Concordat of 2002


The Constitutional Agreement between the Georgian state and the Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Georgia, informally referred to as the Concordat, is an agreement between the Georgian Orthodox Church and the state that defines relations between the two entities. It was signed by President of Georgia Eduard Shevardnadze and Patriarch of Georgia Ilia II on 14 October 2002 at Svetitskhoveli Cathedral in Mtskheta, Georgia.
Some of the concordat’s provisions, including the consultative role of the church in education, require implementing legislation yet to be adopted by parliament.
Under the concordat, the Georgian Orthodox Church was the only officially recognized religious denomination in Georgia. Although other minorities such as Catholics and Muslims had freedom to exercise their religion, they could officially register their religious groups only as organizations, and not as churches. Under the concordat, smaller branches of Eastern Orthodoxy in Georgia such as the Russian Orthodox Church were also subject to the jurisdiction of the GOC on all territory within the Georgian state. However, since July 2011 religious organizations in Georgia can be registered as legal entities under public law.