The paper raises the question of the role of the orthodox church in contemporary processes of collective identity construction in Georgia (South Caucasus). The Georgian society is currently in a transition process where the Soviet values, norms and system of relationships are devaluating gradually whereas new ones have not yet been established. We assume that the orthodox church has been strengthening its influence on society and contributing much to the construction of national identity since Georgia regained independence in 1991. In our paper, we retrace the evolution of the orthodox church and show how its role has changed from being a state-controlled, tolerated institution in the Soviet Union to a today independent and influential institution, attempting to impose a hegemonic definition of Georgian national identity. We argue that in this process, the content and practical meaning of Christianity have been redefined so as to accommodate leading interests and that its ideology is likely to replace the Marxist-Leninist one. Our study builds on the existing literature and an extensive body of both primary and secondary data: archival research, the World Values Survey 2006, analysis of the press and ecclesiastic publications, as well as several case studies. Beyond the Georgian case, our paper tackles the issue of the future of democracy and of religion-based nationalism in the South Caucasus.
