The Eastern Orthodox Church Abhors Religious Liberty

Eugene Shubert

Georgia
The Georgian Constitution provides for separation of state and church, but also establishes that the Georgian Orthodox Church has played a “special role” in the country's history. A recent constitutional agreement (a so-called concordat) between the state and this church further strengthens its position. Minority religions face restrictions of their activities.

The concordat between the state and the Georgian Orthodox Church, which was signed in October 2002, grants the Georgian Orthodox Church a number of rights that other religious communities in Georgia do not enjoy. According to the concordat, the state decides, with consent of the Orthodox Church, whether other religious communities may use Orthodox symbols and terminology and whether they may build churches, publish religious literature and produce items for worship such as ecclesiastical paintings and icons. The concordat also grants the Orthodox Church tax-exempt status; the right to recover all property that previously belonged to it but that was confiscated during the Soviet era; and the right to decide who can offer religious education in schools as well as the content of such education. Representatives of minority religious communities have expressed concern that the concordat will be implemented in a way so as to further obstruct their opportunities to exercise their religious convictions.

In a development strongly condemned by human rights NGOs and monitoring bodies, members of minority religions have been subjected to severe harassment and violence in Georgia during the last few years. Orthodox extremists, who particularly have singled out Jehovah’s Witnesses, Pentecostals, Baptists and Evangelic Christians for attacks, have raided and looted private homes, destroyed places of worship, burnt religious literature and other property, and threatened and physically abused believers. The extremists have repeatedly used exceptionally brutal methods, such as beating believers with clubs and sticks spiked with nails, leaving many victims in need of hospital treatment and some with permanent injuries. Between 1999 and mid-2002, over 100 attacks have been recorded, and since then the number has increased further.

The Orthodox extremists have sought to secure public support for their attacks by claiming that the activities of religious minorities threaten the Georgian identity and the Georgian nation, both of which generally are viewed as closely linked to the Georgian Orthodox Church. The media has also contributed to strengthening suspicious attitudes against religious minorities by reporting on attacks in a prejudiced and biased manner.

Most troubling, the authorities have not responded adequately to the wave of religious violence. Police have often failed to respond to appeals by victims or have passively stood by as attacks have been carried out. In some cases police and local administration officials have also participated in attacks. What is more, while victims have filed nearly 800 complaints with prosecutors, investigations into such complaints have typically been slow, ineffective or non-existent and have rarely resulted in indictment. For example, in July 2002, 99 Jehovah’s Witnesses filed a joint application with the European Court of Human Rights, documenting 30 different cases where prosecutors and courts have declined to open criminal procedures in spite of apparent evidence of criminal acts, including eyewitness testimony, photographs and video clips. As of June 2003, not a single perpetrator of religious violence in the country had been punished. Courts have also summarily dismissed complaints by victims against police and other officials in spite of overwhelming evidence of their complicity in attacks. [1].

The Orthodox Church [in Greece] is recognized and legally protected by the state as the dominant and established religion. The constitution of 1975 removed some of the discriminatory legislation against non-Orthodox bodies, but old laws remain which are used to hinder non-Orthodox activities and persecute Protestants. Greece regularly loses cases when such are taken to the European Court of Justice, thus gradually lessening restrictions on religious minorities. [2].

One extreme example from a judicial opinion is that of Judge Valticos on the European Court of Human Rights, who differentiates between the (acceptable) Greek Orthodox Church and the (unacceptable) Jehovah’s Witness faith. A member of the latter faith, who has been convicted in Greek courts for proselytism, is described by the judge as