected with the cyanide case. Apparently, the bargain is too heavy for him and the stakes are high. In a talk show on TV Pirveli, Bishop Petre declared that Ilia II could well be the last Patriarch of All Georgia.

Nobody paid attention to this statement at first, but it gained a more interesting connotation after the charges from the Patriarchate’s legal service went public. Logically, we can think that since the active Patriarch does not have any other favorites apart from his nephew, the Synodian powers might decide that open war and confrontation, voting in synod, inevitable scandals and further discredit of the Church is much worse than leading a collective management, in which the bishops will chop and change to steer the Church’s wheel. What Bishop Petre said suggests that he agrees with this. The battle for the throne, the cyanide case and the failed murder are so intertwined that you often hear: “I do not know what is happening now or what happened in reality; I no longer care whose cassock is in whose pulpit”.

The government has so far refrained from reacting to the internal scandals of the Georgian Church. In fact, it is trying to disclose as publicly as possible even the darkest corners of this most closed up institution. Obviously, the government doesn’t have its own favorite candidates among the Church officials yet and this publicity and the cyanide case are all needed for choosing one. Ilia II’s policy is the other way around, though – when Church problems become public through the media, he always tries to get the genie back into the bottle. Whether the Patriarch will be able to do it this time, too, undoubtedly depends on the length of the cyanide case investigation. But before that we should expect new Balthasars, Borgias and Savonarolas.

Zaza Jgarkava