Georgian Parliament Speaker warns against foreign interference in Georgian Orthodox Church affairs

Georgian Parliament speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Friday stressed the importance of keeping external actors out of the Georgian Orthodox Church’s internal decisions, including those pending before the Holy Synod.

In his remarks, Papuashvili noted that the same type of interference seen during the 2024 political elections by the European Union ambassador was now likely being attempted in the Church through organisations funded by European money.

“It is crucial that no one interferes in the Church’s decisions, including those still before the Holy Synod”, he said.

The speaker further added that everyone, including foreigners, should know that the Georgian government is closely monitoring all of this.

“Today we can already observe attempts at external interference. Foreign-funded partisan propaganda groups such as Radio Liberty and Tabula are meddling in the Synod’s activities, launching campaigns against specific clerics. They have effectively started an electoral-style campaign targeting or supporting various religious figures through Radio Liberty, Publika, Tabula, Netgazeti, and others”, the speaker noted.

“This is precisely the method we witnessed in 2024 when EU representatives intervened in Georgian elections. The same interference is likely being attempted now by European-funded organisations in Georgian Church affairs. Everyone, including foreigners, should know that we are closely monitoring all of this”, Papuashvili concluded.