Georgian priest arrested in Abkhazia - unofficial reports claim he “preached nationalist ideas”
A Georgian priest, Father Pimen (Roman Kardava), has been arrested in Abkhazia. No official information has been released regarding the charges against him. However, according to the head of the Abkhazian Orthodox Church, Father Vissarion, Pimen was “promoting nationalist ideas” among residents of the Gali district, which is predominantly populated by ethnic Georgians.
Vissarion also claimed that Father Pimen had been conducting religious services without the blessing of the Abkhaz diocese — effectively, without a “licence” to do so.
Although Roman Kardava himself lives in the Gali district, Vissarion argued that “this does not mean he has the right to perform religious rites without proper authorisation.”
Officially, Abkhazia remains under the “jurisdiction” of the Georgian Orthodox Church (GOC), to which Roman Kardava belongs. However, in practice, the GOC has had no influence in Abkhazia since the end of the 1992–93 Georgian-Abkhaz war.
At present, two unrecognised Orthodox churches operate in Abkhazia: the Abkhazian Orthodox Church, headed by Father Vissarion, and the Holy Metropolis of Abkhazia, led by Archimandrite Dorotheos. The two are in conflict over how the Abkhaz Church should seek autocephaly (independence).
Father Vissarion believes that autocephaly should be sought through the Russian Orthodox Church, while his rival favours receiving independence from the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.
With the exception of the New Athos Monastery, all other churches in Abkhazia are under the authority of the Abkhazian Orthodox Church (AOC), including those located in the Gali district where Father Pimen served.
This is not the first time Roman Kardava has faced attempts to ban him from conducting church services in Abkhazia.
In 2008, a special decree prohibited him from performing liturgies in the Gali district, and he was expelled from Abkhazia altogether. Now, the situation appears to be repeating itself — in an even more dramatic form.
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