Holy Synod meeting: top cleric dismissed, church to request release of convicted archpriest

A Holy Synod meeting earlier today has ended with the decision to dismiss Chkondidi Metropolitan Petre from the post and request the release of convicted archpriest Giorgi Mamaladze. 

• Archpriest found guilty for plotting murder, sentenced to 9 years

The synod meeting was called after the statements of Archbishop Iakobi made last week who said that former and current top officials and several clerics wanted to make Patriarch Ilia II resign allegedly last year. 

• Archbishop Jacob quits as Patriarch’s assistant, head of financial council of Patriarchate amid political controversies

Father Iakobi and Metropolitan Petre have been involved in controversies for many years, accusing one another of various wrongdoings, including fighting against the church and the patriarch [Iakobi accused Petre] and misspending the church’s funds [Petre accusing Father Iakobi]. 

Archbishop Iakobi (L) and Archbishop Petre (R). Photo: Tabula. 

The two have also had disagreements regarding the high-profile case of Mamaladze, with Petre saying that the cleric was innocent and was convicted only because he [Mamaladze] uncovered Iakobi’s financial wrongdoings. 

After leaving the synod meeting early, Petre told the media that his dismissal  was “unprecedented and very unfair,'' adding that he was dismissed as he uncovered “sodomist sin within the church.” 

He went on to state that the “Georgian church has a head possessed by the sin of homosexualism.” 

It was also Petre who said that the synod has made a decision to request President Salome Zurabishvili release convicted clergyman Mamaladze.