Georgian Church Refuses to Stop Recognizing Jerusalem Patriarch

Tbilisi, Georgia - Georgian Orthodox Church announced on May 24 that it has voted against the decision of world’s Orthodox leaders to stop recognizing Jerusalem’s Patriarch Irineos I after he was accused of controversial sell of lands in Jerusalem, charges which the latter has denied.

Senior clerics from across the Orthodox world met in Istanbul to discuss the issue on May 24. Representatives from the Georgian Orthodox Church were among them as well.

“Issues like this should not be discussed as it was done at this meeting of synod, it contradicted traditions,” Zurab Tskhovrebadze, the spokesman for the Georgian Orthodox Church told Civil Georgia on May 25.