“We have introduced you to the Constitutional amendment in the past days which we plan to make if we win the constitutional majority but remarked that this issue required consultations to reach an agreement. The consultations with the Georgian Orthodox Church ended successfully,” said Bidzina Ivanishvili, Honorary Chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party at the party regional pre-election meeting in Ozurgeti, Guria.

Bidzina Ivanishvili announced that the Constitution of Georgia would reflect Orthodoxy as a “pillar of the Georgian state’s identity.”

According to the GD Honorary Chair, Georgia is historically proud of centuries-long traditions, Orthodoxy and religious tolerance.

“To make the status of Orthodoxy and the Georgian Orthodox Church stronger, and the passage in the Constitution to better reflect the reality, the Constitution of Georgia will reflect Orthodoxy as a pillar of the Georgian state’s identity. This will also highlight the special role of the Orthodox Church in Georgia’s history and the modernity of our country.

Of course, the Constitution of Georgia will fully reinforce the principle of Orthodox church independence and freedom of faith.

I would like to thank the Church, His Holiness and Beatitude and the clergy for support of our initiative, and in general, for their contribution to the protection and preserving Georgia’s identity,” said Bidzina Ivanishvili.

On August 28, Andria Jaghmaidze, Head of the Public Relations Department at the Georgian Orthodox Church (GOC) said the government proposed a possible declaration of Orthodoxy as the state religion, however, the exact formulation was not finalized and considering the issue by the GOC would take time.