“Keeping silence on the part of the international organizations, human rights watch guards and representatives of the Diplomatic Corps questions their declared statements on the need to protect Georgian Christian traditions,” reads the statement of the Georgian Orthodox Church (GOC).

According to the statement, the vandal act generates fair excitement among the parishioners, although the protest should be peaceful.

The GOC admits that the icon portraying an episode inconsistent with the cannonics took place and this was the responsibility of the church servants not to admit it.

“The Patriarchate reacted. However, the attack on church servants represents a step against the GOC and the Patriarch. Also, we note that insulting sacred items is a sin,” says the statement.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs has initiated proceedings under Article 166 of the Code of Administrative Offenses in response to the incident at the Holy Trinity Cathedral of Tbilisi.

The photo circulated on social networks showing an icon of Matrona with blue paint on it led to the proceedings. The ministry forwarded the case materials to the court for further proceedings.