Mestia and upper Svaneti Metropolitan Ilarion (Kitiasvili) has joined Ruisi-Urbanisi Metropolitan Iob (Akiashvili) in a sharp rebuke of the Georgian Dream government, accusing it of failing to protect national interests. The senior clergyman stated that the Church bears a responsibility to speak out when the country’s moral foundations and the future of younger generations face threat. This escalation marks a significant break from the institution’s traditional alignment with the ruling party, which has maintained close ties with Georgian Dream on conservative social issues for years. The statements arrive amid growing public discontent, as senior figures questioned the government’s decision to allow tax breaks for international gambling tournaments without consulting the Church.
Clergy demand policy shifts
Ilarion wrote on Wednesday that silence is not humility but an evasion of responsibility, adding that a true shepherd never fears earthly power when the salvation of the nation is at stake. He criticized the uncontrolled spread and de facto promotion of gambling and drugs, arguing that these vices are destroying families and depriving the country of its future. "Gambling addiction and drug addiction are destroying families and depriving the country of its future," he said. The metropolitan also expressed concern over Georgia’s deteriorating demographic situation, claiming that Georgians are increasingly leaving the country in search of better livelihoods while foreign nationals, specifically migrants and Arabs, arrive in large numbers. Ilarion accused the government of pursuing irresponsible migration and economic policies, arguing that the sale of land and property to foreigners threatens Georgia’s national identity and demographic balance. He condemned unlawful surveillance and interference in the private lives of both clergy and ordinary citizens, stating that the Church’s voice cannot be silenced through material comfort or mechanisms of covert pressure. On the same day, Marneuli and Hujabi Bishop Giorgi (Jamdeliani) appeared to respond to Iob’s sermon by quoting a passage from the Book of Proverbs attributed to King Solomon: "Do not rebuke mockers or they will hate you; rebuke the wise and they will love you."
Political backlash and funding disputes
Iob’s earlier sermon went further, calling for a change in government and claiming that the Georgian Dream party has exhausted its potential. He argued that the close relationship between the state and the Church makes it difficult for clergymen to act independently, leading to the emergence of a privileged class within the institution. "Today we see that our government is non-believing and non-religious. There is an attempt to merge the government and the Church," Akiashvili said. He suggested that if the state continues to fund the Church, the process must be fully transparent so members of the congregation can see how every penny is spent, or alternatively, the Church should be financed through contributions from its own members. Akiashvili also linked the 2021 leak of thousands of compromising documents involving clergy to comments made by party founder Bidzina Ivanishvili, who suggested that then-Patriarch Ilia II could be criticized like any other person. The files, believed to have been leaked from the State Security Service, were published on 12 September 2021, just days before local elections. Several people mentioned in the files recognized the contents of their own communications. In response to the sermons, Georgian Dream representatives argued that clergymen should not use the pulpit to make political statements. MP Levan Machavariani called the remarks regrettable and irresponsible, while MP Mariam Lashkhi simply stated, "May God forgive him." MP Irma Zavradashvili added that there is no alternative to dialogue, urging the bishop to ask his questions directly to the government. Lasha Natsvlishvili, a supporter of the ruling party, directed profanities at the clergyman in a social media post, writing "Iob, f* your mother". Archpriest Andria Jaghmaidze, head of the Church’s Public Relations Service, responded by describing such language as disrespectful and beyond Christian morality.
