In his last Easter speech, Catholicos – the patriarch of the Georgian Church – Ilya II made several important and harsh statements confirming the role of the Georgian Orthodox Church as the guardian and protector of traditional values. This is not a surprise: the church is the most conservative social institute in all states, but the specificity of Georgia (and some other Orthodox states) is that the views of the Church and its statements gain political character, becoming an important factor of political life.
This time statements on a decrease in morality were voiced in the context of certain decisions by the authorities. For example, speaking about new tendencies in social life, the Catholicos mentioned construction of a “Buddha Bar” on the sacred site of the death of 100,000 martyrs. He meant the victims of the Tbilisi pogrom in 1223.
Since that time 8 centuries have passed. And there is a park in this place, where Tbilisi residents love to rest, and under the park a restaurant of the world-famous Buddha brand has recently been opened. This brand (Buddha Bar) is a trademark of all major tourist centers from New York to Tokyo. Of course, the Georgian authorities couldn’t reject the proposal of such an important corporation. The Catholicos is indignant at the construction of “sin houses” in Tbilisi – casinos and betting houses. They provide a great amount of revenue to the budget. In addition, Tbilisi casinos are full of guests from Armenia and Azerbaijan, where their work is forbidden.
“The principle is everything that doesn’t limit freedom of another person is allowed. It is spread everywhere,” the Catholicos said. “It is a rebellion against morality and humaneness, as the principle turns into maximum false freedom without morality: all that I want is natural and possible. It means immorality is acceptable, it doesn’t concern the interests of other people.”
According to the head of the GOC, such a philosophy levels all ideas and views, all value systems, and excuses any human choice. There is no place for a universal truth within it, only individual truths are recognized.
Of course, the statements by Ilya II caused a great reverberation in society and political circles. Opposition leaders began to cite the Patriarch, accusing the authorities of disrespecting the Church and its opinion. But these liberal and pro-Western opposition parties do not see the clear mismatch between their programs and the fundamentalist (anti-Western) direction of the Catholicos’s messages: individual freedom, freedom of choice and respect for differences are the basis of the Western liberal ideology. The nonsense of the political life of Georgia is that pro-Western and liberal parties are ready to use any argument in political competition, even if it contradicts the values which they seem to support.
Georgy Kalatozishvili, Tbilisi. Exclusively to VK
