Georgian Orthodox Church Celebrates Autocephaly Restoration Day

The State Agency for Religious Affairs congratulates the Georgian Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church and all citizens of Georgia on the Day of Restoration of Autocephaly.

“In 1801, the Russian Emperor Alexander I signed a manifesto, according to which the centuries-old statehood of Georgia ceased to exist. In 1811, he abolished the autocephaly of the Church and subordinated it to the Russian Synod. The struggle of Georgian public and religious figures for the restoration of autocephaly was successfully completed, and after a 106-year forced pause, on March 12 (25), 1917, the Georgian clergy gathered in the Svetitskhoveli Cathedral in Mtskheta at an extraordinary church council restored the autocephaly of the Georgian Orthodox Church and reintroduced patriarchal rule. The great Georgian church figure, Kirion II (Sadzaglishvili), became the Patriarch of the Georgian Church. In 1990, the Ecumenical Patriarchate officially recognized and acknowledged the autocephaly of the Georgian Church. The importance of the autocephaly of the Georgian Church is immeasurable. The role of the recently deceased Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, Archbishop of Mtskheta-Tbilisi, Metropolitan of Bichvinta and Tskhum-Abkhazia, His Holiness and Beatitude Ilia II in the restoration. It was his many years of activity that brought the only fair result for the country and the Church - the restoration of autocephaly, not its granting. The State Agency for Religious Affairs congratulates the Georgian Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church and all citizens of Georgia on this most important day. The restoration of the autocephaly of the Georgian Church is an important component of state independence,” the statement said.