Unfortunately, there has again been spread information discrediting Georgian Church in mass media. We’d like to pay your attention to a rather big topic on a TV channel on 3 of September. The topic was about Russian reporters visit to Georgia and a conference held by Russian-Georgian Commission. 



That was evaluated as another aggressive ideological policy by the Kremlin against Georgia.

It was also said that “Georgian Church might be involved into a very dangerous game. It should not be excluded that the Russian forces will use high authority of our patriarch in order to whiten their ideological intervention”. It was also said as though the Church initiated the above mentioned visit. 



The Patriarchate states that the Church has not sent any invitations, and the Russian-Georgian Commission submitted the Patriarchate information on having government consent on the participants arrival. That could be proved by the fact of organizing conference at recently opened Radisson-Iveria Hotel, Tbilisi.



The Patriarchate notes, keeping neutral position about internal political forces, the Patriarchate of Georgia takes active measures as a guarantor of territorial integrity of Georgia and unity of the Georgian people in external political process.



It is no news that Georgia is a place of crossing global political interests here. Different political forces are trying to use the Church authority to their own interest. But, let us remind to all of you and state again that the Georgian Church has always been the defender of national interests of Georgia and all its steps and efforts have been and will always be turned to serve this only goal.



Thus, any accusation against the Georgian Church on determined or undetermined activity supporting foreign country’s interests is completely groundless.



4 September 2009