Georgian President hopes Church will elect "pro-European" Patriarch

Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili. Photo: gettyimages.com

Georgian head of state Salome Zourabichvili said on her official visit to London that the situation with the Church of Georgia is "very difficult" due to the "weakness" of 91-year-old Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II, Sova News reports.

Zourabishvili also expressed hope that in the future the Georgian Church will "follow the pro-Western rhetoric" and "will be able to elect a pro-Georgian and pro-European Patriarch, not a pro-Russian Patriarch".

"I think that the Orthodox Church here, as in any other Orthodox country, is very close to the government, tends to follow the changes of accents and nuances," she said.

Zourabishvili's statement has already been commented on by the pro-government Georgian Dream party. Its leader, former Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, said that the President's remarks are a direct attack on the Patriarch and the Church and that Zourabishvili herself is "a big anti-Georgian phenomenon".

"I think this speaks very well of Salome Zourabishvili herself. The mask she has worn throughout this period has been torn off," he said.

As reported, the Georgian Patriarch supported the country's steps to join the EU.

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