TBILISI, December 15 – Georgia’s Orthodox Church has suspended the rights of Father Dorote, a well-known cleric, to conduct priestly services. The decision quickly drew cricism from former president Salome Zourabichvili.
The Patriarchate’s public relations service said Monday that Dorote, a cleric at Tbilisi’s Holy Trinity Cathedral, has been stripped of the right to perform priestly rites. The order was signed by Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II and says the sanction is based on “repeated violations” of church canonical ethics.
The decision follows days of escalating tension. In a sermon on Sunday, Dorote said he had been summoned to a Patriarchate commission for Tuesday at 14:00. He claimed there was an order to “neutralize” him and said the accusation against him was that he had insulted members of the commission and committed slander. He questioned why the same commission he complained about would be the body summoning him.
The Patriarchate previously took disciplinary action when on October 29, an eparchial commission said Dorote’s actions showed disciplinary and moral violations, including slander and behavior deemed inappropriate for a priest or monk. By order of Ilia II, Dorote was removed as head of the Bethlehem Church of the Nativity of the Savior and reassigned as a cleric at the Holy Trinity Cathedral.
In recent weeks, Father Dorote has also emerged as a visible public supporter of ongoing opposition protests in Tbilisi, repeatedly addressing demonstrators at gatherings near Parliament on Rustaveli Avenue, where he delivered sermons and statements critical of the authorities.
In those appearances, Dorote framed the protests in moral and spiritual terms, urging participants to remain peaceful while describing civic resistance as a matter of conscience. His involvement drew sharp reactions online and in political circles, with supporters portraying him as a rare clerical voice aligned with public protest, while critics accused him of crossing the line between religious service and political activism.
The Patriarchate’s order does not reference Dorote’s protest activity or political statements. Church officials have explained the disciplinary action strictly as a matter of internal ecclesiastical conduct. Dorote, however, has publicly linked the move against him to his recent activism, a claim echoed by some of his supporters, including former president Salome Zourabichvili, who has appeared at demonstrations backing the cleric.
After Monday’s suspension, Zourabichvili condemned the Patriarchate’s decision and said she was heading to Rustaveli Avenue to show solidarity with Dorote. She said she would never believe the Patriarch agreed with injustice.
Dorote responded in comments reported late Monday night, saying the suspension would not stop him, though he claimed it could embolden the government to jail him. He also criticized senior church figures by name and said he would continue speaking out, even if only “as a citizen.”
