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“The forces involved in disclosing the details of the alleged covert surveillance are trying to use the Church to manipulate elections,” said Archpriest Andria Jagmaidze, Head of the Public Relations Department of the Georgian Orthodox Church about the alleged leaked State Security Service files.

“Illegal surveillance and disclosure of such materials are completely unacceptable if proven,” he said on September 14, adding that commenting about the details will only be possible after the investigation “more or less” sheds light on the issue. “Before that, a lot of things are unclear, and the truth and lies are mixed.”

Noting that the Orthodox Patriarchate has no access to the leaked files, Archpriest Jagmaidze appealed to media outlets to share them with the Church.

The GOC has not yet issued an official statement about the leaked documents.