Georgian Orthodox Diocese Slams Anti-Vaccination Stand of Clergy

A US airman receiving a COVID-19 vaccine. Pic. Wiki

OCP News Service – 3/9/21

Tbilisi-Georgia: A statement from the Poti and Khobi dioceses of the Georgian Orthodox Church slammed the anti-vaccine speech of clergy. The meeting was chaired by Metropolitan Grigol Berbichashvili. Only a handful of Georgian clergy support vaccination.

“Statements of distrust in modern medical advances is a sign of the contradiction between knowledge and faith; the spiritual and intellectual heritage of mankind is based on the convergence and mutual recognition of these two phenomena – faith and knowledge” according to the statement, reports jam-news.net

Interestingly, Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II last month urged the faithful and priests to comply with Covid measures. The faithful were advised to use masks, disposable cups, maintain social distance and take other precautionary measures. However, the Patriarchate do not participate in vaccination, instead  supports the decision made by the health authorities according to Yekaterina Tikaradze, the Health Minister of Georgia.

Source:
OCP News Service