Tbilisi, July 4, 2023
A scene from the Georgian Church’s prayerful protest of Pride events in 2021. Photo: sputnik-georgia.com
“Attempts to introduce a perverted lifestyle in our country unfortunately continue,” says the Georgian Orthodox Church in a statement published Saturday by the Patriarchal Public Relations Service.
Tbilisi Pride, the main local LGBTQI rights group announced last month that it will hold Pride Week on July 1-8.
“The organization said that this year’s Pride Week will include closed events of a political, cultural and academic nature, including an international LGBTQI conference and the Pride Festival,” reports civil.ge.
In its statement, the Church emphasizes that such events are held with disregard for the majority of the Georgian population and its ancient culture and values.
The Patriarchate’s statement reads:
Attempts to introduce a perverted lifestyle in our country unfortunately continue. This is evidenced by the recent announcement of the LGBT Week scheduled for July, which, based on its goals, cannot fail to have a negative impact even if held indoors.
We believe that LGBT propaganda is inadmissible and unacceptable, particularly in a country with deep-rooted Christian values and a centuries-old cultural heritage.
Any manifestation of propaganda amongst the youth is violence against their consciousness.
Ignoring the repeated protests of the largest part of the population of Georgia demonstrates disrespect for the nation’s core values and is a clear attempt to cause moral damage.
Apart from the propaganda of sin, every such activity is also a cause of civil strife and tension, as can be easily seen from the increased polarization in society during the LGBT events.
We believe that such factors of tensions must be addressed at the earliest stage.
The Georgian Orthodox Church has been the object of constant attacks, slander and offensive campaigns in recent years, but there has never been a case where the Church has lost its patience. At such times, the Church is always limited only to exposing slander.
The Church never advocates violence, but rather, promotes peaceful coexistence in society. Therefore, today it may be especially timely to call on society to discuss the regulation of this problem through legislation.
Unfortunately, some protestors against Pride events in 2021 did become violent, though the Church roundly condemned the violence and held its own prayerful and peaceful protest.
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