09 January 2020, 11:42
Theologians point to loss of image by Georgian Church after Archpriest Mamaladze's case
Relatives of Archpriest, Giorgi Mamaladze, have threatened to publicize the facts discrediting the Georgian Church, should they refuse to pardon the priest. The theologians interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" express doubts that the Patriarchy was interested in Mamaladze's imprisonment, but indicated that his case inflicted a serious blow to the image of the church.
On January 6, the Georgian President, Salome Zurabishvili, pardoned five persons, but not Mamaladze. Human rights defenders treated the refusal to pardon the archpriest as unjustified. Mamaladze went on a hunger strike, but on January 8, after his meeting with the Georgian Ombudsperson, he agreed to stop it.
In 2017, Mamaladze was sentenced to nine years in prison for plotting the murder of the secretary of the Georgian Patriarch and illegal firearm possession.
His family threatens to publicize information discrediting the Georgian Patriarchate, in particular, about "paedophilia and sodomy," Tornike Mamaladze, the priest's brother, said on air of the "Mtavari Arkhi" TV Company.
The NGO "Centre for Human Rights Training and Monitoring" has stated that it had studied the Mamaladze's case and revealed a number of violations.
"Mamaladze's case caused internal confrontation and crisis in the church," says the statement.
Giorgi Andriadze, the spokesman of the governing council of the Patriarchate Fund, treats the Mamaladze's case as political, directed against the Patriarchate and the Patriarch himself. According to his version, the aim of this case is to destroy the authority of the church among the society.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on January 8, 2020 at 04:25 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Author: Inna Kukudjanova Source: CK correspondent
