F. In this way, Protoper Andria Jagmaidze mentioned the agitation that caused the order of Joseph Stalin's icon to be placed in the main Orthodox church of Georgia – Trinity Cathedral (Samebi) throughout the country.
“Depicting Stalin on the icon does not mean that he is the object of prayer,” said the spokesman. He noted that the images of the saints may also have negative figures and “Stalin is not a person to whom people pray.” Referring to Christmas and Epiphany (January 6 and 7 in the Julian calendar), he emphasized that “this is not the first time that someone wants to overshadow them with a scandal, to sow hatred among people. heart instead of joy.”
Stalin “speaks about the situation at the front”
The said image was donated to the cathedral by the “Patriots Alliance” party, whose general secretary Irma Inashvili explained that her organization received the icon in Russia and now handed it over to the church. “In fact, it depicts the meeting of the Holy Matrona of Moscow (Matrona Nikonova, 1885-1952) with Stalin, who, forced by circumstances, told him about the difficult situation at the front,” said the general secretary of the “Alliance”. ”
He also stated that his party is not going to apologize to anyone for its actions, because “this icon is the work of a prominent artist who has extensive knowledge and is made in accordance with the requirements of the art of icon painting.” He did not mention the name of the creator of the image.
His group is in favor of close ties with Russia, and its members often visit the country, with which Georgia has not had diplomatic relations since August 2008.
The display of the icon, in which the former Soviet leader dressed in a military coat stands in the foreground, and the saint sits behind, caused a great stir in the country. This was noticed for the first time by one of the leaders of “European Georgia”, Giorgi Kandelaki, who took a photo of the painting and published it on the Internet with the comment: “We are on the right path, comrades, another success of Russia.” Propaganda in the information war: the initiator of the destruction of Georgia's independence, the murderer of thousands of priests and the creator of the Soviet totalitarian system were buried on the icon of the Trinity.
When the picture was shown on the main television channel “Mthivari”, some clergymen and theologians demanded its immediate removal from the temple. And it was in response to these demands that the GKP representative spoke.
The icon itself caused controversy in 2008, when it was first shown to St. Olga in St. Petersburg, local parish priest, Fr. Ihumen Eustachy (Zhakov). As a result of the protest of believers, he moved the picture to his apartment. At that time, the Moscow Patriarchate considered the priest's behavior to be a manifestation of “sectarianism” and imposed a church fine for displaying the non-canonical icon in public.
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Kill God! Satanic plan of Lenin and Stalin
(Tags translated) Andria Zaghmaidze