Religious communities in Georgia receive 3.5 million GEL for compensation damage caused by Soviet totalitarian regime
About 83.5% of the Georgian population were Orthodox Christians, 10.7% were Muslims and 2.9% belonged to the Armenian Apostolic Church, shows the 2014 General Census data. Photo: Agenda.ge.
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The Georgian State Agency of Religious Issues has allocated 3.5 million GEL to religious communities in the country 'to provide partial compensation for damage caused during the Soviet totalitarian regime', announces the agency.
The money was distributed to the following religious communities:
- Muslim community of Georgia - 2.20 million GEL
- Armenian Apostolic community in Georgia - 600,000 GEL
- The Christian community of the Roman Catholics of Georgia - 400,000 GEL
- Georgian Jewish community - 300,000 GEL
The agency said that the remaining one million GEL will be distributed among the religious communities 'later'.
About 83.5% of the Georgian population were Orthodox Christians, 10.7% were Muslims and 2.9% belonged to the Armenian Apostolic Church, shows the 2014 General Census data.
Out of 3,713,804 population 3,097,573 were Orthodox Christians, followed by:
- Muslims - 398,677
- Armenian Apostolic Church - 109,041
- Catholics - 19,195
- Jehovah's Witnesses - 12,395
- Yazidis - 8,591
- Protestants - 2,520
- Jews - 1,417
Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia has responded to the religious conflict in Georgia’s western village of Buknari and said that the Georgian government will not allow anyone to provoke confrontation between citizens on religious grounds.
The 2019 Report on International Religious Freedom by the US Department of States says that Georgian laws and policies continue to grant the Georgian Orthodox Church (GOC) unique privileges.
The Constitutional Court of Georgia will review a claim by a group of religious organisations on a tax exemption case of the Georgian Orthodox Church representing discrimination against an article of the country's constitution.
The Human Rights Committee of the Parliament of Georgia discussed the draft of a bill yesterday which would make ‘insulting religious feelings’ punishable by the Criminal Code of Georgia.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Wednesday congratulated the Yazidi community in the country on Aida Sarsale, the New Year holiday celebrated by the minority group.
Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Sunday congratulated Yazidis living in Georgia on the opening of the “only” Yazidi church in the Eastern European and post-Soviet region, the Government Administration said.
Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili on Sunday extended her congratulations to the Yazidis community in Georgia on one of their main holidays - Tawafa Ezid, wishing them “prosperity”.