page_title: New Political Center — Girchi
section_title: Christian Evangelical Protestant Biblical Freedom Church of Georgia
hierarchical_section_title: New Political Center — Girchi / Activism / Christian Evangelical Protestant Biblical Freedom Church of Georgia
caption_attribution_description: English: Logo for Girchi's Shmaxi initiative, established to in opposition to legislation passed on Taxis in Georgia
context_page_description: Girchi is a political party in Georgia. It was founded with the declared aim of creating a novel political centre based on the principles of classical liberalism and libertarianism. Girchi promotes itself as being open to youth willing to participate in politics. The party was established in November 2015, after four lawmakers quit the United National Movement, the former ruling and then parliamentary minority party. The party is chaired by Iago Khvichia. The name Girchi translates to pine cone and is a symbol of freshness and greenery that is also associated with the third-eye and the enlightenment.
  Girchi is the first Georgian online party that rejected a standard party structure and methods of political struggle by selecting Facebook as the main hub of its activities and as a platform of communication. From August to September 2016, Girchi was briefly a part of Paata Burchuladze's State for the People election bloc which they quit just eleven days before the upcoming parliamentary election, citing "serious problems in terms of management".
context_section_description: In March 2017, the Public Registry of the Ministry of Justice of Georgia officially registered Girchi's church, the Christian Evangelical Protestant Biblical Freedom Church of Georgia. Georgian legislation provides special privileges and exemptions for the clergy and students at theological schools, including the deferment of compulsory military service. Biblical Freedom used the provision, the so-called legislative loophole, for the benefit of young men and issues state-recognised documents to those who do not wish to join the army, certifying that they are priests. It serves to effectively exempt them from mandatory military service, so that they can lead their lives according to their own free will, values and opinions. The consecration process takes ten minutes.
  Girchi fights for individual liberty and considers the mandatory one-year term of military service for youngsters to be a manifestation of state violence against its citizens and constitutes a contemporary form of slavery. Girchi established Biblical Freedom for the sole purpose of helping young men to avoid military service and, to date, has helped approximately 25 000 men from having to either undertake the term or having to pay 2 000 GEL for postponing it for one year. Girchi believes that this is an immoral legal mechanism, extorting money from the citizenry for the benefit of the state. People of various backgrounds have approached Biblical Freedom for help. Congregants of the Georgian Orthodox Church, Muslims, Protestants, Catholics and even atheists are among them.
  According to Girchi whether a human being is trained in combat or undergoes any other type of non-military service is not of principal importance. For the party members any form of labour or service is unacceptable if it occurs through use of force by the State. This sentiment underpinned a concerted protest action directed against the draft law proposed by the Chairman of the Defence and Security Committee, Irakli Sesiashvili on 13 March 2019 within the framework of which he asked the Parliament to abolish the law allowing priests of any religious denomination to postpone their compulsory term of military service. The amendment would not affect priests of the Georgian Orthodox Church, due to a Constitutional Agreement between the Church and the Georgian state, creating an alternate legal regime. It was obviously directed against Biblical Freedom. According to the bill introduced by Irakli Sesiashvili, young men who refuse to complete Mandatory Military Service on the basis of their religious beliefs, personal endeavours or conscience will have to undertake a term of non-military service.
  The initiative was proposed despite the fact that the Constitutional Court of Georgia has already noted in its decision that:
  The recognition of the special role of the Church (the Georgian Christian Orthodox Church) is related to its historical merits and does not serve as means for creating privileged legal conditions for the Orthodox Christianity in the future. The historical merits shall not be considered as a legitimate source of privilege. The differentiation and creation of privileged legal conditions are not and shall not be the objective of the Constitution.
  
  The said initiative was supported by the most influential religious institution in Georgia, the patriarchate of Georgia. The statement was made on the official website of the Georgian Orthodox Church that referred to Biblical Freedom as constituting a pseudo-religion that is engaged in anti-state actions: 
  Exemption from the compulsory military service is a commonly accepted practice and we support it. A non-military alternative service should also be guaranteed by the state.
  However, all the necessary measures must be taken to prevent pseudo-religious organisations from abusing this practice for the purposes of implementing their mercantile interests which is a manipulation of religion and an obvious case of anti-state action.
  Girchi's and its supporters' public outrage against the bill that included press briefings and public statements turn
caption: Logo for Girchi's Shmaxi initiative, established to in opposition to legislation passed on Taxis in Georgia
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