99% of Georgians believe that the Georgian Patriarchate should recognize the OCU

An electronic survey was conducted by the "Global Church News - Church Youth of Georgia".

99% of respondents (5,897 people) support the recognition of the Ukrainian Self-Governing Church by the Patriarchate of Georgia.

1% of respondents (84 people) do not support the recognition of the OCU.

The Patriarchate of Georgia has not yet made an official decision on the recognition of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

However, to date, as RISU has reported, the Georgian Orthodox Church is closer than ever to recognizing the autocephaly of the OCU. Russia's invasion of Ukraine has hit the hierarchs of the Georgian Church. It is no coincidence that Patriarch Ilya of Georgia became the first Primate of the Orthodox Church of a foreign country on the morning of February 24, who called for an end to military operations in Ukraine, "otherwise they will escalate into a global tragedy."

Bishops and metropolitans of the Georgian Orthodox Church also condemned the invasion of Ukrainian territory by the Russian army, recalling that "20% of our country is occupied by Russia."

According to Orthodoxtime.com, which cited its "reliable sources", Patriarch Ilya may raise this issue at the next meeting of the Holy Synod of the Georgian Orthodox Church, which will most likely be held in May.

The same sources say that the proposal is expected to be approved by the overwhelming majority of Synodal hierarchs, as most of them even supported the recognition of the Church of Ukraine headed by Metropolitan Epifaniy, among them - 13 permanent members of the Synod with the right to vote.

The same sources informed Orthodoxtimes.com that after the latest statements of the Metropolitans and bishops of the Georgian Church, the Moscow Patriarchate urgently contacted Tbilisi and demanded to stop any steps to recognize Ukrainian autocephaly.

13 bishops of the Georgian Church expressed support for recognising the OCU.