T b i l i s i — A new law on religion has taken effect in Georgia. As reported by the media in the Caucasus republic, non-orthodox religious organisations will now be legally protected. According to the new law, they can be officially recognised, if they have an historical connection with Georgia, or are recognised as a religious organisation by another member of the Council of Europe. Up until now, only the Georgian Orthodox church has enjoyed this right.

The original draft of the law allowed the official recognition of only five other religious organisations, including the Baptists, as well as Islamic and Jewish organisations. In the version of the law that has now been passed, no names are listed.

The first woman Baptist bishop, Rusudan Gotsiridze, put forth great effort to have the listing of names eliminated, and thus extending legal recognition to all groups currently active in Georgia. She called a meeting of the leading representatives of the five religions and persuaded them to give up being specifically named in the proposed law, in order to make general religious freedom possible. In the end, the Georgian Parliament also agreed to this proposal.

In a statement to the European Baptist Press Association, the spiritual leader of the Baptists in Georgia, Archbishop Malkhaz Songulashvili, compared the decision with the Edict of Tolerance issued by the Emperor Constantine in the 4th century: “In my view the new rights for religious minorities in Georgia will enhance further development of democracy in our country.”

Georgia is a country steeped in Christianity. As early as 327, Christianity was declared the national religion. 84 percent of the 4.4 million Georgians belong to the Georgian Orthodox Apostolic church; 10 percent are Muslim; 200,000 inhabitants belong to the Armenian Apostolic Church, 60,000 to the Armenian Catholic Church. About 5,100 believers in 75 local churches belong to the Baptist minority.