Four religious organizations registered in Georgia

Four religious organizations were registered as legal bodies in Georgia, News Georgia reports on Friday.

Georgia approved amendments to the Civil Code in early July. The amendments concern status of religious organizations as legal bodies, similar to the status of member states of the Council of Europe. Public organizations and the Georgian Orthodox Church spoke out against the initiative.

Status of legal bodies was granted for the All-Georgian Muslim Administration, the Spiritual Assembly of Georgian Iezids, Assyrian-Chaldean Catholic Community of Georgia and the Apostolic Administration of Latin Catholics of the Caucasus.

The Georgian patriarchy insisted that it would have repercussions for the church and government. Patriarch requested Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili to veto the amendments.

The Georgian Holy Synodus of the Orthodox Church made a compromise. It said that such decisions should only be made after preliminary consultations.

The Synodus urged the government to have inter-parliamentary talks on the status of the Eparchy of the Georgian Orthodox Church and property. The request for Georgian president also asks for care for memorials, formation of a commission to monitor fulfillment of the Georgian Constitution. Clerics and the public were asked to remain peaceful.