St. Calistrat was canonized in July 2024, together with 15 other martyrs, confessors, and ascetics of the 20th century.
His Eminence Metropolitan Vissarion of Ovruch and Korosten of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church was hospitalized and underwent heart surgery on Sunday, July 20.
The statement suggests a growing rift between Georgia’s religious establishment and European institutions, potentially complicating the country’s long-standing goal of joining European structures while maintaining its cultural and religious identity.
The festive date comes amidst the state’s two-year campaign to kick the Church out of its own monastery. The case is currently being heard by Chernigov courts.
The relevant legislation, signed on May 2, is being contested by four major Orthodox Christian jurisdictions: the Orthodox Church in America, the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, the Romanian Orthodox Metropolia of the Americas, and the Western American Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia.