POLYPHONY: The Song Hunters - Suppression and Survival. By Sam Lee via @BBCRadio4

Podcast >> bbc.co.uk
 
Singer and song collector Sam Lee travels to Tbilisi to explore the ancient polyphonic folk songs and sacred chants of Georgia. He discovers a nation where singing is in the blood.

With some of Georgia's finest singers and musicologists as his guides, Sam is introduced to the ritualistic folk songs that are said to the control the weather and even cure the sick. He is invited to a feast, high on a mountainside above Tbilisi, where he meets the Chamgelianis - a singing family from the remote region of Svaneti who are keeping the tradition of age-old pre-Christian folk songs alive.

At the beautiful Kashveti Church in the heart of Tbilisi, Sam meets singer and ethno-musicologist John Graham who introduces him to the liturgical chanting tradition. These orthodox Christian chants feature sacrosanct melodies that are said to have been passed down by God and transmitted orally over the centuries.

Bordered by powerful neighbours including Russia and Turkey, Georgia has been attacked and invaded persistently over the centuries, its traditional songs suppressed. Sam learns that, under Soviet rule, sacred chanting was banned in Georgia and chanters threatened with exile and even death. Practitioners were forced to go underground from the early 1920s.

The tradition might have died out entirely were it not for the efforts of a single monk who buried manuscripts containing the forbidden sacred songs in order to keep them safe. Many years later, following the end of the Soviet stranglehold, the buried manuscripts were rediscovered and became the backbone of a chant revival that has seen Georgian singing spread around the world.

Presenter: Sam Lee
Producer: Max O'Brien
A TBI production for BBC Radio 4

RELIGION: The rise of Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses in the Caucasus. By Tara Isabella Burton @T_I_Burton via via @AJAM (america.aljazeera.com)

(america.aljazeera.com) Armenia and Georgia were the first to adopt Christianity as their state religion; now, American evangelical sects beckon

In the Armenian town of Artashat, a grid of Soviet concrete and corrugated tin roofs an hour from the capital city of Yerevan, few buildings stand out like the meeting hall of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). Unlike the crumbling towers that surround it, this building sports an impeccably white façade. On one Sunday in May, more than a hundred Armenians — most in their 40s and 50s — are sharing what Mormons call spiritual “testimony,” their words translated via earpiece to attending American missionaries.

Here in the Caucasus region, ethnicity and faith are often treated as one. Christians in Armenia and Georgia — which in the fourth century became the first two countries worldwide to adopt Christianity as their state religion — almost uniformly belong to the Armenian Apostolic and Georgian Orthodox Churches, respectively (93 percent in Armenia, 83 percent in Georgia).

But a near-century of Soviet-imposed secularism dramatically weakened the standing of state churches. Now, many ethnic Armenians and Georgians are gravitating toward American evangelical sects with an emphasis on attracting converts and a strong missionary presence in the region, such as LDS and Jehovah’s Witnesses. In Armenia, the number of Jehovah’s Witnesses here hovers around 11,000; LDS claims more than 3,000 members (also known as Mormons). These may be small numbers, but they are significant in this country of 3 million, where practitioners of other faiths tend to be members of minority ethno-religious groups, such as Jews or Muslim Kurds.

Both Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons identify as Christians, although their non-Trinitarian doctrine — both deny that Jesus Christ shares a single fundamental divine essence with God the Father and the Holy Spirit — has often brought them into conflict with mainline Christian tradition.

“Ask any Armenian on the street and they’ll say, ‘Yes, I believe in God. I believe in Jesus,’ ” says Varuzhan Pogosyan, president of the LDS Mission in Armenia. “But they don’t always practice.”

Pogosyan’s journey started shortly after the fall of the Soviet Union. Then an expatriate in Russia, he attended a local Armenian church, both for spiritual reasons and for the opportunity to socialize with other ethnic Armenians. But an encounter with a Mormon missionary made him realize he could do more than just attend services. “I could participate,” he says. “I could be involved in the life of the church.” In the absence of formal clergy, the LDS church offers ordinary members a greater role in church affairs, Pogosyan explains.

It is this sense of involvement that inspired his colleague, Margarit Ayvazyan, to convert. Like Pogosyan, Ayvazyan grew up nonreligious during Soviet rule, adopting atheism as a philosophically inclined teenager. Yet her encounters with LDS missionaries in the early 90's left her with a sense of spiritual fulfillment she had not found in her parents’ Armenian Apostolic services. In a traditional Armenian service, she says, “You just stand there and the priests pray.” Many Armenians cannot even understand the classical Armenian used in services. In LDS, where congregants are encouraged to share their experiences and participate in Bible-study classes, she has a role to play. Even those church members who do not become missionaries are encouraged to circulate information among family and friends, recruit curious “investigators” to visit services and keep track of lapsed members. Pogosyan says most converts here grew up like Ayvazyan: secular under the Soviet regime, but now seeking something more.

In some ways, he says, their history makes his mission easier, as “Armenians have always been religious.” Soviet-era secularism was a temporary aberration, and organizations such as LDS are ideally situated to reach those whose religious needs have not been met elsewhere or who feel that the Armenian Apostolic Church has failed them. After all, in all the years since he left the Church, he’s never once been contacted by any priests trying to win him back or find out why he left: a striking contrast with the LDS church, whose members actively identify and reach out to those whose attendance has lapsed.

Of course, there are challenges. Smoking, drinking and abortion were all permissible under the Soviet regime, Pogosyan says, and encouraging new converts to maintain what he calls a “healthier” way of life is a struggle. The American missionaries at Artashat tell stories of priests who attacked their brethren in neighboring towns, boys who throw rocks at them as they walk down Yerevan streets (“I think [the boys] thought we were Jehovah’s Witnesses,” one laughs. “They can’t tell the difference”).

But the biggest challenge for those seeking to convert others may be reconciling converts’ faith with their ethnic identity. Many of Pogosyan’s countrymen see those who leave the Apostolic Church as less Armenian. He takes pains to emphasize the long-standing relationship between Armenia and the LDS church, which first took hold in the Armenian diaspora in 19th-century Constantinople, as well as the increasing number of foreign missionaries of Armenian descent who have come to their ancestral homeland to serve. He is also careful to stress the cultural similarities between Armenia and the LDS church. “We’re very big on family values in Armenia,” he says, making the LDS church here a perfect fit. Ultimately, his faith has made him more Armenian, not less. It has strengthened his relationship with his family, his local community. “It has made me a better citizen.”

Minority evangelical Christian sects face similar challenges in Armenia’s northern neighbor, Georgia, where religion and nationalism are even more closely intertwined. Between 1999 and 2003, Jehovah's Witnesses lodged almost 800 complaints of religiously-motivated incidents of conflict, many violent, says Manuchar Tsimintia, a lawyer and practicing Jehovah's Witness who frequently defends the church in human rights cases. Following Georgia's bloodless Rose Revolution in 2008 and the subsequent installation of Western-leaning Mikhail Saakashvili as president, things drastically improved, but tensions remain. This situation isn’t ameliorated by the fiercely Orthodox, nationalist stance of the ruling Georgian Dream coalition, which has succeeded Saakashvili's United National Movement. In early May, a group of teenagers destroyed a cart of pamphlets Jehovah’s Witnesses were using to proselytize in Tbilisi’s city center, although, Tsimintia is pleased to report, the police charged and fined the culprits responsible.

Still, he estimates that there are about 20,000 baptized converts; another 20,000 or so attend meetings and worship: such figures, if accurate, would comprise nearly 1 percent of Georgia's population. Like the Mormons in Armenia, adherents say they converted because of disillusionment with Soviet-style anti-clericalism and existing ecclesiastical institutions and a desire to participate more fully in the activities of their church.

“It was the end of the communist regime,” Tsimintia says of his joining the Jehovah’s Witnesses. “All people were seeking God.” But Tsimintia, then enrolled in college, felt dissatisfied by the Georgian Orthodox Church, which stirred him emotionally, but could not provide him with the answers he sought. “Who is God? Who are we? Where do we come from?” It was through independent Bible study, Tsimintia says, that he came to the conclusion the Jehovah’s Witnesses had access to spiritual truth.

Increasingly, he says, those who came of age after the collapse of the Soviet Union are also finding themselves disillusioned with what they see as hypocrisy and corruption within the current hierarchy of the Georgian Orthodox Church, whose vast wealth and close financial relationship with the country’s ruling classes have often attracted scrutiny. In 2009, for example, each of Georgia’s 10 archbishops received a luxury SUV from the Georgian government. And the disenchantment has only grown more common in recent years as the church has attempted to wield greater political influence through its alliance with the Georgian Dream party ruling coalition. Many youths are also critical of the church’s tacit approval of violence; in May 2013, local Tbilisi priests, leading a mob of 20,000, attacked a small group of unarmed anti-homophobia protesters, injuring at least 12.

“They are not living according to Bible standards,” Tsimintia says. “[That is what] young people see.”

His colleague Tamaz Khutsishvili recalls a friend who sought spiritual guidance from an Orthodox priest, only to have the priest turn up at his home “so drunk he could not stand up.” One potential convert became disillusioned with his own church after a local priest with whom he had entrusted some money for temporary safekeeping informed him he had spent the funds on the construction of a new church. And both Khutsishvili and Tsimintia condemn the Orthodox church-sanctioned anti-gay violence last year as an example of church hypocrisy. The Bible, they say, condemns aggression. “Even if [people] are doing something we see as against the Bible,” Khutsishvili says, “we must never talk of violence.”

Yet here, too, converts struggle with reconciling their cultural and religious identities. “You are not Christian. You are not Orthodox. You are not Georgian. I must have heard that 10 times a day,” says Tsimintia.

Still, as with the Mormons in Armenia, Tsimintia and Khutsishvili choose to appeal to history to defend the essential Georgianness of their choice. “Once our ancestors were pagans,” Khutsishvili says. “Then they found the truth and became Orthodox. Now we’re finding truth again — and converting. We are following our ancestors.”

EDITION: Vaterland, Sprache, Glaube: Orthodoxie und Nationenbildung am Beispiel Georgiens: 95. Von Eva Fuchslocher

Dieses Buch [pdf] zeigt am Beispiel Georgiens und der Georgisch Orthodoxen Kirche, wie Religion und Kirche Ein? uss auf Nationenbildung nehmen. Anhand prägnanter Beispiele aus Vergangenheit und Gegenwart wird unter Einbeziehung von Theorien des "nation building" die Herausbildung der georgischen Nation als eine "imaginierte Gemeinschaft" nachvollzogen. Dem in der Forschung vernachlässigten Einfluss von Religion und Kirche räumt die Autorin dabei besonderen Stellenwert ein. Hiermit liegt erstmals eine Gesamtschau zur engen Verbindung von Nationenbildung und Orthodoxie in Georgien vor. Neben Theorien zur Nationenbildung in Hinblick auf den Zusammenhang von Nation, Sprache, Religion und Moderne, den Besonderheiten der christlichen Orthodoxie und den Grundzügen der sowjetischen Nationalitätenpolitik, werden in diesem Buch die Geschichte und Kirchengeschichte Georgiens dargestellt. Georgien wurde schon im 4. Jahrhundert christianisiert, zeitgleich bildete sich eine eigene Alphabetschrift heraus. So war schon früh der Grundstein für die Einheit von Sprache, Land und Glaube gelegt. Allerdings war die weitere georgische Geschichte geprägt von Fremdherrschaft. In dieser historischen Konstellation wurde die Orthodoxe Kirche zur Bewahrerin der Sprache und nationalen Identität Georgiens. Den Zusammenhang von Sprache, Religion und georgischer Nation zeigt die Autorin anhand christlicher Literatur, Märtyrerlegenden und Mythen zur Entstehung des Landes auf. Am Beispiel politischer Ereignisse seit der Unabhängigkeit Georgiens von der Sowjetunion wird die Verbindung von Religion und Nation in der jüngsten Vergangenheit veranschaulicht.

Taschenbuch: 254 Seiten
Verlag: ibidem-Verlag; Auflage: 1., Erstauflage (2. Januar 2010)
Sprache: Deutsch
ISBN-10: 3898218848
ISBN-13: 978-3898218849
Größe und/oder Gewicht: 20,8 x 14,6 x 1,6 cm

Die Autorin: Eva Fuchslocher studierte bis 2006 Kulturwissenschaft, Europäische Ethnologie und Soziologie an der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Sie promoviert derzeit über den Zusammenhang von Religion und Nation. Neben den wissenschaftlichen Tätigkeiten arbeitet sie im Museumsbereich. Aufsätze u.a. in Hochschulen im Wettbewerb (Dietz 2009), Berliner Blätter und Freischüßler. Die Vorwortautorin: Dr. Christina von Braun ist Professorin für Kulturwissenschaft an der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.

AmazonShop: Books, Maps, Videos, Music & Gifts About The Caucasus

RELIGION: Mönch in Georgien lebt seit 20 Jahren einsam auf einer Säule (welt.de)

(welt.de) Er lebt zwischen Himmel und Erde, auf 40 Meter Höhe – und das seit 20 Jahren: In Georgien hat sich ein Mönch auf eine Säule zurückgezogen. Jetzt hat er zum ersten Mal seit Langem Besuch empfangen.

Maxime Qavtaradze, 59, georgischer Mönch, hat sich vor zwanzig Jahren auf die 40 Meter hohe Katskhi-Säule zurückgezogen - Foto: Amos Chapple

Maxime Qavtaradze, 59, georgischer Mönch, hat sich vor 20 Jahren auf die 40 Meter hohe Katskhi-Säule zurückgezogen. Dort lebt er allein, bis auf seltene Besuche von Mönchen aus dem Kloster unterhalb seines Wohnsitzes. Lebensmittel und Wasser erhält er über einen Seilzug von Gläubigen im Tal.

Schon früher war die Säule von besonders frommen Einsiedlern genutzt worden, sogenannten Styliten – den Säulenheiligen. Qavtaradze hatte sich seinerzeit entschieden, sein Leben zu ändern. "Als ich jung war, habe ich mit Freunden getrunken, Drogen genommen." Erst ein Gefängnisaufenthalt habe ihn zur Umkehr gebracht. "Hier in der Stille fühle ich mich Gott nahe", sagt er der britischen "Daily Mail". Außerdem hatte er noch nie ein Problem mit großen Höhen: In seinem früheren Leben war er einmal Kranfahrer.

Mitten in der Nacht kommt die Erlaubnis

Maxime empfängt eigentlich nie Besuch – einzig die Priesterkollegen dürfen ihn hin und wieder besuchen. Einmal hat er einigen jungen Männern erlaubt, am Fuße seines Monolithen zu campieren. Nach oben durften sie nicht.

Auch der Fotograf Amos Chapple musste zunächst unten bleiben. Vier Tage lang hat er ausgehalten – bis schließlich mitten in der Nacht die Erlaubnis von oben kam: Chapple durfte auf die Leiter steigen und nach oben klettern. Vier Stunden gewährte ihm Maxime auf seiner Säule – bei Sonnenaufgang musste der Fotograf das steinerne Kloster verlassen und runterklettern.

Maximes winzige Kapelle geht auf das neunte und zehnte Jahrhundert nach Christus zurück. Damals zogen sich Christen auf die Spitze des Monolithen zurück – um den weltlichen Versuchungen zu entgehen.

PHOTOREPORTAGE: Georgian Monk Builds Stairway to Heaven. By Temo Bardzimashvili (eurasianet.org)

(eurasianet.org) Come summertime, getting away from it all is the dream that haunts everyone. One Georgian Orthodox monk, though, has come up with a plan for a lifetime of escape atop a 40-meter-high rock column in central Georgia’s Imereti region.

In pagan times, the towering Katskhi Pillar, located about 10 kilometers from the mining town of Chiatura, was thought to represent a local god of fertility. With the arrival of Christianity in Georgia in the 4th century, it came to represent seclusion from the hurly-burly of ordinary life.

A church was first built atop the rock between the 6th and 8th centuries -- no one knows exactly how or why. Stylites, early Christian ascetics who prayed and fasted on top of pillars, used Katskhi for their devotions until some time in the 15th century, when Georgia was struck by domestic upheaval and invasions by Ottoman Turkey. The remains of one unknown practitioner today lay buried beneath the church.

Father Maxim, a 55-year-old native of Chiatura, says that he has dreamed of living atop the Pillar, like the Stylites, since he was young. “When my friends and I used to come up here to drink outdoors, I always envied that monk who used to live there when I looked at the pillar,” he recalled.

In 1993, Father Maxim took monastic vows, and two years later decided to move to Katskhi. After spending one winter in a grotto beneath the rock column, he received money from a “friend from Tbilisi” to build a new church on its top. The Georgian Orthodox Church’s local eparchy, or regional administration, allegedly granted Father Maxim permission to erect the structure on the site.

Amidst an ongoing religious revival in Georgia, Father Maxim’s mission easily found supporters. More and more people now come to Katskhi to donate money or building materials for the church’s construction -- a generosity that makes the overall cost of the project difficult to estimate, he claims. Many local villagers also volunteer to work on the site for free.

The labor involved, though, can require a head for heights, as well as for matters spiritual. Scaffolding runs halfway up the column; an iron ladder reaches to the top. Builders use ropes to lift heavy construction materials from the ground.

Following the example of the first Stylite, Simeon, Father Maxim does not allow women on the site -- a ban also practiced at pagan shrines in Georgia’s mountain regions of Tusheti and Khevsureti.

Work on the project should be largely finished by the summer of 2011.

Before that date, Father Maxim hopes to secure a blessing from Georgian Orthodox Patriarch Ilia II that would allow the monk to live on top of Katskhi alongside his newly built church. “They told me they allowed me to come here, but not to live up there,” he recounted, laughing. “They told me I was too young then. Now they’ll probably tell me I’m too old.”

The Patriarch’s office could not be reached for comment.

But if the blessing ever comes, Father Maxim knows what he will do -- climb up Katskhi, pull the ladder up after him and live apart from the world’s tumult, once and for all. Editor's Note: Temo Bardzimashvili is a freelance photojournalist based in Tbilisi. 

Photos are here >>>

BBC: Georgia's mighty Orthodox Church . By Paul Rimple (bbc.co.uk)

(bbc.co.uk) When several dozen Georgian Orthodox priests led tens of thousands of people on a violent attack against a small group of gay rights activists in Tbilisi earlier this year, much of the rest of the country was horrified, writes journalist Paul Rimple, who has been based in the country for 10 years.

Georgians pride themselves on their reputation for being hospitable and tolerant, and most consider themselves Christian.

While the notion of homosexuality is not widely understood or accepted in this deeply traditional Caucasus nation, most Georgians were appalled by the scenes that unfolded in Tbilisi on 17 May.

And yet, what happened clearly illustrates the importance of the Church in Georgia.

Georgia was an early adopter of Christianity making it a state religion in 337AD. Georgians maintained their faith over the centuries despite the waves of invading hordes, including the armies of Ghengis Khan and Tamerlane. 

Although the Soviets permitted religion to be practised, its reach was severely limited. In 1917, there were 2,455 working churches in Georgia, but by the mid-1980s there were only 80, along with a few monasteries and a seminary. 

"During communism, the church was outdated, something for old ladies," says political analyst Ghia Nodia. 

That attitude quickly changed after independence in 1991, when the elected president, Zviad Gamsakhurdia, espoused a philosophy of ethnic nationalism, which the Church embraced.

"During the (Gamsakhurdia) national movement, the concept that real Georgians are Orthodox Christians spread really fast," Mr Nodia says.

Over 80% of Georgia's 4.5 million people say they belong to the Georgian Orthodox Church, however, experts claim only about 15% - 25% actively participate in rituals. 

Nevertheless, the Orthodox Church remains the most trusted institution in Georgia. In a February survey carried out by the Caucasus Resource Research Center (CRRC), 95% of respondents had a favourable opinion of its work.

Beka Mindiashvili, a former theologian who is now head of the Tolerance Center at the public defender's office, attributes such high confidence in the Church to the 80-year-old Patriarch, Ilia II. 

"He possesses all the right attributes. He is charismatic, he speaks slowly and each word is regarded saintly, holy," Mr Mindiashvili says. 

"He is a person for everybody. To a simple person, he speaks simply; to a politician, he speaks politically; to an intellectual, he speaks of Umberto Eco and of classical music. And he acquired absolute power in the Church all by himself."

There were only about 50 priests when Ilia II became patriarch in 1977. Today there are approximately 1,700. 

His first major test in power was in 1997, when a number of anti-ecumenical abbots threatened to break communion with him for being too liberal. He avoided a schism by breaking off ecumenical activities and pursuing what philosopher Zaza Piralishvili calls an "imitation of medieval rhetoric". 

Examples of the Church's ultra-conservative interventions included warnings that yoga was full of false "charms" that lured people away from God as well as a recent mass mobilisation against ID cards after some Georgian Orthodox leaders claimed the cards bore the mark of the anti-Christ. 

The Church is recognised for maintaining a neutral political stance and Ilia II is renowned for playing a significant role as mediator in political confrontations, which in Georgia can easily turn violent. 

Professor Iago Kachkachishvili, head of the sociology department at Tbilisi State University, says the Church's political neutrality is a myth. 

"The Church's influence comes from public opinion," he says. "It uses the trust of the people as a source of strength. And every government and politician uses the Georgian Orthodox Church as a source of legitimacy."

While the constitution stipulates a separation between church and state, a 2002 concordat defined this relationship by granting the Church official recognition in Georgia and a special consultative role in the government, particularly in education. 

In 2009, Mikheil Saakashvili's government awarded the Church a $15m (£10m) grant - three times the amount of the previous year - and presented luxury sports utility vehicles to each of the 10 archbishops.

Despite the lavish gifts, many conservative elements within the Church, who are pro-Russian, openly voiced their displeasure with the president. They saw his pro-Western orientation as a threat to Georgian traditions and the Church's influence on the people.

The clash of ideologies came to head in July 2011, when parliament passed a law allowing religious minority groups in Georgia to be registered as legal entities in public law giving them legal protection previously only enjoyed by the Orthodox Church. 

The move was applauded in the West, but the Georgian Orthodox Church saw this as an infringement on its special status. 

Although Ilia II requested the clergy to maintain neutrality in the 2012 parliamentary elections, many priests broke ranks and openly supported the coalition of billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, who had provided the funds to build Tbilisi's Sameba Cathedral, the largest church in Georgia. 

But on 13 May, Bidzina Ivanishvili who by now was prime minister, took an independent stance and became the first Georgian politician to declare openly that sexual minorities were equal citizens of this country. 

Three days later, Ilia II called on the authorities to ban the 17 May demonstration. This marked the first open confrontation between church and state and culminated in expletive-shouting priests chasing gay activists down the main streets of the capital. 

Protesters broke through barricades and police were forced to bus the small number of activists out of the area for their protection.

The day after the attacks, Tbilisi artist Magda Guruli joined some 100 people who rallied in the city centre to call for justice. 

She believes the response to the protest was a manifestation of the patriarch's power over the state. 

"I'm here to say give me back my religion," she said. "Orthodoxy is part of our culture, but who are these people who try to influence society and try to influence their thoughts and try to cultivate blind faith?"

SOCIETY: Why Georgians ‘dine with the dead’ - BBC (georgianews.ge)

(georgianews.ge) BBC reports from Tbilisi, Georgia about common tradition of honouring deceased in certain way during Easter period. “In many Western countries graveyards are seen as sinister or even frightening but not so in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia,” the journalist informs.

“As with other eastern Orthodox countries, it is common for Georgians to honour their deceased relatives by taking food and wine to cemeteries, and having feasts beside the graves. Although practised thoughout the year, Orthodox Easter is one of the busiest times for the tradition”. BBC’s Damien McGuinness joined families in the Georgian capital Tbilisi to find out more about dining with the dead. The Close-up series focuses on aspects of life in countries and cities around the world. What may seem ordinary and familiar to the people who live there can be surprising to those who don't.

KOMMENTAR: Schockiert ... über die Homophobie in Georgien. Von Tatjana Montik

Angesichts der gestrigen Ereignisse in Tiflis fühle ich mich bestürzt oder gar schockiert: Aus einer Manifestation gegen Homophobie im Zentrum der Stadt sind Massenschlägereien geworden, angeführt durch die Vertreter der orthodoxen Kirche.

Ich bin traurig. Denn bis vor kurzem schien es mir, dass die Georgier dem Gott am nächsten stehen, dass der Wille Gottes in diesem Land überall spürbar ist. In meiner persönlichen Empfindung wird dieser Wille direkt durch die Vibration der Berge übertragen. Ich war und bleibe überzeugt, dass die hiesigen Menschen ihre Nächsten, die Kinder, die Frauen und den Gott aufrichtig lieben – mit einer unnachahmlichen bedingungslos reinen Liebe.

Ich dachte, ich hätte hier zum ersten Mal deutlich gespürt, was angewandte Toleranz bedeutet. Ich fühlte mich glücklich, da es schien, dass hier niemand versucht, die anderen Menschen nach seiner eigenen Art umzukrempeln oder sie besserwisserisch zu belehren. Eine weise und bescheidene kleine Nation.

Die Georgier sind fromm und religiös, dessen war ich mir schon immer bewusst. Und dies wirkt auf viele Vertreter der westlichen Welt, die den Gott längst abgelegt haben, verängstigend und gar abstoßend. Doch ich persönlich neigte immer dazu, in der nahezu kindischen Frömmigkeit der Georgier mehr Positives als Negatives zu sehen. Aus einem einfachen Grund, und zwar: Wie vor kurzem eine hier lebende russische Freundin von mir anmerkte, „kann man in Georgien sogar einen Verbrecher schnell zum Gewissen aufrufen, indem man ihn daran erinnert, dass er erst vor kurzem, ja heute sich bekreuzigt und in der Kirche gebeten habe“. Oder man erinnere ihn an die Ehre seiner Ahnen.

Was passierte nun gestern in Tiflis? Aus einem Tag gegen Homophobie, den man weltweit beging, wurde ein Tag für Homophobie. Ich fürchte, diese Ereignisse am Rustaveli Prospekt durchstrichen meine Vorstellungen von Georgiern als der tolerantesten Nation der Welt. Eine Frage ging mir nicht aus dem Kopf: Ist das tatsächlich der Gott, der uns lehrt, all jene, die anders als die Mehrheit leben, denken, fühlen und lieben, zu schlagen und umzubringen?

Im Zusammenhang mit den Ereignissen von gestern habe ich zweierlei Assoziationen. Zum einen ist das die Heimat meines Mannes, Deutschland. Dort wurden im Mittelalter die so genannten Hexen verbrannt. Einige behaupten, damit hätten die Germanen den genetischen Fonds ihrer Nation beschädigt (da die Hexen bekanntlich überwiegend wunderschön waren). Ist das vielleicht der Grund, warum sich viele deutsche Männer heute gezwungen sehen, sich bei der Wahl der Partnerin in anderen Teilen der Welt umzuschauen?

Zum anderen ist das meine Heimat. Ich komme aus Weißrussland. Einst, im Russischen Zarenreich, war in diesem so genannten Nord-Östlichen Gebiet die so genannte Siedlungsgrenze für die Juden. Sie hatten damals die offizielle Erlaubnis, in diesem Teil des Reiches zu leben, doch sie durften keinesfalls weiter gen Osten ziehen, sprich: nach Sankt Petersburg oder Moskau. Und dennoch lebten die Juden in meiner Heimat in immerwährender Angst vor Pogromen, die regelmäßig, gott- und gnadenlos gegen sie veranstaltet wurden. Mitbeteiligt daran waren die gefürchteten so genannten ‚schwarzen Hundertschaften‘ (Tschornyje sotnji), monarchistisch-nationalistischen Truppen, die gegen Juden und Revolutionäre vorgingen.

Ich möchte mich für diese Vergleiche im Zusammenhang mit Georgien entschuldigen. Aber ich kann nicht umhin: Gestern standen mir stets Inquisitionsfeuer und Pogrome der Schwarzhunderter vor Augen.

Dennoch weigere ich mich dagegen zu glauben, dass die Georgier so sind.

TatjanaMontik, Journalistin

Mehr von Tatjana Montik hier im Blog

VIDEO: Statement by The Writer Kote Kubaneishvili (youtube.com)

... its not ortodox cristianity - to treat homosexsuals in this way

... he said that it's shame what he saw on this demonstration, so much aggression, he said i don't want to be georgian, so much darkness here....

more:

Campaign Against Violence - Video


Link: liberali.ge

VIDEO: Über die Georgisch-Orthodoxe Kirche. Von Gia Chubabria (youtube.com)

more to Gia Chubabria

BLOG: Georgia’s Holy Trinity. By Giorgi Lomsadze (eurasianet.org)

President Mikheil Saakashvili and Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili vie in pleasing the patriarch

(eurasianet.org) Georgia’s two squabbling rulers, the prime minister and the president, both need love . . . the love of the country’s spiritual leader, the guardian of national unity, the primus inter pares, Georgian Orthodox Church Patriarch Ilia II.

“You love him more,” Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, apparently in a sudden grip of jealousy, told the patriarch at a January 14 gathering, pointing at President Mikheil Saakashvili, who stood towering over both men with a happy smile.

“Now, why would you say he loves me more?” responded the president, tapping his diminutiverival on the shoulder.

The aging prelate, caught in the middle of the awkward exchange, maintained a diplomatic silence.

The footage of the meeting cuts there, so we don’t know the outcome of this telling conversation, but the party at the patriarch’s showed rather clearly that Georgia’s political system is not a diarchy, but a triumvirate, and that secular leaders need to vie for the holy graces of the chief of the Georgian Orthodox Church.

Georgians’ infatuation with their political leaders is pretty much a one-night stand and they tend to lose interest the moment leaders take office. But the patriarch always tops the national love charts.

And, so, well aware of the patriarch’s star power, Saakashvili and Ivanishvili turned up at the celebrations that marked Orthodox New Year, plus Ilia II's 80th birthday and the anniversary of his 1977 enthronement ; “a celebration of love,” as the church leader himself put it.

Aside from other Georgian politicians, also on hand were visiting foreign clerics, including the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I, head of the Eastern Orthodox Church, who came over from Istanbul to wish His Holiness many happy returns of the day.

There, in a crowd of beards, cassocks and skufias, the president, the prime minister and Parliamentary Speaker Davit Usapashvili sat sharing a tight sofa and holding candles. “I wish that 2013 is the year of love in Georgia,” said Ivanishvili. Then, passing a microphone to the president, he said, without much love, “Here, hold this, Misha.”

“I’d like to join the toast,” the president began. The prime minister wasn't having it: “That would be enough, let’s go,” he interrupted.

And then, as the stately patriarch was walking his two key guests out, a little boyish competition again emerged  -- whom would Ilia II bid goodbye first, and, hence, who is his favorite son?

The patriarch later spoke of the need for love. Georgia could indeed use some.    

TIME: LightBox Pictures of the Week: September 28 – October 5 (lightbox.time.com)

ITAR-TASS /Landov

(lightbox.time.com) Oct. 1, 2012. Billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, the leader of the opposition coalition Georgian Dream, and his spouse Ekaterina Khvedelidze hold candles at the 'Sioni' Cathedral of the Dormition.

GEORGIA: Orthodox Church Looks Askance at Proliferation of Yoga Studies. By Molly Corso (eurasianet.org)

(eurasianet.org) A growing number of Georgians are turning to yoga to shake off the stress of daily life. But their quest for inner calm and smaller waists is generating hostility from the powerful Georgian Orthodox Church.

Over the past two years, yoga has gone from a largely unknown Eastern tradition to a popular fitness routine in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi. Georgian National Yoga Federation President Giorgi Berdzenishvili, a passionate practitioner for the past 15 years, called the trend a “dynamic” process that started under former Soviet leader Mikheil Gorbachev’s glasnost’ policies in the late 1980s.

During the Soviet era, when religious beliefs were discouraged, yoga tended to be viewed as a fringe health-oriented practice, devoid of spirituality, Berdzenishvili noted. But slowly, over the past several years, amid increased Internet usage and travel abroad, yoga has moved into the mainstream in Georgian society.

Today, yoga’s popularity is at an all-time high, instructors say. Classes are full, leading to the opening of several new studios in Tbilisi over the past year. This phenomenon has some Georgian Orthodox priests worried, due to yoga’s spiritual roots in Hinduism, and its perceived association with Buddhism.

While the Patriarchy, the body that governs the Georgian Orthodox Church, did not respond to requests from EurasiaNet.org for the Church’s official position on yoga, dozens of websites devoted to the faith have published articles and blogs that are critical of the practice.

Orthodoxy.ge, a website run by priests at Sioni Cathedral, the former headquarters of the Georgian Orthodox Church, warns the faithful that yoga is full of false “charms” that lure people away from God.

In a long entry entitled “Eastern Culture,” the priests caution that even people who perform “simple yoga exercises … gradually develop some spiritual thoughts” (a broad reference to meditation) that are not compatible with Christianity.

The Church is widely viewed as the most trusted institution in Georgia, and, by extension, Georgian Orthodox priests often wield considerable influence, providing guidance on everything from family planning to purchasing a car.

Local yoga instructors told EurasiaNet.org that priests’ concerns about yoga have stopped some Georgians from taking up the discipline, and have prompted others to abandon it. Mariam Ubilava, a certified yoga teacher at Sun Yoga Tbilisi, said that newcomers often ask before class if meditation is part of the program. “Georgians don’t like meditation so much,” Ubilava said. “Georgians are very strong in their religion and they think if they start meditation, this is related to Buddha and India, and they avoid [it].”

Three years ago, when 38-year-old Nino Kokosadze decided to take up yoga, she noticed that some of the women attending her early morning yoga classes bowed out of the group after their priests “forbade” them from attending.

Kokosadze, who turned to yoga to help with chronic back pain, decided after a few lessons to check with her priest as well. “I am Orthodox, a religious person and already six years I am attending church,” she said during a break at an outdoor yoga session not far from downtown Tbilisi. But Kokosadze’s priest took a more tolerant view. “I told him that some priests prohibited it,” she recounted. “He said that those who know what is yoga won’t prohibit it.”

Many Georgians simply need more information about yoga and meditation, said yoga instructor Ubilava. “[Meditation] doesn’t mean that you become Buddhist or following [sic] the Buddhist religion. It means you forget your daily life, meditate on something.”

Nidhin Kochath Sugathan, a yoga instructor from the Indian state of Kerala, agrees, saying he’d encountered the same concern when he started teaching at Tbilisi’s Yoga Ananda studio. “Georgians had the wrong knowledge that yoga means sitting in the lotus position and chanting only,” Sugathan said.

With time, as practitioners realized that “[b]y chanting one ‘Om,’ they’re not going to change their religion,” the objections vanished, he said.

Nonetheless, after conversations with priests, National Yoga Federation President Berdzenishvili decided to develop a more culturally sensitive version of yoga practice for use in the federation’s classes; one that focuses on fitness, rather than meditation, and does not encourage participants to adopt yoga “spiritual names” or specific forms of dress.

Olga Ramer, the owner of Tbilisi Yoga Cave, one of the first yoga studios to open in the city, noted, that most Georgians today appear as interested in both the spiritual and physical aspects of yoga. “I would say there are more expats who are interested just in [the] physical part,” Ramer said. “The locals who come are actually very spiritual and they want both the physical and the spiritual.”

Those dual aspects of yoga have paid off for Kokosadze, who says that, after three years of regular yoga practice, her back is feeling better and her spiritual life has improved with the stronger powers of concentration acquired from yoga. The three-hour church services she attends each week “pass like a minute because now I am focused on what is happening.”

“[Yoga] has really helped me to concentrate on the main thing,“ she said. “You realize what is the most important in your life.”

Editor's note: Molly Corso is a freelance journalist who also works as editor of Investor.ge, a monthly publication by the American Chamber of Commerce in Georgia.

POLITIK: Georgien - Der Oligarch Bidsina Iwanischwili gegen die georgische Regierungsmacht (zeit.de)

Von Irene Büschleb (zeit.de) - Tue Gutes und sprich nicht darüber: Der Milliardär Bidsina Iwanischwili handelt bisher im Verborgenen. Doch nun will er Präsident Georgiens werden – und wird schikaniert.

Würde James Bond in der georgischen Hauptstadt Tiflis die Residenz des nach der Weltmacht trachtenden Bösewichtes suchen, würde er seine Aufmerksamkeit wohl einem Gebäudekomplex hoch über der Altstadt widmen. Dort auf einem Felsen thront festungsgleich und ein wenig entrückt ein Palast aus Glas und Aluminium. Kommt man der Anlage zu nahe, weisen Männer mit Funkgeräten freundlich, aber bestimmt darauf hin, dass das Privatgelände nicht betreten werden dürfe.

Über den Besitzer kursieren seit Jahre hinweg Gerüchte und Legenden. Er sei ein reicher Oligarch, der sein Vermögen in den neunziger Jahren in Russland gemacht habe. Vor etwa zehn Jahren sei er nach Georgien zurückgekommen. Seitdem gebe er Millionen für wohltätige Zwecke aus. Er finanziere Kirchen, Museen und dergleichen. Intellektuelle und Künstler unterstütze er mit Stipendien. Für die Nachbarn in seinem Heimatdorf fernab der Hauptstadt lasse er Häuser bauen. Er bezahle Strom, Gas und Wasser für sie. Doch praktisch nie zeige er sich in der Öffentlichkeit. Lediglich sein Name blieb kein Geheimnis: Bidsina Iwanischwili.

Über den Besitzer kursieren seit Jahre hinweg Gerüchte und Legenden. Er sei ein reicher Oligarch, der sein Vermögen in den neunziger Jahren in Russland gemacht habe. Vor etwa zehn Jahren sei er nach Georgien zurückgekommen. Seitdem gebe er Millionen für wohltätige Zwecke aus. Er finanziere Kirchen, Museen und dergleichen. Intellektuelle und Künstler unterstütze er mit Stipendien. Für die Nachbarn in seinem Heimatdorf fernab der Hauptstadt lasse er Häuser bauen. Er bezahle Strom, Gas und Wasser für sie. Doch praktisch nie zeige er sich in der Öffentlichkeit. Lediglich sein Name blieb kein Geheimnis: Bidsina Iwanischwili.

Tatsächlich verzeichnet die Forbes-Liste der Milliardäre Iwanischwili auf Nummer 185, mit einem Vermögen von 5,5 Milliarden US-Dollar. Fährt man in sein Heimatdorf Djorvila im Kreis Satschchere, fallen schon von Weitem zahlreiche neue Hausdächer in Rot und Grün auf. Eine dunkelrote Gasleitung verläuft entlang der Straße. In Djorvila ist fast jedes Haus neu erbaut oder frisch verputzt. Das ist kein alltäglicher Anblick in einer Gegend, in der nach dem Zusammenbruch der Sowjetunion weder Industrie geblieben, noch Tourismus oder Landwirtschaft in großem Stil aufgebaut wurden.

Wer Iwanischwili persönlich kennt, spricht gut vom Oligarchen, beim Aufzählen seiner Wohltaten finden die Leute kein Ende. Ob jemand etwas von ihm geschenkt bekomme, entscheide er nicht nach verwandtschaftlicher Nähe, sondern nach Bedürftigkeit. Solche Geschichten sorgten dafür, dass Iwanischwili in Georgien hohes Ansehen erlangte. Es galt als sicher, dass er Kontakte zur
Regierung um Präsident Michail Saakaschwili pflegt. Doch dass er je politisch aktiv werden könnte, hielt kaum einer für möglich – bis zum 5. Oktober.

Ihm wird die georgische Staatsbürgerschaft aberkannt

An jenem Tag sorgte Iwanischwili mit der Ankündigung, er werde eine Partei gründen und Saakaschwili herausfordern, für einen gewaltigen Paukenschlag. Denn praktisch jeder ging davon aus, dass Saakaschwilis Nationale Bewegung bei den nächsten Parlaments- und Präsidentschaftswahlen gewinnen würde. Unklar schien lediglich, ob Saakaschwili selbst weiter in der Regierung bleiben würde. Die Opposition galt als zu schwach. Teils hatte sie sich selbst diskreditiert. Teils liegt es daran, dass unabhängige Medien fehlen und die Opposition keine finanziellen Ressourcen hat.

Die Regierung stempelte Iwanischwili prompt als Gehilfen Russlands ab. Denn vor allem eine Aussage brachte sie in Rage: Saakaschwili habe den Krieg 2008 gegen Russland mit dem Angriff auf Südossetien ausgelöst. Was inzwischen viele Georgier offen aussprechen, ist für die Regierung noch immer ein Affront.

Es dauerte daher nicht lange, da wurde ein Geldtransporter von Iwanischwilis Kartu-Bank mit zwei Millionen Dollar und einer Million Euro beschlagnahmt. Der Vorwurf: Geldwäsche. Auch wurde Iwanischwili die georgische Staatsbürgerschaft aberkannt. Er hatte nach der russischen und der georgischen auch die französische Staatsbürgerschaft angenommen. Die Regierung argumentiert, ihm müsse deshalb laut Gesetz der georgische Pass entzogen werden.

Doch wer ist dieser publikumsscheue Mann? Warum begibt er sich ins Licht der Öffentlichkeit und setzt sich diesen Angriffen aus? Etwas Aufschluss gibt ein Interview in seiner Residenz hoch über Tiflis. Der Hausherr empfängt den Gast an seiner Bürotür. Schmal ist er, etwa 1,65, Mitte 50. Nichts an ihm wirkt extravagant oder überheblich. Iwanischwili tritt als freundlicher und besonnener Geschäftsmann auf. In einer großen Menge würde er nicht auffallen.

Doch wenn es um die Zukunft des Landes oder Saakaschwili geht, wird er emotional. Wie die meisten Georgier habe er auf Saakaschwili gesetzt, als dieser 2004 an die Macht kam. Doch der habe ihn enttäuscht. "Wir haben de facto ein Ein-Parteien-Parlament. Wir haben keine unabhängige Justiz und keine freien Medien. Den Wirtschaftsbereich steuert Saakaschwili zu 99 Prozent selbst", beklagt der Oligarch. "Die demokratischen Institutionen müssen gestärkt werden und die Wirtschaft unabhängig arbeiten können." Über seine Erfahrungen als Wohltäter sagt er: "Eine Auswahl unter den Bedürftigen zu treffen ist schwierig." Mit einem Team habe er Kriterien festgelegt. "Hilfe ist wichtig. Noch wichtiger ist es, den Menschen Jobs zu geben. Dann übernehmen sie Verantwortung."

Iwanischwili will die Beziehungen zu Russland verbessern, ohne das bisherige Ziel Georgiens einer Nato-Mitgliedschaft aufzugeben. Er gibt sich gewiss, dass beides zugleich möglich ist. Er betont, seine Geschäfte in Russland sauber abgewickelt zu haben. Begonnen habe er mit dem Verkauf von Tastentelefonen und Computern – in den neunziger Jahren heißbegehrte Waren in Russland. Später habe er eine Bank gegründet und sie heil durch die Krise 1998 gebracht. Doch wichtiger als alles andere seien ihm seine Frau und seine vier Kinder: "Meine Familie ist meine größte Errungenschaft." Leider lasse ihm die Politik nun nicht mehr viel Zeit, sagt er zum Abschied.

Ob sein Engagement erfolgreich sein wird, hängt auch von seinen Mitstreitern ab. Einer seiner Partner ist inzwischen Irakli Alasania, Ex-UN-Botschafter und im Ausland angesehener Oppositionspolitiker. "Iwanischwili ist ein ehrlicher Typ, geradeheraus", sagt Alasania. Wie Iwanischwili betont er, dass ein Regierungswechsel nur durch Wahlen zustande kommen dürfe. Die Regierung wolle provozieren, doch würden weder Iwanischwili noch er den Gesetzesrahmen verlassen wollen.

Die Stimmung im Land ist gemischt, von Euphorie und Hoffnung bis hin zu Skepsis und Fatalismus. Viele fürchten, die Regierung werde Iwanischwili jede Möglichkeit nehmen, politisch aktiv zu werden. Einen bedeutenden Fürsprecher hat er jedoch: Der hoch angesehene und einflussreiche Patriach der orthodoxen Kirche, Ilia II., forderte in seiner Sonntagspredikt, Iwanischwili die georgische Staatsbürgerschaft zurückzugeben. Schließlich sei er in Georgien geboren. Was der Katholikos nicht erwähnte, aber jeder weiß: Einen Teil der etwa 650 Millionen Euro an Spendengeldern gab Iwanischwili für Kirchenbauten aus, unter anderem für die Sameba-Kathedrale. Von seiner Residenz aus kann Iwanischwili sehen, wie sie allabendlich in hellem Licht auf einem Hügel gegenüber erstrahlt.

+++

Georgien: Im Land der Möchtegern-Präsidenten
Georgiens Präsident Saakaschwili versucht, den Wählern Angst vor der Opposition einzujagen. Unnötig! Denn die ist ohnehin viel zu schwach. Von Johannes Voswinkel, Moskau
[weiter ...]

Kaukasus-Konflikt: Georgien wirbt um Bürger in abtrünnigen Provinzen
Georgien will den Konflikt mit Abchasien und Südossetien durch direkte Kontakte zwischen den Bürgern entschärfen. Das geht aus einer neuen Strategie der Regierung hervor. Von Claudia von Salzen [weiter...]

GESPRÄCH: Der rechtliche Status von Kirchen und Religionsgemeinschaften in Georgien (kas.de)

Datum/Uhrzeit: 2. Februar 2011, 14.00 - 17.30
Ort: Deutsches Haus Tiflis, ელენე ახვლედიანის აღმართი № 4, Tiflis, Georgien
mit Paata Gachechiladze, Union “21 Century“
Zakaria Kutsnashvili, Jurist

Expertengespräch
Die Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung unterstützt die Union “21 Century“ bei der Durchführung eines Expertengesprächs zum rechtlichen Status von Kirchen und Religionsgemeinschaften in Georgien.

14.00 Uhr
Eröffnung
Katja Christina Plate
Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung
Leiterin des Regionalprogramms Politischer Dialog Südkaukasus

14.10 Uhr
Einführung in den aktuellen Rechtsstatus von Kirchen und Religionsgemeinschaften in Georgien
Paata Gachechiladze
Union “21 Century“

14.20 Uhr
Der Rechtsstatus und die Registrierungsverfahren für Religionsgemeinschaften nach dem georgischen Recht
Zakaria Kutsnashvili
Jurist

14.50 Uhr
Die Ansichten der Kirchen und Religionsgemeinschaften
Armenische Apostolische Kirche
Evangelisch-Baptistische Kirche in Georgien
Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Georgien
Jüdische Gemeinde in Georgien
Katholische Kirche in Georgien
Amt der Muslime im Südkaukasus

15.30 Uhr
Die Ansichten der Staatlichen Institutionen
Georgisches Parlament
Justizministerium
Ministerium für Reintegration

16.00 Uhr
Die Ansichten Internationaler Experten
Internationale Standards
Die Erfahrung der Europäischen Union
Die Erfahrung der USA
Die Erfahrung Georgiens

16.30 Uhr
Abschlussdiskussion

17.00 Uhr
Ende

Ansprechpartner
Bidzina Lebanidze
Projektkoordinator "Parteienzusammenarbeit und Regionale Zusammenarbeit" (Büro Tiflis)
Tel. +995 32 459113
Fax +995 32 747887
bidzina.lebanidze@kas.de

Webportal Friedensdialog der KAS Südkaukasus

EINLADUNG ZUM LÄNDERABEND: Die Autorität der orthodoxen Kirche in Georgien (copernicus-stipendium.de)

Copernicus Berlin e.V. lädt am Mittwoch, dem 2. Februar 2011, um 19.00 Uhr zu einem Länderabend mit dem Thema "Die Autorität der orthodoxen Kirche in Georgien" in die Räume der Heinz-Schwarzkopf-Stiftung in der Sophienstraße 28/29, Berlin Mitte herzlich ein.

Die orthodoxe Kirche Georgiens ist eine der ältesten christlichen Kirchen der Welt. Bei der Nationalbildung des Landes hat sie eine wichtige Rolle gespielt. Auch heute weist die orthodoxe Kirche in Georgien nicht nur zwischen Georgiern, sondern auch zwischen Aserbaidschanern, Armeniern, Katholiken und Juden eine hohe Autorität auf. Die georgische Copernicus-Stipendiatin Nino Gugushvili studiert Sozial- und Politikwissenschaften an der Staatlichen Universität Ivane Javakhishvili in Tiflis. Nino gibt einen Einblick in ihr Heimatland und diskutiert, welche Rolle die orthodoxe Kirche in der Geschichte Georgiens hatte und welche Rolle sie heute einnimmt. Welche Probleme gab es nach dem Zerfall der Sowjetunion? In welcher Beziehung stehen Kirche und Regierung zueinander? Geht eine Gefahr aus dem religiösen Extremismus hervor? Anschließend besteht die Möglichkeit, Fragen zum Thema zu stellen und die Diskussionsrunde mit eigenen Beiträgen zu bereichern.

Der Verein lädt die Teilnehmer im Anschluss an die Veranstaltung zu weiteren Gesprächen im informellen Rahmen bei einem kleinen Buffet mit Getränken und selbst zubereiteten, osteuropäischen Spezialitäten ein. Der Eintritt ist frei.

Spenden für die Arbeit des Vereins sind willkommen. Diese Einladung kann gerne an Freunde und andere Interessenten weitergegeben werden!

Mit freundlichen Grüßen
Vorstand und PR-Team von Copernicus Berlin e.V.

Copernicus Berlin e.V.
im Internet: Webseite +++ Blog +++ bei Facebook +++ bei Twitter

Copernicus Berlin e.V. ist ein von Studenten, Absolventen und jungen Berufstätigen getragener gemeinnütziger Verein, der in den zehn Jahren seines Bestehens 69 Studenten aus 20 Ländern ein Stipendium in Berlin ermöglicht hat. Neben dem Studium an einer deutschen Universität absolvieren die Stipendiaten ein mehrmonatiges Praktikum und werden von Mentoren intensiv und persönlich betreut. Das Stipendium wird über Stiftungsgelder, Spenden und Patenschaften finanziert. Einen besonderen Aspekt des Copernicus-Stipendienprogramms ist die Unterbringung und Verpflegung der Stipendiaten in Berliner Gastfamilien.
Für weitere Informationen steht Ihnen unser Pressebeauftragter per E-Mail: presse@copernicus-stipendium.de zur Verfügung.

Copernicus Berlin e.V., Paulinenhof, Sophienstrasse 28/29, 10178 Berlin - Vorstand: Clara Kemme, Nicole Haag, Sina-Mareen Grasmück - Vereinsregisternummer: VR 20436 B - Spendenkonto: Kontonummer 993 940 400 / Bankleitzahl 100 800 00 / Dresdner Bank

WEBSITE: THE UPDATES 2010 by Eistein Guldseth from Norway (gotocaucasus.com)

Eistein Guldseth was last time in Georgia and he published new stories on his amazing magazine website about Georgia!

THE UPDATES 2010 features a look at the wine production in the Racha region where the famous Kvanchkhara wine is produced. I will take you on a fantastic tour in extreme nature to Shatili, a medeval fortress in the middle of the mountains. I also attend Leo and Nana's orthodox re-marriage, an emerging tradition after decades of repression during communism. After a short visit at the local barbershop in Tkibuli, I visit Gelati, the "new Athens".

Best regards
Eistein Guldseth, editor
gotocaucasus.com
7018 TRONDHEIM, NORWAY

© 2004-2010
Email: eistein@guldseth.com

NEW CULTURE A look at the wine production in the Racha region where the famous Kvanchkhara wine is produced.

NEW DESTINATION A fantastic tour in extreme nature to Shatili, a medeval fortress on the Chechen border.

NEW CULTURE Leo and Nana's orthodox re-marriage, an emerging tradition after decades of repression.

NEW PEOPLE Need a shave or a haircut? This is the place to go! A short visit at the local barbershop in Tkibuli.

NEW DESTINATION We visit Gelati, one of Georgia's most holy places, and source of knowledge for the nation

CEREMONIA: Orthodox Christians mark Easter (bbc.co.uk)

Orthodox Christians have been marking Easter at celebrations throughout Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

Georgia 'battle'
Video: Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili joined worshippers to celebrate Easter

In neighbouring Georgia, President Mikhail Saakashvili attended an Easter service in the Tbilisi Central Trinity cathedral with his wife and two sons.

Mr Saakashvili has been facing opposition calls for him to step down for the past week.

Protesters have taken a short break for the Easter festivities, but opposition leaders have vowed to launch the "final stage of the battle" after the holidays.

"It is a great celebration for the entire Orthodox world," President Saakashvili said in the cathedral. "Georgia, as one of the most ancient Christian nations, is celebrating it and we are sharing it with all the Orthodox Christians worldwide."

full article >>>

CULTURE:

THE GEORGIAN CALENDAR

JANUARY - ianvari
1. - New Year
14. - Old - New Year (for Orthodox Christians).
17. - Martyrs of Shio-Mgvime: Evagresi, Diacon Ilia and others.
21. - Saint ABO of Tiflis (786 AD).
27. - Saint Nina , Nino (IV century).
28. - Salome of Ujarma (IV century).

FEBRUARY - Tebervali
1. - Saint ANTONY (Martkopheli, the Hermit, VI century).
8. - Saint DAVID IV, the Victorious, (King of Georgia and Defender of the Faith, 1125 AD).
11. - St. Ashot Curapalati (Martyr in Temple of Artanuji, 829 AD).
17. - St. Evagrisi (the disciple of Shio-Mgvimeli).
19. - St. Arsen Ikaltoeli (1127 AD).
23. - St. Ioane Chimchimeli (Philosopher, XIII century).
25. - Feast Day of Icon of Most Holy Theotokos of Iberia [Georgia], also, Prokhore of Georgia (a reestablisher of Holy Cross Monastery in Jerusalem, XI century), and also St. Nikolz Dvali (Martyre by Muslims in Jerusalem, 1314 AD).

MARCH - marti
3. - Mother's Day; also St. Nikoloz Catholicosi (1591 AD).
7. - The Nine Brothers of Kola - SS. Guram, Adarnase, Baqar, Vache, Bardzim, Dachi, Juansher, Ramaz and Pharsman (were stoned, VI century).
16. - Ioane Catholicos ("Oqropir", 1001 AD).
23. - Ioane of Khakhuli (was called as "Oqropiri", X-XI cent.).
25. - King Dimitry (Tavdadebuli, 1289); Day of reestablishing Independence of Georgian Church (1917) from Russian jurisdiction (new choosen Patriarch Kirion II was killed in 1918 by Russian Tsarists).
29. - Pimen of Salosi (Enlightener of North Caucasus peope, XIII century).

APRIL - Aaprili
10. - St. Ioane bishop of Mangleli (1751 AD).
14. - St. Ioane Shavteli and Evlogy of Salosi.
15. - St. Giorgi Matskevereli (IX-X cent.).
17. - St. Giorgi Mtsire (IX century).
23. - Saint mothers (nuns) of Qvabtakhevi Monastery (1386); and also "Glory of Georgian Language".
28. - Saint CYCHIUS and 16 Georgian Martyrs: Andria, Anastasi, Talale, Theodorite, Ivqirion, Iordane, Kondrate, Lukiane, Mimnanos, Nerangios, Polyevqtos, Iakob, Phoka, Domentiane, Biqtor and Zosime.

MAY - maisi
1. - St.Basili Ratishvili (XIII century).
2. - Day of Didube (Diduboba).
3. - 6000 Martyrs in the David Garejeli Monastery (1616 AD).
14. - Saint Queen Tamari (1213 AD).
16. - Saint Mamai Cathalicos (744 AD); also Miqael and Arsen of Georgia - of Ulompo (IX century).
20. - Saint JOHN ZEDAZNELI and the thirteen Syrian Fathers: Abibos Nekreseli, Anton Martmkofeli, David Garejeli, Zenon Ikaltoeli, Tadeoz of Stephantsminda, Ise of Tsilkani, Ioseb of Alaverdi, Isidore of Samtavno, Miqael of Ulompo, Piros of Breta, Stephane of Khirsa and Shio of Mgvime (VI century); and also Akaki Asistavi (303 AD).
22. - Saint SHIO OF MGHVIMELI (Mghvime), the Anchorite (VI cent.)
26. - INDEPENDENCE DAY OF GEORGIA; and also Saint EUTHYMIUS of Athos, the translator (1028).
31. - Saints DAVID and TARICHAN, brothers (693 AD).

JUNE - ivnisi
1. - SAINT NINO (Nina), Her entrence into Georgia (323 AD).
5. - King Dimitry, the writter of Georgian Sacred song "You are a grape garden..." (1157).
9. - St. Basili, the son of King Bagrat III.
14. - Holy Fathers: Shio of Akhali, David, Gabriel and Pavle of Gareja, (were killed by Leks [Dagestanians] during 1696-1700 AD).
15. - St. Dodo of Gareja (596 AD).
16. - St. David of Gareja ("Mamadavitoba" in Tbilisi, VI century).
22. - St. Ioane of Shavtel-Gaenati (XIII century).
25. - St. Tornike of Athos (Ioane).
29. - Saint Qaikhosro of Georgia (1558 AD).
30. - Saint Shalva of Akhaltsikhe (1227AD).

JULY - ivlisi
4. - Saints ARCHIL (784 AD) and LUARSAB II (1622 AD).
10. - Saint GEORGE of Mount Athos (1065).
13. - Day of Twelve Apostles. SVETITSKHOVLOBA; Public baptism in the river Aragvi.
25. - Saints JOHN (Euthymu's father) and GABRIEL (X century).

AUGUST - agvisto
3. - Saint SALOME OF GEORGIA (martyred by Muslims, XVIII cent.); also Saint Ilia Chavchavadze (was killed by Russian Tsarists, 1837-1907 AD); and also Day of Angel of Georgian Catholocos - Patriarch - Ilia II.
Saint ILARION OF TVALI (XI century)
11. - Saint EUSTHATHIUS of Mtskheta (589 AD).
13. - St. Arsen, Bishop of Ninotsminda (1082).
16. - Saint RAJDEN, Martyred in village Tsromi (457).
21. - St. Eqvtime, Elder of Monastery of St. John Baptist (1804).
25. - SS. Geronti, Seraphion, Herman, Bessarion, Miqael and Svimeoni (were killed in the monastery of Gareja, 1851).
28. - Day of Sion (Sionoba).
29. - Saint ANTONY of Martkofi (see also Jen.19); Day of Anchiskhati Cathedral (Anchiskhatoba); Saint Qristophore of Guria.
30. - St. Qristodule (Philosopher, XII century).

SEPTEMBER - seqtemberi
2. - Day of Didgori (Didgoroba).
3. - St. Sarmean, Catholocos of Qartli (779 AD).
10. -Saint SHUSHAINIK (Susanna), Queen and Martyr (475 AD).
14. - Begining of Indiqtion - New Year according to Church Calendar.
21. - Day of Didube and Gelati (Diduboba, Gelatoba).
26. - Saint KETEVAN, Queen of Kachetia, Martyr (1624 AD).
28. - Saint JOSEPH of Alaverdi (570 AD).
29. - Saint ISAAC and JOSEPH, Martyred in Karnu (808 AD).

OCTOBER - oqtomberi
1. - Saint BIDZINA; and two brothers from Ksani - SS. SHALVA and ELIZBAR (1661).
8. - Saint Arsen the Great (Catholocos, 887 AD).
12. - St. Onophre of Gareja (XVIII century).
14. - Commemoration of the miracles wrought by the holy tunic of OUR LORD, JESUS CHRIST; also St. King Mirian, Queen Nana and St. Sidonia (sister of Jew rabbin - Abiatar, IV century); Day of Mtskheta (Mtskhetoba-Svetitskhovloba).
15. - Saints DAVID and CONSTANTINE (Mkheidze, 740 AD).
17. - Saint Evdemoz Catholicos (martyr, 1642 AD).
18. - Saint GREGORY of Khandza (861 AD).
20. - St. Elder Ioseb (1763 AD).
26. - Saint Antony, Mitropolit of Chkondidi and his disciple Elder-monk Iakob (1815 AD).
29. - Martyr Longinoz of Asistavi (a witness of suffering of Jesus Christ, I century, AD).
30. - Saint Joseph (Catholicos, 1770 AD).

NOVEMBER - noemberi
10. - Saint NEOPHYTUS of Urbani, Martyr (VII century).
11. - Saint SERAPHION of Zarzma (900 AD).
12. - St. Iotham Zedgenidze (1465 AD).
13. - Memorial Day of 100,000 martyrs in Tbilisi (1227 AD).
17. - SS. Ioane, Stephan and Isaia of Georgia (846 AD).
23. - St. King Konstantine (martyr, 852 AD).
30. - Saint MIQAEL of Gobron (914 AD).

DECEMBER - dekemberi
2. - Saint HILARION of Georgia (875 AD).
12. - Saint ABIBOS, Bishop of Nekresa, Martyr (VI century).
13. - The entrence of the Apostle Andrea in Georgia (62 AD); and St. King Vakhtang Gorgasali (502 AD).
15. - Saint IESSE, Bishop of Tsilkani ("Tsilknoba", VII century).
24. - Day of all Georgian Fathers and Mothers.
25. - Intronozation Day of Georgian Catholicos-Patriarch ILIA II ,his Consecration to the Patriarchacy.

The Fallowing are movable:
* Saint SHIO of Mgvime (another commemoration); - Thursday before Great Lent.

* Shota Rustaveli, the Poet, a reestablisher of Holy Cross Monastery in Jerusalem; - Monday after Pentacost.

* The Monks of Saint David Garesja monastery (Martyrs under Shah Abbas); - Tuesday in Holy Week.

* Saint DODO, Wednesday of the seventh week after Pascha (Easter).

* Saint DAVID of Garedsja , Thursday of the seventh week after Pascha (Easter).

There is a similarity between the Georgian and Byzantine (Greek) Kalendars. The following saints, however, are commemorated by the Georgians. Some of them are also included in the Armenian Kalendar.This list is complited, with slight variations, from "Georgian Church Kalendar", by BESIKI SISAURI. Have some comments or ideas, please, feel free and write.

Source: Georgian Orthodox Calendar