Message of support from the Metropolitan of Kyiv to the people of Georgia
His Beatitude Metropolitan Epifaniy of Kyiv expressed the solidarity of both the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and himself, as the Primate of the Church, with the people of Georgia.
In a message, Metropolitan Epifaniy said he was praying for the people of Georgia. “We wish our brothers and sisters to preserve their independence and their future as a free European state. The truth will prevail! May God bless those who are on the side of truth,” he said.
Meanwhile, intense anti-government protests continue in Georgia, with demonstrators accusing the government of pro-Russian authoritarian tendencies and of stalling the country’s European Union membership process.
On Monday, 2 December 2024, thousands of protesters again gathered in the capital, Tbilisi, marking the fifth day of widespread mobilisation against government policies. The ruling Georgian Dream party, in power since 2012, sparked the protests last Thursday by postponing EU accession negotiations until 2028 – despite the goal being enshrined in the former Soviet republic’s constitution.
Russia denies interfering in its neighbour’s affairs. But former President Dmitry Medvedev warned on Sunday that Georgia was “rapidly heading down the Ukrainian path, into a dark abyss,” adding, “These things usually end very badly.”
The Kremlin said on Monday that the wave of pro-EU protests in Georgia resembles an attempt at a Ukraine-style “orange revolution.” It also noted that authorities were working to stabilise the situation. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed that some protesters clearly broke the law by attacking police, but stressed that Russia would not get involved.
It is worth noting that during a 2008 war with Georgia over two breakaway regions that the Kremlin later recognised as independent, Russia sent tanks and troops within 20 miles of Tbilisi. This was the first instance of unilaterally redrawing the borders of states formed after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Since then, Russia has maintained a military presence in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, occupying about 20 percent of Georgian territory.
Source: orthodoxtimes.com
