The Georgian Patriarchate has invited priest Vissarion (Aplia), the head of the so-called “Abkhaz orthodox church”, to Tbilisi to discuss “problematic issues”.

The offer followed the address of the Abkhaz religious group to the Georgian and Russian Patriarchs, demanding independence from the Georgian Orthodox Church. The letter, inviting Aplia to Tbilisi, was published on the “Abkhaz orthodox church’s” website.

Aplia refused this proposal and said that the issue of the “Abkhazian Church” should be resolved only in Russia.