At worship, Russians and Georgians leave politics at the door

As Orthodox Easter Sunday officially began at midnight April 19, a candlelit procession of several hundred worshipers formed, whispering in Russian and Georgian has they winded around the cathedral’s grounds.

Despite the turbulent relationship between their two countries, Washington’s Georgian and Russian populations continue to worship together under the same roof at St. Nicholas Cathedral on Massachusetts Ave. Particularly on Easter – the most important Orthodox holiday – the intermixed worshipers balked at the idea of politics dividing church unity.

“We don’t separate ourselves and our religion for political questions,” said George Makhatadze, who immigrated to the United States from Georgia about a year ago.

Before coming to the United States, Makhatadze worked in Moscow for several years, and said he was discriminated against for openly supporting Georgia’s “modern government” – the pro-American regime of President Mikhail Saakashvili. Nonetheless, he maintains that Georgia’s cultural and religious ties to Russia supersede the politics of the day.

“People do not separate here, and with the historic connections we have with Russia, you shouldn’t divide [this community],” he said.

Although there may be no tension between the communities in Washington, relations between their respective countries have hit an all-time low. Following the rise to power in 2003 of President Saakashvili, the Russo-Georgian relationship has progressively worsened. In October 2006, in response to the arrest of four Russians in Tbilisi on espionage charges, Russia initiated an embargo against Georgia and deported hundreds of Georgian citizens.

Then, in 2008 after months of gradually escalating actions and rhetoric regarding the status of South Ossetia, one of Georgia’s two break-away republics, the two countries came to all-out war. Although a cease-fire was quickly met, hundreds died in the five-day conflict.

Beginning April 9, thousands of members of the Georgian opposition have taken to the streets in the capital demanding Saakashvili’s resignation. In the past Saakashvili has claimed the opposition was financed and organized by Russian agents.

Makhatadze downplayed the impact of these events on the Orthodox community.

“If you should break us apart then you should decide everything based on politics. All of this has to do with Georgia wanting to join NATO, it is not an issue with the church,” he said. “We have all these issues between our countries, but here these are not important, even Ossetians are Orthodox.”

Lara Strijivoba, a worshiper at St. Nicholas of Russian-Moldovan descent, agreed. She said she had many close Georgian friends, and felt that recent tensions had little effect on relationships between people in the two communities in Washington. However, sitting outside the cathedral on for the noon service on Easter Sunday, she said things are different for the younger generation.

“Today it is more difficult to make Georgian friends, because the younger generation doesn’t remember the time when we were part of the same country,” she said.

As she said this, dozens of children dressed up for the holiday scurried across the Cathedral lawn gathering painted eggs as their Russian, Georgian and American parents chatted with clergy members.