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TBILISI, Nov 9 (AFP) - The Georgian state and the local Orthodox Church have agreed to disagree over a controversial first visit here by Pope John Paul II, analysts said on Tuesday.
Georgian Patriarch Ilya II, who with President Eduard Shevardnadze invited the pope on his two-day stay, finds himself in a delicate balancing act between the government and his increasingly conservative flock. "Ilya II and Shevardnadze seem to have had an agreement beforehand not to stress the differences between the government and the Orthodox Church," said political analyst Ghia Nodia. The differences in attitude between church and state towards the 79-year-old pope's trip were very much apparent, however. Ilya II and the rest of the church hierarchy have reacted frostily to the pope's visit and were conspicuous in their absence at a papal mass held in Tbilisi's Palace of Sport Tuesday morning. Orthodox Christians, according to the Patriarchate, are forbidden from participating in religious services of other confessions. Ilya II also spoke of relations between the "two countries," as opposed to the two faiths. Shevardnadze in contrast took a front row seat. The Georgian president has played the visit for all its political worth, hoping to draw attention to his country's pro-western policies and bring it closer to Europe. The Georgian church relies on the government's support, analysts say. Church officials played down the differences of opinion, emphasizing the political nature of the pope's visit. "When two people meet frequently, there are bound to be different points of view," said Georgy Andriadze, who represents of the Georgian Patriarchate in parliament. "But in issues which are politically important for the country, the president and the patriarch always find a compromise," he added. Observers say that Ilya II has had to appease a mass of believers who are increasingly wary of warm relations with the West and fear that other doctrines may make inroads among the country's Christian population. "Now many new people have joined the Orthodox Church who come from the national movements and are more conservative in nature," Nodia said. "Because of this, Ilya II has had to move further to the right." The Orthodox Church's anti-ecumenical position stands in direct contrast to John Paul II's attempts to build bridges between the two while in Georgia. The Polish-born pontiff stressed Georgian unity and its tradition of tolerance during the mass, which reflected the country's multi-ethnic character by including six different languages. A Vatican spokesman said that Ilya II used "open language" in talks with the pope, which gave hope for the future. The two religious leaders made a joint appeal Monday night for peace in the troubled Caucasus. John Paul II arrived Monday in the first visit by a pope to Georgia, which converted to Christianity in 337. Georgia is only the second Orthodox country visited by the pope after Romania, which played host to him in May.
The overwhelming majority of the country's inhabitants belongs to the Georgian Orthodox Church, a part of the Eastern Church, and is officially home to some 100,000 to 120,000 Roman Catholics.
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