Prayer with fellow Christians can still be costly in Georgia
Exactly a year ago the Ecumenical Prayer for Christian Unity was wrecked by two extremist Orthodox groups in the Cathedral Baptist Church in Tbilisi. Later on the former President of Georgia attended the service at the Cathedral Baptist Church in support of religious tolerance.
This year the Ecumenical Prayer Service for Christian Unity was held on January 23, 16:00, at the Roman Catholic Cathedral by the Study Group of Christian Churches in Georgia (Evangelical Baptist Church of Georgia, Roman Catholic Church in Georgia, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Georgia, and Armenian Apostolic Church in Georgia).
Surprisingly a Leader of the Muslim community in Georgia attended the Service and greeted the Christian service. But the most surprising part was that three Orthodox priests participated in the Service as well. This was the first time that such number of Orthodox clergy men was participating in such a service.
In the beginning came the Archpriest Basil Kobakhidze and the priest Zaza Tevzadze. Then another Archpriest Giorgi Chachava attended, who just had had an eye operation. He came in civil clothes, and with his bandage over one eye he looked very much like a pilot. Ultimately he was convinced to participate in the service, but he had no vestments to wear in the service. Friends came to help. One priest borrowed him his cope and the Baptist G. S. his pectoral Cross.
Bishops and priests of the participating Churches offered prayers for peace and reconciliation. A Baptist and a Roman Catholic Choir sang. The Papal Nuncio, Archbishop Claudio Gujerotti delivered the sermon. Lay and clerical representatives of different Christian Churches spoke about their peacemaking projects in Georgia. By the end of the service the Baptist Bishop gave the final blessing.
The participation of three Orthodox clergy men in the service caused the well expected anger in the fundamentalist wing of the Orthodox Church. They started to collect signatures for the excommunication of the three clergy men.
The Inauguration of the President of Georgia
On January 25 the President’s inauguration took place in front of the Parliament Building in Tbilisi. Hundreds of people came. Incredible security measures had been taken. Delegations of numerous countries had arrived at the Georgian capital to participate in the event.
The most important dignitary to attend the Inauguration was the US Secretary of State Colin Powell, His attendance at the inauguration was indicative of Washington’s commitment to help country the country of Georgia stand on its own feet and defend its sovereignty. Georgia’s failure to pursue structural reforms had tarnished the country’s international reputation. The pervasiveness of corruption and the former leadership’s lax attitude toward this problem had been particularly damaging U.S.-Georgian relations. Powell’s attendance at the Inauguration was a clear indication that Americans are ready to give Georgia another chance to build a democratic and fair society.
The Inauguration was attended by the Baptist Bishop of Georgia along with other religious leaders including the Orthodox Patriarch Ilia II, the Catholic Archbishop Gujerotti, the Armenian Bishop Mirzakhanian, the Lutheran Pastor Gary Azikov, the Imam Ali Aliev and the Chief Rabbi Abimelekh Rosenblatt. There were some other lay Baptists present who had been active in the Revolution of Roses.
After the inauguration a concert was given in order to mark the occasion. Along with other guests of the newly elected President all were invited to the concert at the Opera House in the walking distance from the Parliament House. The concert was performed by internationally known Georgian actors, singers and dancers.
The patriarch of Georgia was seated in the same row with the President and Collin Powell. Religious leaders including the Baptist Bishop were seated in the same row with the ministers of defense, interior, justice and others.
“Even though I am perfectly peaceful man I was particularly moved to see well trained Georgian soldiers participating in the military parade, military planes and helicopters flying over the Parliament building.” maintained Bishop Malkhaz Songulashvili after the Inauguration, “the parade was the affirmation of my hope and prayer that Georgia deserves to be a sovereign country. I was praying for Saakashvili as he was swearing an oath to the Georgian Constitution. It is our hope and expectation that the new President and government will put an end to the religious intolerance in Georgia.”
Bishops of Old and New Rome Greet the Baptist Bishop of Georgia
Georgian post is never reliable. In the last week of February the Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Baptist Church received two very special letters with considerable delay. One came from the Old Rome another from the New Rome (Constantinople). One letter is written on behalf of His Holiness Pope John Paul II another letter is written by His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholemew.
This is what Cardinal Sodino, Secretary of State of Vatican writes:
“Dear Bishop Songulashvili,
His Holiness Pope John Paul II has asked me to express his heartfelt gratitude to you for the kind letter of greetings which you sent to him before Christmas.
His Holiness shares your memories of meetings in Rome and Tbilisi, and he joins you in asking the Lord that a “civilization of love” may reign in Georgia so that its people may enjoy authentic and lasting peace.
His Holiness offers his good wishes for the New Year, trusting that Catholics and Baptists of Georgia will be able to journey together with other Christians throughout the world towards greater communion and unity.
Please accept my own warm greetings and cordial regards.
+A. Card. Sodano
From the Vatican, 30 January 2004”
This is what the Ecumenical Patriarch writes:
“Your Eminence Bishop Malkhaz Songulashvili, Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Baptist Church of Georgia, our Modesty’s beloved brother in the Lord: Grace and peace from God.
We would like to take this opportunity to wholeheartedly thank you for your most thoughtful wishes this holiday season and we express to you our warmest greetings during this very special time of year. We pray that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, whose humble birth brought salvation and peace to the world, will radiate His divine love in your heart now and always. The world witnessed many tragedies in 2003, and for this reason we are especially grateful for our dearest friendship with you.
It is with great love and appreciation that we bestow upon you, your loved ones and everyone in your flock our patriarchal prayers and best wishes for a blessed and most peaceful New Year.
Your Eminency’s Beloved brother in Christ,
+Bartholomew
Archbishop of Constantinople,
New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch
At the Patriarchate, 31 December 2004.”
The Ecumenical commitment of Georgian Baptists has been widely known. The first steps towards ecumenical relations were taken in the early sixties. In late seventies it was considerably developed by the Revd Giorgi Bolgashvili, a Georgian Baptist minister who strongly believed that cooperation and fellowship among Christians should not have an alternative. For his efforts to promote dialogue with the Orthodox Church he was criticized and persecuted by fellow Baptists both at home and abroad. For the last ten years the reforms in the Evangelical Baptist Church of Georgia have made it possible to build bridges of peace with Christians from very diverse backgrounds and traditions
For the time being the Evangelical Baptist Church of Georgia has fraternal relations with Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic, Anglican, Lutheran and reformed churches around the globe.
One Schroeder meets the new Georgian President,
Another Schroeder Meets the new President’s Wife
On January 27th Mr Saakasvili newly elected President of Georgia made his first presidential visit abroad. He arrived at Berlin along with a Georgian delegation to meet Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and other German officials. During the visit the first Lady of Georgia Mrs. Sandra Rullofs invited those German ladies at the Georgian Embassy in Berlin, who have some projects in Georgia. Among those 15 German ladies who arrived for the meeting at the Embassy was Sister Mechthild Schroeder of the Berlin based Baptist Diaconical Order “Bethel”. Sister Mechthild has been actively involved in Diaconical work in Georgia for a number of years.
Out of the invited ladies Sister Mechthild Schroeder was the only person involved in social work for the benefit of the poor and disabled of Georgia. “It was a very open and warm meeting,” Sister Schroeder commented after the meeting. “I think she will be keen to cooperate with us.” Mrs. Sandra Rullofs gave out her business cards without any address on them. “I do not know where we will be living,” she explained. “But it should not be a problem to find me in Tbilisi.”
ABC Delegation in Georgia
From February 7th to 17th a delegation of the American Baptist Churches in the USA visited Georgia upon the invitation of the Evangelical Baptist Church of Georgia. The delegation was made up by prolific experts in different areas of Christian ministry: They were Walt White (expert in contextualization), Lauran Bethell (ministry to women and children), Mike Mann (rural development), Jeff Sharp (theological education), Dan Buttry (human rights and conflict resolution). The group of American fellow Christians was led by The Revd Reid Trulson (ABC international ministries).
“Several years ago at the European Baptist Federation annual Council an American Baptist approached me during lunch break and asked me whether Georgian Baptists had really adopted some elements of Orthodox liturgy and spirituality,” remembers Bishop Malkhaz. “I did not know that time whether he was ironic or serious about the matter. The American clergyman was the Revd. Trulson”.
Revd. Trulson was the first American Baptist to support reforms carried out by the Georgian Baptists for the sake of contextualization of the Gospel in Georgia.
The delegation started exploring the country with the visit to the ancient cave monasteries in the desert of Gareji where most valuable examples of Georgian iconography have been maintained on the walls of monastic caves. Later on the guests visited the regional Baptist Bishops Zaal Chimchiuri and Avtandil Darbaidze. They also were able to inspect some of the social projects carried out by the Baptists of Georgia.
“I have never been to a place where such a small Baptist community had so much impact on the life of the country,” commented the Revd. Dan Buttry, one of the members of the delegation.
The American guests also made a good impression on Georgian hosts. “I had very positive feelings about the guests,” says Zurab Nemanishvili of the Betheli Center. „They are free and joyful people. I have thoroughly enjoyed watching them dancing Georgian dances along with Georgians at the Farwell party.”
Before leaving Georgia the American delegation had a day long conference with the leadership of the Georgian Baptist Church. New perspectives for future cooperation between the two Baptist churches were discussed and the results of the visit were evaluated.
The School of Solomon
The Evangelical Baptist Church of Georgia has already made education and training of people as its top priority. The school of Elijah was the first institution to be started with inspiration and participation of the Revd. Dr Karl Heinz Walter, former General Secretary of the European Baptist Federation. That was why school of Solomon has just been founded. The school is offering courses in foreign languages and computers.
Some 40 students have already been enrolled in the language courses. The English language is being thought by three Georgian and one British teacher. Step by step new courses will be added to the school program. The School is directed by Miss Eka Kvirikashvili who herself is a student at the school of Elijah the Prophet. The British teacher has been sent to Georgia by the Church Missionary Society of the Church of England.
President Saakashvili Meets President Bush in Washington DC
In February Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili visited Washington DC upon the invitation of George W. Bush of the USA. Newly elected Georgian leader was wholeheartedly welcomed by American officials. President Saakashvili was promised that financial support to Georgia will increase up to 200 000 million USD. No other country in the world gets this much support per capita of the population from the USA.
On February 25th the Georgian and American Presidents met at the White House and had a 45 minutes conversation. This was the highlight of the visit. “I am proud to call you my friend” addressed President George W. Bush his Georgian guest. The American President praised the Georgian counterpart for his courage and the Revolution of Roses. “The Revolution of Roses should be an example for entire world” he maintained.
But it was not the only praise which the Georgian President received in Washington DC. During his visit seven prominent members of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe wrote a letter to the Georgian President:
“We are delighted to welcome you on your first official visit to Washington as the newly elected President of Georgia. Needless to say, we followed with fascination and admiration your leadership of last November’s “Revolution of the Roses,” the only popular movement in the former USSR to succeed in peacefully overturning the results of a fraudulent election. We also congratulate you on your landslide victory on January 4.
We applaud your initiatives to bring to justice officials who misused their positions to enrich themselves. In that connection, we want to raise an issue which you, - - which Ministers of Justice, have discussed with the Helsinki Commission –namely the longstanding campaign of organized violence against members of minority faiths. Representatives of these confessions have indicated they have great hopes that you will not tolerate such violence. We share their expectations and look to you for justice against criminals whom Georgia’s law enforcement has refused to prosecute seriously. As you know, the court case against Basil Mkalavishvili has been delayed and postponed many times since January 2003. He is currently reported to be in hiding, yet media outlets never seem to have any difficulty finding him.
Violence against minority faiths has diminished somewhat recently. But legal
proceedings against those who defied Georgian law and international norms, not to mention the basics of civilized behavior, would show Georgians, their neighbors and distant partners that Tbilisi is committed to fulfilling its OSCE commitments. A leader with your level of popular support can easily explain the importance of such a step to the people of Georgia.”
The issue of religious intolerance is the question the Georgian leadership has to handle immediately. The detention of the defrocked Orthodox priest Basil Mkalavishvili and his supporters will be a sign that the new president has political will to finish with the shameful record of the Georgian government.
Georgian Baptists have certainly been a target of religious extremists as the largest indigenous Christian church in Georgia. The violence towards Baptists has been expressed in verbal and physical harassment, burning of Bibles and sanctuary, raids on churches including the Cathedral Baptist Church in Tbilisi.
Georgian Baptists repent what other Soviet Baptists Celebrate
In the year 2003 at the beginning of the Lenten period all Georgian Baptist ministers of different generations came to the Cathedral Baptist Church and officially repented the collaboration of the Church with the KGB and Soviet regime which took place for more than 50 years.
On February 16-19 Euro Asiatic Federation of Evangelical Baptist Unions of the former Soviet Union celebrated the 50th Jubilee Congress of the Evangelical Christian Baptists of the Soviet Union. Reportedly this American sponsored congress was attended by delegates from all Baptists Unions of the Euro-Asiatic Federation.
The Evangelical Baptist Church of Georgia did not attend the congress since it is not a part of the Euro-Asiatic Federation and it does not believe that it is fair to keep alive a poor remnant of the Soviet Church.
After the famous congress the Presiding Bishop of The Evangelical Baptist Church of Georgia received a letter from the Revd. Dr Theo Angelov, General Secretary of the European Baptist Federation. This is what the European Baptist leader wrote:
“I am writing this to you because of the presence of two Georgian people [at the Jubilee Congress]: Visarion Megaleshvilly and Gia Kandelaki. Surprisingly for all of us Gregori Komendant gave the word to Visarion to explain the situation in the Baptist Union of Georgia. Visarion said that 11 Baptist Churches have founded a new Baptist Union. He accused you that you have brought a heresy to the Baptists of Georgia, you have introduced a Catholic and Anglican style of worship, with all the robes and crosses, that you do not preach the Word of God and you have broken down all Baptist principles. He said: ‘The church became ecumenical; Malkhaz introduced a not Baptist but Anglican teaching’.
After his short speech there was not any discussion. After that I explained before Gregori Komendant my disappointment with such procedure, and especially in your absence.”
This letter was no surprise to the leadership of the Evangelical Baptist Church of Georgia since both the Bishop and the leadership has been attacked by fundamentalist group of Baptists who used to be in the leadership of the Church.
“We are not going to defend our work and ministry. We are not going to get engaged in refuting all those accusations that come from fundamentalists. There are more important things to be done in this post revolutionary country of Georgia” commented Bishop Malkhaz Songulashvili.