Georgian Patriarch Says Surrogate Children 'Problematic'

Georgian Patriarch Says Surrogate Children 'Problematic'

By RFE/RL's Georgian Service

January 07, 2014

TBILISI -- In his Christmas address to the nation, Georgia's Orthodox Patriarch Ilia II said that children born by surrogate mothers or through artificial insemination will be "problematic" in their adulthood.

He also said that families with such children cannot be happy.

The patriarch's address was read by Archdeacon Demetre Davitashvili on January 7.

Ilia also said that the European Union should understand and respect Georgia's traditions and mentality.

The patriarch said that Georgia, as a Christian nation, has always been part of European culture and traditions.

However, he said the line between what Christians consider good and evil has been vanishing in the modern world.

In his address, Ilia hailed a statement made last month by EU ambassador Filip Dimitrov in which he said that legalizing same-sex marriages would not be a condition for Georgia joining the EU in future.