IECS Report 4 The Orthodox Church of Georgia: a Voice of Unity? Tijs Gelens, December 2017, Institute of Eastern Christian Studies, Nijmegen Introduction During more than 25 years after the fall of the Soviet Union, the Orthodox Church of Georgia, since 1977 under the guidance of Patriarch Ilia II, has had a very visible and vocal role in Georgian society. At the same time as the Caucasus country was going through a transition period to become a modernized, liberal nation, the Orthodox Church of Georgia (OCG) blossomed. Throughout history, the Georgian people have often dealt with outside threats, and Orthodox Christianity was one of the main factors which preserved a sense of distinctiveness among Georgians during times like these. The OCG has naturally been cast in the role of a guardian of the Georgian identity and independence. In the last decades the church has been able to 1 claim as such a privileged position in society and in the political sphere. Perhaps now more than ever it is believed that only a Georgian Orthodox Christian can be a genuine Georgian citizen – a train of thought that Georgia shares with many other former Soviet states. Because of this ethno-religious nationalism, being part of the Orthodox Church is more important than actively participating in it.1 As a result, despite the fact that according to its constitution Georgia is a secular society, Orthodoxy has been able to function as a voice of popular concern about changes perceived as threatening to the Georgian-Orthodox identity and sense of distinctiveness. Geographically outside of Europe and rarely making headlines in the West, Contents Georgia is usually out of sight and thus out of mind. Yet for those with an Religious Landscape interest in Orthodox Christianity, for its intersection with the political sphere Historical Background and specific positions with regard to ecumenism, the Orthodox Church of A Christian Nation Georgia represents a fascinating case. The present text explores the role of Russian Occupation Georgian Orthodoxy in relation to society, the state, and other Christian After Independence churches in the context of Georgia’s Soviet history. First, however, it is worth Ecumenism taking a closer look at Georgia’s religious landscape. Conclusion Religious Landscape Just as in other former Soviet states, religion has acquired a new significance 1 See the report by the Pew Research since Georgia regained its independence in 1991. Currently, Georgia is home Center on Christianity in Eastern and Central Europe, including Georgia, to five major religious groups which have historical roots in the country: the published in May 2017. Orthodox Church, Islam, the Catholic Church, the Apostolic Armenian Church, and Judaism. Throughout its history Georgia has been influenced by many different cultural and religious traditions. Christianity has been present in the region since the early fourth century and became an important religious and political factor as early as the sixth century. Accordingly, the Georgians see themselves as one of the oldest Christian nations with a history reaching back to the early ages after the dawn of Christianity. Today, Orthodox Christianity forms the largest religious group. Between 80% and 90% of the Georgians, out of a population of about 3.7 million, identify themselves as Orthodox. Islam has a long historical presence in Georgia, as the country has bordered on, or has been part of, the Islamic world since the early Arabic conquests. Today, about 9% of the Georgian citizens identify themselves as Muslim. Muslims are predominantly settled in the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, to a lesser degree in the breakaway region of Abkhazia, and in the regions along the border with Turkey and Azerbaijan. Roman Catholic and Armenian Christians make up the remaining religious groups. Armenian Christians are mostly settled along the border with Armenia in the Javakheti region, but also in the cities, where they have a longstanding presence, especially in Batumi and in the capital Tbilisi. The Jewish population, which is said to have arrived in Georgia during the Babylonian exile in the sixth century BCE, is now located mainly in Tbilisi. During the last decades it has been rapidly shrinking, largely due to migration to Israel. Also, as liberal politicians were set to modernize the country and the borders were opened to missionaries, Georgia has seen a modest rise of other 2 Christian (mostly Protestant) churches, such as Baptists, Pentecostals and Jehovah’s Witnesses. Simultaneously, the OCG enjoyed exclusive political support. The perceived inequality between Orthodoxy and other religious groups has sparked a debate about the rights of ‘foreign’ religions, as well as about the position of the older religious minorities in Georgian society. Regions of present-day Georgia What is the nature of the privileges granted to the OCG? And why exactly has the OCG been given, or is able to claim, such an exclusive role in the construction of national identity? In order to find an explanation, one needs to turn to the past, as the Georgians themselves so often do. Historical Background Religion in Georgia is perceived as the most important link between the present and the past. Orthodoxy, together with the Georgian script and language, has been a true force in a long history of conflicts, foreign occupation, and territorial fragmentation. Historians may disagree about the exact importance of the church in certain historical episodes, and the current narrative about a centuries-old Georgian Christian tradition entails decidedly modern elements, such as merging nationalism with religious identity. However, it is precisely this strong notion of continuity that empowers the ‘invented traditions’ shaping contemporary realities and thus explains the position of the OCG today. That being said, it is important to point out that reading history exclusively along the lines of Orthodox Christianity creates the risk of denying the role of other religious groups in the creation of the present- day nation. Chronological overview 400 BCE Kingdom of Kartli (Iberia) 66 BCE Protectorate of Rome ±330 Conversion of King Mirian III to Christianity Christianity becomes official religion of the kingdom of Kartli 4th century Conquered by Sassanid Persians 665 Conquered by Arabs 1089-1213 Reunification of the Georgian kingdom Georgian Golden Age under David the Builder (r. 1089-1125) and Queen Tamar (r. 1184-1213) 1236-1330 Conquered by Mongols 3 1386-1403 Invasions by Tamerlane Territorial fragmentation 16th century-early 18th Invasions by Persians and Ottomans century 1783 Protectorate of Russia 1801-1917 Annexation by Russian Empire 1921-1991 Tbilisi taken by the Red Army Georgia becomes part of Soviet Union 1991 Independence of Georgia 2003 Rose Revolution 2008 Russo-Georgian War South Ossetia and Abkhazia occupied by Russia A Christian nation According to a tradition popularized in the ninth century, the first Christian communities in Georgia were founded by the apostles Andrew and Simon the Canaanite. It has been stated that Georgia was one of the first Christian nations, if not the first one. Historians generally agree that Christianity has been present in Georgia as early as the fourth century. Around 330 (or a decade earlier, according to some sources), King Mirian III of Kartli, which was a kingdom in the center of modern-day Georgia, got converted to Christianity by St. Nino, a healer from Cappadocia. Nino received the title of ‘enlightener of Georgia’ and to this day she is revered as a national saint. After the Council of Chalcedon in 451, the Kartvelian church joined the jurisdiction of the patriarchate of Antioch, but was granted partial autocephaly soon afterwards. During the eleventh century the chief prelate of the church adopted the title of patriarch, a sign that the church had an increasing number of followers and was able to function as an independent institution. Towards the end of the eleventh century one of the country’s most celebrated kings, David the Builder (1089-1125), united a fragmented political constellation and defeated the Seljuk Turks, who had invaded the region several decades earlier. This marked the start of the Georgian Golden Age, which lasted until the thirteenth century. It is from this point on that we can speak of an autocephalous Orthodox Church of Georgia. The church managed to maintain its independent status and to survive despite the fact that up until the 1990s the region of contemporary Georgia was occupied and influenced by various outside forces, each one of which introduced a variety of religious and cultural traditions. Most of these prominent occupiers reflect the complexity of the Georgian territorial history: Persia, the Arabs, the Mongols, the Ottoman Empire, and Imperial and Soviet Russia have all ruled over (parts of) the country. Only when Georgia was annexed by Russia in the early nineteenth century, the autocephalic status of the OCG was annulled. The earlier occupation by the Islamic Ottoman Empire stimulated a stronger bond between Christianity and the Georgian identity, which became in fact inseparable during the two centuries of Russian domination. Russian occupation During the period of Russian occupation church independence in Georgia was curtailed, and it is precisely because of this experience that Orthodox 4 Christianity takes such a prominent position in present-day Georgia. After its autocephaly was abolished in 1811, the OCG was absorbed into the Russian Holy Synod, the official institution ruling the church after Tsar Peter the Great’s reforms a century earlier. In this way, Georgia became an exarchate of the Russian church. Georgian Orthodoxy was subjected to a policy of russification. Particularly painful was the suppression of the Georgian language: the church services were conducted in Church Slavonic, and Russian became the language of (theological) education. Furthermore, many monasteries were closed down and church property was confiscated. As a result, the clergy became financially dependent on the state and corruption within the church increased rapidly.