‘Saint Stalin’ Religious Icon in Georgia’s Church Sparks Outrage

Georgian authorities are investigating a vandalism incident at Sameba Holy Trinity Cathedral in Tbilisi, Georgia, after an icon of Saint Matrona of Moscow alongside Joseph Stalin, was covered in paint.

The religious icon first started to draw attention late last week when footage of it was shared on Facebook by Ilia Chigladze, a Georgian archpriest. Not long after this, Giorgi Kandelaki, a member of the country’s main political opposition group, European Georgia Party, and a researcher at the Soviet Past Research Laboratory, shared further footage on his social media channels.

In #Georgia, unknown persons poured blue paint on the icon of Matrona of Moscow in Holy Trinity Cathedral of Tbilisi, which has an image of Stalin on it

The icon became a subject of controversy in Georgia when a video from the cathedral was published by former MP Giorgi… pic.twitter.com/nqbgIOs9LO

— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) January 9, 2024

Joseph Stalin Depicted in Icon

In addition to the twentieth-century Russian Orthodox Church saint, both Chigladze and Kandelaki claim one of the smaller icons flanking the central piece depicts the Georgian-born leader of the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin.

According to reports from the Georgian news agency Interpress, an unknown person splashed blue paint on the icon.

Orthodox Times says Georgia’s interior minister has begun an investigation into the incident, bringing with it a heightened security presence around the holy building. The defaced icon has reportedly been cleaned, and police officers are patrolling outside the cathedral to keep the building, and its icons, safe.

The questionable icon has led to debates as to whether it really does depict Stalin, according to Orthodox Times.

Speaking with Georgian media outlet Tabula on Saturday, the head of the Patriarchate’s public relations department Andria Jagmaidze reportedly did not deny that Josef Stalin was pictured in the icon but said that the icon’s main focus was on Saint Matrona and not the Soviet leader.

Stalin tribute installed in Georgian cathedral

An icon depicting the Soviet leader has been installed in the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Tbilisi, Georgia pic.twitter.com/WRMk60Whkg

— COMBATE |🇵🇷 (@upholdreality) January 7, 2024

“If somewhere on the fresco of St. George [the Roman Emperor] Diocletian is depicted, this does not make it an icon of Diocletian,” he told the Georgian outlet, adding that the controversy over the icon was a ploy to overshadow the Orthodox Christmas celebration on January 7th.

OC Media reported that the following day, leader of Georgia’s conservative Alliance of Patriots party Davit Tarkhan-Mouravi announced he had donated the icon to the cathedral, stating that Stalin had met Matrona for counsel during World War II.

According to OC Media, Tarkhan-Mouravi cited Matrona’s official biographer in his statement, but the Georgia-based St. Paul’s Orthodox Christian Theology center claimed that no other historical sources confirm that Stalin had met Matrona.

Archimandrite Ioane Mchedlishvili of the Holy Trinity Cathedral said on Sunday that the icon had only been in the cathedral “for several months,” according to OC Media.

The outlet reported on the same day that Gocha Barnov, a theologian, told TV channel Mtavari Arkhi that the icon’s presence in the cathedral was “blasphemous,” and it should be removed immediately.