Ruling party MP confirms “consultations” with Orthodox Church Patriarchate to “promote Church role” in constitution

Givi Mikanadze, a member of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Thursday confirmed consultations with the Patriarchate of the Georgian Orthodox Church to "further promote the role” of the religious institution in the country's constitution.

The MP’s press comments followed recent reports that said the ruling party had proposed declaring Orthodoxy as the state religion.

Mikanadze pointing to a “completely unfair and deliberate campaign” by unspecified forces “targeting both the Church and state institutions”.

The lawmaker stressed the consultations with the Patriarchate were intended to reflect the Church's role “more prominently” in the constitution and highlighted the initiative solely aimed to "strengthen the Church's position without limiting its independence”. 

Ahead of the October 26 general elections, in which the ruling party seeks to secure a Constitutional majority with at least 113 seats in the 150-member Parliament, Mikanadze said GD sought to achieve four objectives.

These include four goals included potential prosecution of the United National Movement party, the previous ruling force, for alleged crimes during the 2008 Russia-Georgia war, addressing the country’s territorial integrity, “combating LGBT propaganda”, and a fourth goal related to the consultations with the Patriarchate but not disclosed in detail.

The consultations focus solely on enhancing the Georgian Orthodox Church’s position in the constitution and acknowledging its historical and cultural significance”, he noted.

Andria Jagmaidze, the Head of the Public Relations Service of the Patriarchate, on Wednesday confirmed the ongoing discussions to the media. 

He described the Government proposal as an “act of courtesy” and noted the Patriarchate was currently deliberating on how to formulate the proposal, with a meeting of senior clerics scheduled for Thursday.