Metropolitan Job called for a change of power in Georgia: "The government has exhausted itself."
Metropolitan Job (Akiashvili) of Roisko-Urbanisi delivered a poignant sermon in which he stated that Georgia's current government had "completely exhausted its potential" and the country needed better management. A video recording of the sermon delivered on November 10 at the Urbanis Cathedral was published on the diocese's social media page.
According to the Metropolitan, "it is necessary to sound the alarm", as this cannot continue any longer. He noted that, as is customary all over the world, governments change, and Georgia must also choose a better government in the future, since today "there is no sense of protecting national interests" in the country.
Job called the authorities "infidels" and "far from the church", and also announced "an attempt to merge the church and the state". In his opinion, since the state finances the church, it is increasingly difficult for the clergy to speak openly about the government's mistakes. He also criticized a significant portion of the clergy, noting that many clergy "began to resemble government officials."
In his sermon, the Metropolitan touched on other issues: the spread of drug addiction and gambling addiction, the popularization of casinos, corruption, demographic problems, the exodus of teenagers and the emptying of villages. Separately, he touched on the scandal with the "file" of the State Security Service in 2021, saying that the publication of the materials was intended to discredit the church, and the perpetrators have not yet been identified.
The response of the authorities:
The member of parliament of the Georgian Dream, Levon Machberiani, said that the political assessments of the Metropolitan "are completely incorrect and wrong". According to him, "It is unfortunate when a senior pastor makes such political statements and uses the church and pulpit for this purpose."