Influential priest accuses Georgian Patriarch of ‘covering up sodomy’ in church

One of the most influential clergymen of Georgia, Metropolitan of Chkondidi Petre was today expelled from the church service per the decision of the Holy Synod – the main council of the Georgian Orthodox Church).

Leaving the building of the patriarchate, Father Petre declared:

“Today, the Holy Synod made an unprecedented decision and personally the Patriarch, the chairman of the Synod, I believe that he made an unjust decision in depriving me of the rank.  I think that this is because I uncovered the sin of sodomy and pederasty in the Georgian Orthodox Church,” Petre said.

When asked who he was talking about, Petre answered: 

“The people have a Patriarch, possessed by the sin of pederasty and sodomy, the chairman of the Synod.”

Another decision that was made at today’s meeting of the Synod concerns Archpriest Giorgi Mamaladze.  

Mamaladze has been in prison for two years; a Georgian court sentenced him to nine years in prison for preparing to murder Shorena Tetruashvili, the secretary-referent of the Catholicos-Patriarch of Georgia, with poison. The Patriarchate is ready to appeal to the President of Georgia with a request to have Archpriest Mamaladze given amnesty. 

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The Holy Synod is a meeting of priests of the Georgian Orthodox Church who make decisions on its governance. The Holy Synod consists of 48 clergymen.  It is led by the head of the Catholicos Patriarch Church.

The Patriarchate decided to hold an extraordinary meeting of the Holy Synod on October 31 after last week one of the most influential clergymen, Archbishop Iakob, accused the Prime Minister of Georgia and other high-ranking officials of trying to overthrow the head of the Georgian Orthodox Church, and high-ranking clergymen of planning the assassination attempt of the patriarch.

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This sensational statement provoked a new church scandal that has engulfed the entire Georgian media. 

Experts predicted that the meeting of the Synod would not help resolve the difficult situation that has developed inside the Georgian church.  

They believe that the authority of the church will continue to collapse, as the situation has already spun out of control.