Physical altercation in front of the Patriarchate

Four people were arrested following a physical dispute between two protesters in response to the Patriarchs controversial Christmas epistle.

Two demonstrations with opposing views clashed in a violent altercation in front of the Patriarchate today.

One rally was against the Patriarchs Christmas epistle, which strongly opposed surrogacy, artificial insemination and in vitro fertilization, and the other rally was supportive of the religious leaders comments.

A verbal clash between the two demonstrations turned into a physical argument, which led to four people being arrested by police.

The arrested men were on the side of epistles supporters and allegedly assaulted IT Manager Giorgi Noniashvili of the non-governmental organization EMC. The four men also tore up several posters.

At the scene police stood between the two sides in an attempt to resolve the situation.

Both rallies have since ended.

Afterward, the Georgian Patriarch called upon both sides for peace.