It has happened again. Members of Central Baptist Church, Tbilisi, Georgia, were beaten in an attack at the church on Jan. 24 before a scheduled ecumenical service.
This second attack comes after last February’s attack on the central warehouse for the church where hundreds of Bibles were burnt under the shadow of a cross.
“Many people had been invited to this meeting including parliamentarians, politicians, academicians, diplomats and representatives of all major Christian confessions in Georgia,” said Malkhaz Songulashvili, president of the Evangelical Baptist Union and pastor of the church. “Before all of these people arrived at the church, however, a group of ultra-fundamentalist Orthodox, led by Mkalavishvili, started an attack on the church.”
After trying to defend the church by locking the gates, members of the church, on site to prepare for the worship service, were physically and verbally abused. Otar Kalatozishvili, deputy minister of the Central Baptist Church, was mercilessly beaten during the attack. After a meeting with the chief of police, it was agreed that the meeting would not be held and all protestors and church members and guests would leave.
Attack on all churches
“Mkalavishvili’s people pretended to leave the place, but instead they started beating our people and robbing them of their personal property,” Songulashvili said. “After the mob had left, the area police made the necessary investigations, and we were able to continue with our service. This attack was an action not only against the Baptist church, but against all Christian churches in Georgia.”
The Baptist World Alliance has written a letter of protest to Eduard Shevardnadze, president of the Republic of Georgia. Theo Angelov, General Secretary of the European Baptist Federation also wrote a letter to Shevardnadze. “The authorities must make radical actions, otherwise the result will be devastating. Things that are taking place in Tbilisi and in some other places are now starting to overwhelm the country. The time has come for both authorities and society to raise their voice against religious terrorism,” Angelov wrote.
Songulashvili and other leaders have appealed to the government for help, however, Songulashvili said, “We are more than certain that unless there is serious pressure from Western nations nothing is going to be changed. Letters to the U.S. senators and ambassador in Tbilisi will help. It will be also helpful if foreign ministers of European Union countries and their ambassadors in Tbilisi receive letters from different people, churches and organizations.
Copies of those letters should be sent to: Evangelical Baptist Church of Georgia, 6, Kedia Str., 380054 Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia.
(BWA)
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