As if the state mattered : Georgian Orthodox Church under Covid crisis
(2023) In Routledge Religion, Society and Government in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet States- Abstract
- This chapter examines the nature of the interaction between the Georgian Orthodox Church (GOC) and the state during the pandemic. The article shows how the church’s gradual acknowledgment of the deadly character of the virus coincided with a strict adherence to certain highly risky religious practices (such as communion from the same spoon), while the Georgian government’s stance in defense of public health was unsystematic and accommodative to the church’s pressure. Despite numerous attempts of individual clerics, especially urban and youngers priests, the official statement of the patriarchate of the GOC did not change. The church remained abstained on the vaccination front by neither officially calling the religious population to... (More)
- This chapter examines the nature of the interaction between the Georgian Orthodox Church (GOC) and the state during the pandemic. The article shows how the church’s gradual acknowledgment of the deadly character of the virus coincided with a strict adherence to certain highly risky religious practices (such as communion from the same spoon), while the Georgian government’s stance in defense of public health was unsystematic and accommodative to the church’s pressure. Despite numerous attempts of individual clerics, especially urban and youngers priests, the official statement of the patriarchate of the GOC did not change. The church remained abstained on the vaccination front by neither officially calling the religious population to vaccinate nor rejecting the positive effects of vaccination in the mitigation of virus. Suffice it to state that the Georgian government’s vaccination campaign has been inconsistent and unsystematic with several senior state officials and top medical experts sending mixed signals to the population about vaccination. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/f34b2256-b0a8-4a28-9092-23aaec503303
- author
- Metreveli, Tornike LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2023-11-30
- type
- Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Georgian Orthodox Church, Vaccination against COVID-19, lived religion, Territoriality, political theology, covid-19
- host publication
- Orthodox Christianity and the Covid-19 Pandemic
- series title
- Routledge Religion, Society and Government in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet States
- editor
- Metreveli, Tornike
- pages
- 19 pages
- publisher
- Routledge
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85181788289
- ISBN
- 9781032445595
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- f34b2256-b0a8-4a28-9092-23aaec503303
- date added to LUP
- 2022-09-06 14:23:29
- date last changed
- 2024-02-26 04:04:06
@inbook{f34b2256-b0a8-4a28-9092-23aaec503303,
abstract = {{This chapter examines the nature of the interaction between the Georgian Orthodox Church (GOC) and the state during the pandemic. The article shows how the church’s gradual acknowledgment of the deadly character of the virus coincided with a strict adherence to certain highly risky religious practices (such as communion from the same spoon), while the Georgian government’s stance in defense of public health was unsystematic and accommodative to the church’s pressure. Despite numerous attempts of individual clerics, especially urban and youngers priests, the official statement of the patriarchate of the GOC did not change. The church remained abstained on the vaccination front by neither officially calling the religious population to vaccinate nor rejecting the positive effects of vaccination in the mitigation of virus. Suffice it to state that the Georgian government’s vaccination campaign has been inconsistent and unsystematic with several senior state officials and top medical experts sending mixed signals to the population about vaccination.}},
author = {{Metreveli, Tornike}},
booktitle = {{Orthodox Christianity and the Covid-19 Pandemic}},
editor = {{Metreveli, Tornike}},
isbn = {{9781032445595}},
keywords = {{Georgian Orthodox Church; Vaccination against COVID-19; lived religion; Territoriality; political theology; covid-19}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{11}},
publisher = {{Routledge}},
series = {{Routledge Religion, Society and Government in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet States}},
title = {{As if the state mattered : Georgian Orthodox Church under Covid crisis}},
year = {{2023}},
}