There has been yet another illegitimate intrusion by the Russian Church into the canonical territory of the Georgian Church, immediately after the Africa endeavor pulled by the ROC Synod. The arbitrarily built ROC church in Georgia’s Tskhinvali region, occupied by the Russian invaders, continues its illegal operations.
The construction of the temple was never coordinated with the canonical Georgian Church – the Patriarchate of Georgia. Services are also held without the relevant permission and blessing of Georgian Patriarch Elijah.
It is formally stated that the Russian Church recognizes Tskhinvali as being under the jurisdiction of the Georgian Patriarchate, although “homologous” Russia and its Church “are certainly lying and openly violating the canonical territories of the Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Georgia,” Georgian Church News reported on Facebook.
The process of the Russian Church invading the canonical boundaries of the Orthodox Church of Georgia has been going on for several years already, constitution violations of the Divine and Holy Canons of the Orthodox Church.
A similar situation developed in another region torn off Georgia – Abkhazia, after it was occupied by the Russian army and after its church was invaded by the Moscow Patriarchate.
The head of the Church of Georgia, Elijah, Archbishop of Mtskheta and Tbilisi, Metropolitan of Sukhumi and Abkhazia, Catholicos and Patriarch of All Georgia, has repeatedly protested and condemned the unlawful actions of the Russian Church, but Moscow has so far been ignoring his calls.
Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, addressing the prefect of the Patriarchate of Georgia, neither recognizes nor accepts his canonical title of Metropolitan of All Abkhazia.
In the conquered regions of Tskhinvali and Abkhazia, the Church of Russia has officially and outwardly deployed its clergymen who, by mentioning Kirill of Moscow, act uncanonically when conducting services. In the latest episode, the clergy of the Russian Church performed the Christmas and Epiphany services, ignoring the canonical authority and competence of the Catholicos and Patriarch of All Georgia, Elijah.
“On our behalf, we condemn and reject the illegal actions of the Russian Church in the canonical territories of the Pan-Orthodox Church of Georgia,” the statement concludes.
Earlier, a bishop with the Georgian Church called for prayers for the ROC to free the latter from imperialist ideology.
Metropolitan Epifaniy of Kyiv and All Ukraine also said that the Georgian Church did not recognize the OCU as a result of blackmail on the part of Russia.
