Guram Lursmanashvili

The Georgian and Ukrainian nations, as well as the Georgian and Ukrainian Orthodox Church traditions, have many things in common. These common features are often associated with Russia, as both the Ukrainian and Georgian nations have tried to break away from both the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. This aspiration was frequently reflected in matters of faith. In 2019, the bestowal of the Tomos of Autocephaly to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) by the Ecumenical Patriarch was a remarkable event in the recent history of the Orthodox Church. Some local Orthodox Churches recognized this autocephaly, while others have not yet recognized it. The Orthodox Church of Georgia (OCG) belongs to the latter group. In this article, we discuss the arguments that the OCG and her representatives use to justify their position of not recognizing the autocephaly of the OCU. At the same time, our goal is to outline the prospects for the recognition of the autocephaly of the OCU by the OCG.