Freedom of religions in Georgia is provided for by the country's constitution, laws, and policies. In practice, the Georgian government generally respects religious freedom; however, the Georgian Orthodox Church enjoys a privileged status in terms of legal and tax matters, involvement in public schools, and property disputes. There have been efforts by private citizens, local government officials, and local Georgian Orthodox Church leaders to harass and persecute members of minority religious groups and interfere with their worship activities; despite calls for tolerance and respect for pluralism by government leaders, the Georgian central government has not been successful in preventing such incidents.
The Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Georgia, commonly known as the Georgian Orthodox Church or the Orthodox Church of Georgia, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in full communion with the other churches of Eastern Orthodoxy. It is Georgia's dominant religious institution, and a majority of Georgian people are members. The Orthodox Church of Georgia is one of the oldest churches in the world. It asserts apostolic foundation, and that its historical roots can be traced to the early and late Christianization of Iberia and Colchis by Andrew the Apostle in the 1st century AD and by Saint Nino in the 4th century AD, respectively. As in similar autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Christian churches, the church's highest governing body is the holy synod of bishops. The church is headed by the Patriarch of All Georgia, Ilia II, who was elected in 1977.
Ilia II, also transcribed as Ilya or Elijah, is the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, the spiritual leader of the Georgian Orthodox Church. He is officially styled as "Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, the Archbishop of Mtskheta-Tbilisi and Metropolitan Bishop of Bichvinta and Tskhum-Abkhazia, His Holiness and Beatitude Ilia II."
St. Ambrosius was a Georgian religious figure and scholar who served as the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia from 1921 to 1927. Best known for his opposition to the Soviet regime, he was canonized in 1995 by the Georgian Orthodox Church as Saint Ambrosius the Confessor.
A catholicos is the head of certain churches in some Eastern Christian traditions. The title implies autocephaly and, in some cases, it is the title of the head of an autonomous church. The word comes from ancient Greek καθολικός, derived from καθ' ὅλου from κατά and ὅλος, meaning "concerning the whole, universal, general"; it originally designated a financial or civil office in the Roman Empire.
The Sioni Cathedral of the Dormition is a Georgian Orthodox cathedral in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. Following a medieval Georgian tradition of naming churches after particular places in the Holy Land, the Sioni Cathedral bears the name of Mount Zion at Jerusalem. It is commonly known as the "Tbilisi Sioni" to distinguish it from several other churches across Georgia bearing the name Sioni.
St. Kyrion II was a Georgian religious figure and historian who served as the first Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia after the restoration of independence (autocephaly) of the Georgian Orthodox Church from the Russian Orthodox Church in 1917 until his assassination in 1918. He was canonized by the Georgian Holy Synod in 2002.
Leonid (Leonidas) was a Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia from 1918 to 1921.
Christophorus III was a Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia from 1927 until his death.
Baselios Marthoma Mathews I was the primate of Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, also known as Indian Orthodox Church. He was the 5th catholicos of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church and 18th Malankara Metropolitan.
St. Callistratus was a Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia from June 21, 1932, until his death. His full title was His Holiness and Beatitude, Archbishop of Mtskheta-Tbilisi and Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia.
Melchizedek III was a Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia from 1952 until his death. His full title was His Holiness and Beatitude, Archbishop of Mtskheta-Tbilisi and Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia.
David V (Georgian: დავით V, born as Khariton Devdariani was a Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia from July 2, 1972, until his death. His full title was His Holiness and Beatitude, Archbishop of Mtskheta-Tbilisi and Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia.
Anton II the Great Martyr, born Prince Royal Teimuraz, was a member of the Georgian royal family and churchman. A son of Heraclius II, the penultimate King of Kartli and Kakheti, he was the Catholicos Patriarch of Georgia from 1788 to 1811.
Anton I, born as Teimuraz Bagrationi, was the Catholicos–Patriarch of the Georgian Orthodox Church in the period 1744–1755 and again in 1764–1788.
Arsen of Tbilisi, born Iese (იესე), was a Georgian churchman and scion of the royal line of the Bagratid House of Mukhrani. Arsen was also known by the surname Naibadze (ნაიბაძე) after the title of his father. He was Metropolitan Bishop of Tbilisi with the title of Tbileli from 1795 to 1810 and is known for his controversial role in the Georgian church affairs in the early years of the Russian rule.
Sergo Vardosanidze is a Georgian historian. He serves as the Professor and Rector of the Saint Andrew the First-Called Georgian University of the Patriarchate of Georgia.
Shio Mujiri, born Elizbar Mujiri, is a Georgian Orthodox hierarch who became bishop of Senaki and Chkhorotsku in 2003 and Patriarchal locum tenens in 2017.
