The decision of the Scientific Board of the Theological Academy, according to which the lecturer Gocha Barnov was dismissed, was not unexpected for the theologian himself.
Barnov says he was advised to apologize for his own critical statements and to change the opinion, otherwise he knew that his suspended status would not be restored.
According to him, he will not change his position and will openly speak about the problems in the theological academy and will not take back his statement regarding the issue of autocephaly of the Ukrainian Church. Barnov does not exclude to appeal to the court and the Public Defender to defend his rights.
Temur Buuadze, the lecturer of the Theological Seminary and Academy, agrees with Gocha Barnov"s statements and says that the decisions in the seminary are taken unilaterally. According to him, the seminary does not have free environment. There are taboos in this institution that can not be touched.
27 out of the 30 members of the Council supported Gocha Barnov"s release from the theological academy and three went against.The Council of the Theological Academy named as the reason the public statements made by the Theologian on the autocephaly of Ukraine.