The Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia the Second addressed the parliament to postpone adopting the bill on “Elimination of all forms of discrimination”. The statement released by the Patriarch of Georgia says, that the violence and discrimination is unacceptable to the Church of Georgia, as Christianity is a religion of love and is based on love and mutual respect.

“Introducing notions that don’t exist in the constitution - the “sexual orientation” and ”gender identity” to this bill that is of utmost importance for the development of the country, causes great anxiety in people, as personal rights of our citizens are already equally protected according to the existent law of Georgia. From God’s commandments, the religious society fairly considers non-traditional sexual relations a deadly sin, and the anti-discrimination bill as presented now is considered as propaganda and legitimizing of the sin”, - the statement says.

“EU is a diverse space uniting different nations and religions, which declares that it recognizes culture and traditions of other peoples and is ready to consider and respect our values, for Georgia. The demands of the bill are against these principles”, - the statement says.

The Patriarch addresses the Parliament to postpone adopting the bill as presented now and engage the church and the wider society in the discussion to reach an agreement and that the hasty actions don’t have negative influence on Georgia’s aspiration to Europe.

The Patriarch is ready to cooperate with the interested parties if the discussions start.