Ruling party Executive Secretary claims tolerance “always reinforced” country’s “identity” alongside Orthodox Church

Mamuka Mdinaradze, the Executive Secretary of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Tuesday claimed the value of tolerance had “always reinforced” the country's “identity” along with the Georgian Orthodox Church, which he said had played a “special role” in fostering the nationhood.

Speaking to the press, Mdinaradze made this comment in the context of a proposed constitutional amendment which Bidzina Ivanishvili, the founder and Honorary Chair of the GD party said would “solidify the mission of Orthodoxy as the foundation of the uniqueness of the Georgian state”.

The Executive Secretary also pointed out the planned changes would not “create difficulties” for traditional religious faiths, adding that they also reinforced the country's identity and their role should “also be clearly mentioned”.

Traditional religious denominations, for their part, also reinforce the identity of the state. With great respect to everyone, we should mention and define their role clearly. They too - the various traditional religious denominations present in Georgia [...] - reinforce the identity of the state”, the party official said.

Speaking at a campaign event on Sunday, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said the amendment would “redefine the status of Orthodoxy” and the role of the Church as “the bedrock of our country’s identity", adding the changes would be implemented after the ruling party's “win” in the parliamentary elections scheduled for October 26.