“The media use hate speech when talking about the church”; “We are now being offered a life dominated by robots and human imperfection”; “The lines are now blurred between the traditional human identities – male and female”, the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II stated in his Easter address on May 2.

“Much like you and I, unbelievers realize that every person is imperfect. But instead of communicating with God and seeking spiritual cleansing, they wish to have robots perform all the main functions and let artificial intelligence fill in the gaps”.

“Philosophers call this stage of the societal evolution ‘posthumanist’ and speak of a deliberate violation of generally accepted norms, the decline of state institutions, and a decline in the level of education”.

A large part of the Patriarch’s Easter address is devoted to a discussion of traditional gender identities, masculine and feminine, and the dangers to family values:

“Modern atheistic thinking is aiming to create a different reality, revise the fundamental principles of human existence, erase the line between the real and the imaginary […] and establish new, hitherto unknown forms of control and power”.[Патриарх Грузии говорил о гендерной идентичности и роботах в пасхальном обращении к народу 2 мая 2021 года]The Patriarch also stated that many journalists are spreading hate speech against the Church: “the government will only be able to strengthen the country if it helps revive people’s spirituality”.

The pandemic has made serious changes in the traditional celebration of Easter in Georgia and the authorities’ decision to introduce further restrictions caused discontent among the population. The most painful decision was to prohibit access to cemeteries as traditionally, people visit the graves of their deceased family members during Easter week. The new measure is intended to avoid large crowds gathering at the cemetries.

The outrage was also caused by the government’s decision to stop all public transport, including the metro, for a rather long period of time – from May 3 to May 12.

However, much like in 2020, the church refused to impose additional restrictions, although it encouraged people to keep their distance and wear masks, during the communion, believers still drink from the same vessel.