Four religious confessions to receive double funding in 2015

Four religious confessions, other than Orthodoxy, will receive financial support by Georgia’s Government as a compensation of damages suffered from the Soviet regime.

Four religious groups existing in Georgia [the Jewish and Muslim communities, the Armenian Apostolic Church, and the Catholic Church] have been allocated financial compensations for the moral and material damages suffered by them under Soviet totalitarianism.

Head of State Agency for Religious Issues Zaza Vashakmadze highlighted that the confessions financed by state budget will receive duplicate funding in 2015.

Meanwhile at the beginning of this year, on January 27, at the Government’s meeting Georgia’s State Minister for Reconciliation and Civil Equality Paata Zakareishvili said the state allocate a maximum of 4.5 million GEL to the four groups. The money should be divided among the four religious groups proportionally.

The information revealed at the meeting between Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and representatives of religious groups, today morning.

"The Government decree on granting partial compensations for damages suffered by four religious groups under the Soviet Union has been fulfilled," Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said at the meeting.

Head of Religion Agency emphasized that the Government signed agreements with the Agency for Religious Issues and all four religious groups. Those religious groups will receive allocated funding on their bank accounts.

"There are four religious groups required in the government decree. These are the Muslim community in Georgia, the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Catholic Church, and the Jewish community. The state showed its goodwill and allocated several million GEL," Zaza Vashakmadze said.