TBILISI, October 29 – A Tbilisi priest who has given a string of fiery TV interviews, was stripped of his post on Wednesday.
Father Dorote Kurashvili was removed as head of the Bethlehem Nativity Church after a showdown with church authorities over whether journalists could attend his disciplinary hearing. Patriarch Ilia II reassigned him as a cleric at Holy Trinity Cathedral the same day, according to an order released by the Patriarchate.
The dispute escalated at the Patriarchate in Tbilisi, where Dorote Kurashvili had been summoned before an eparchial commission. He arrived with several clergy and insisted he would only take part if reporters were allowed in. Church officials told him media access was out; Kurashvili said he would not enter without them. The session did not go ahead.
The Patriarchate had already said its position was unchanged: no press inside the commission room. Its spokesman, Fr. Andria Jaghmaidze, called the demand “inadmissible” and “unprecedented,” reiterating that the hearing would proceed without cameras.
Kurashvili, who was called in over “disciplinary, moral and slanderous” breaches in his public statements, fired back that a commission member was in a conflict of interest and argued that because the case concerns his televised appearances, journalists should be present. “They didn’t let me bring journalists with me,” he told reporters outside. He also framed his stance as part of a pro-European position and accused senior clergy of aligning with the government.
Later Wednesday, the eparchial commission asked the Patriarch to remove Kurashvili as rector for “ignoring” and “insulting” the body and for failing to appear with a “valid” excuse. The commission listed its attendees, including Locum Tenens Metropolitan Shio (Mujiri) as chair, and detailed quotes it said showed ongoing violations. The Patriarch signed the reassignment order at 18:01 local time.
The controversy also drew political comment. Parliament’s first vice speaker Gia Volski said he “did not believe” what he had seen and suggested the priest’s rhetoric contradicted basic Orthodox teaching, adding that clerical disputes should be handled within church structures.
