ORTHODOX leaders in Georgia and Romania have called for “common sense” and warned clergy to “remain neutral” as the political landscape in both countries moved towards Moscow.
In Georgia, there have been protests against a new pro-Moscow government, while a pro-Moscow candidate took the lead in Romanian presidential elections.
The Georgian Church’s Holy Synod said: “However great we consider ourselves, we must not forget that man is made in the image and likeness of God.
“We ask young people and demonstrators as a whole to show common sense and observe the limits of protest. We also ask law enforcement officers to show maximum patience and observe the scope of legal action, and for the state to inform the public swiftly about violations and investigations.”
The appeal was published as street violence continued in Tbilisi, Batumi and other cities against the decision by the Georgian government to call off accession talks with the European Union until 2028.
The Synod said that a “serious confrontation”, exceeding “legality and morality”, was now in prospect, despite previous church appeals, and threatened to undermine the “peaceful coexistence of citizens”.
As parallel tensions mounted in Romania, the majority Orthodox Church also urged calm, and cautioned that clergy who violated their ordination oath by engaging in “partisan politics” would have to choose “between a political career and the clerical mission”.
“The Romanian Orthodox Church does not advise supporting any political party or ideology — it urges all citizens to make choices according to the country’s good and Christian values,” the Synod said.
“To respect the political options of his faithful, the priest is obliged to maintain neutrality during election campaigns, both in public statements and in practical activity, expressing his own political option only by secret personal vote.”
The pro-Moscow Georgia Dream party, in power since 2013, claimed fresh victory in Georgia’s October parliamentary elections, suspending EU negotiations and announcing a presidential vote for 14 December.
The election outcome has not been recognised, however, by either the EU or the United States. The new government’s moves have been branded illegal by Georgia’s pro-Western President, Salome Zourabichvili, amid mass arrests by police, using water cannon, teargas, and rubber bullets.
In Romania, the unexpected election victory last month of a far-Right candidate, Calin Georgescu, fuelled suspicions of outside meddling, but the result was validated by the Constitutional Court on Monday.
Voter surveys suggest that Mr Georgescu will defeat his centre-right competitor, Elena Lasconi, in Sunday’s run-off presidential ballot, raising questions about Romania’s support for neighbouring Ukraine, and its pro-Western stance as an EU and NATO member-state.
In its statement, the Romanian Synod called on political parties not to recruit clergy or use church premises and services “for political purposes”.
Clergy had the “freedom, blessing and duty” to oppose “measures or activities contradicting Orthodox Christian teachings”, it said, but could not join political organisations, run for election, or hold state positions.
“Each person’s vote should faithfully reflect shared values and beliefs, constituting not a cause of social unrest but the natural exercise of a democratic right,” the Synod warned.