Turkish churches and Georgian mosques

Georgian Orthodox Church is the most respected institute in the country. According to numerous polls it is the Georgian Orthodox Church which Georgians trust. However, when the conflict of interests of the church and the state arise, society faces many difficult problems.

One of the examples is the situation involving the reconstruction of ageing churches in the current territory of Turkey. They were built during the reign of Georgian kings the Bagratids. Now the churches are in a sad plight. In 2006, the Ministry of Culture of Georgia asked the authorities of Turkey to permit it reconstruction these three cathedrals. Tbilisi promised to defray the expenses and send qualified engineers and restaurateurs who had already developed the reconstruction project of the masterpieces.

Turkey agreed, but submitted another proposal to reconstruct the Aziz Ahmed Pashi Mosque in Akhalitsikh region of Georgia, the mosque in the cobulet region of Adzharia and rebuilt in Batumi the Azizie Mosque, destroyed in the mid of last century. Tbilisi accepted the proposal with great delight. The agreement had to be signed in 2007. However, Patriarch and Catholicos of all Georgia Ilya II sent a letter of disagreement to the prime minister. According to Patriarch, there was sufficient number of mosques in Georgia and that in three cathedrals in Turkey catholic missions should be provided again.

But there are no Christian followers in the region where the churches are situated. There Georgian Muslims live, who are the significant part of residents of Adzharia.

As a compromise Ankara suggested reconstruction of the churches and the mosques as historic monuments. The suggestion was accepted by Georgian authorities, but not by the Georgian Church. The GOC asked the government to urge the UNESCO to pressure Turkey and make it reconstruct the churches.

This development of events means aggravation between Georgia and Turkey. The negotiations ended with nothing. Formally Georgia can sign an agreement with Turkey without the GOC’s consent, but the authorities worry to anger the Church, considering its great influence on the population.

Georgy Kalatozishvili, Tbilisi. Exclusively to VK.