THE GEORGIAN APOSTOLIC ORTHODOX CHURCH IN THE 1940s-1950s

Abstract

The religious policy of the Soviet Union in Georgia was mainly based on the principle of separation of the state and the church and reducing the latter’s influence on society. This policy was based on Lenin’s doctrine, according to which the power of the Church over the people should completely disappear in the future.
Supposed elimination of religion on a daily basis had been an important element of the communist doctrine, which provided for intensive propaganda and the introduction of anti-religious Marxist-Leninist views into the education system. To that end, socialist ideals were expected to be strengthened.
The Georgian Orthodox Church tried to maintain itself under these conditions and pursue a compromise policy. The leaders of the church realized that undisguised opposition would only increase the pressure from the state, thus they chose the path of cooperation with the Soviet government. However, they kept working on strengthening autocephaly and their position in the international arena.
The essay studies the contradictions in this policy that raise questions about ecclesiological and ethical choices. Above all, it must be said that the compromise policy played a positive role in the gradual restoration of religious autocephaly in
the wake of coexistence with the Soviet agenda.