The Georgian Church condemned the use of the name of Saint Gabriel by a Russian Armed Forces unit fighting against Ukraine
Kyiv • UNN
The Georgian Orthodox Church called the use of the name of Gabriel Urgebadze by a Russian unit fighting against Ukraine unacceptable. The Church stated that it does not support justifying the war in his name.
The Georgian Orthodox Church has categorically condemned the use of the name of Venerable Gabriel Urgebadze—a monk who became famous for his open resistance to Soviet rule—in the name of a Russian military unit fighting against Ukraine, UNN reports, citing Georgia News.
"For us, the use of the name of Venerable Father Gabriel for military units is categorically unacceptable. His entire life was devoted to faith, preaching love and compassion for humanity. The authors of the initiative are clearly poorly acquainted with his life. Against this backdrop, the aforementioned action is perceived as a biased speculation involving the name of the Church," said Archpriest Andria Jagmaidze, head of the Georgian Orthodox Church's public relations service.
He stressed that the unit had been created without any consultations with Tbilisi and expressed regret that representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church had supported the idea.
"The Georgian Orthodox Church distances itself from the use of Venerable Gabriel's name to justify or support military actions," Jagmaidze added.
During his lifetime, Archimandrite Gabriel was an uncompromising opponent of the Soviet regime, whose successor the Kremlin considers itself today. During a May Day demonstration in Tbilisi in 1965, he publicly burned a 12-meter portrait of Lenin on the building of the Supreme Soviet of the Georgian SSR. For this, the monk was subjected to severe persecution, interrogations and torture by the Soviet secret services.
The existence of the "Urgebadze unit" became known in January 2026—the information about it and a photo of a flag bearing the Georgian saint's image were circulated by the Russian Orthodox Church's military department and the 1st Motor Rifle Brigade of the Russian Federation.
The issue received widespread attention after the recent visit to occupied Donetsk by pro-Kremlin Georgian activist Besik Danelia.
Russian state media reported this week that "Georgian volunteers" had provided the "unit named after Saint Gabriel Urgebadze" with equipment and mobile prayer rooms.
In a video from Donetsk, Danelia calls Russian soldiers "brothers" who are defending "Orthodoxy, Russia, Georgia and justice," and concludes his speech with the phrase, "Victory will be ours."
In Russian media, Danelia was presented as a "philanthropist from Georgia." However, in Tbilisi he is known as a pro-Russian activist loyal to the Georgian Dream government: in the past, he was a member of Nino Burjanadze's United Georgia party and a co-founder of the Anti-Maidan movement. In 2025–2026, Danelia participated in meetings of Tea Tsulukiani's special commission investigating the actions of Georgia's former authorities and also regularly broadcast media rhetoric about the need for "apologies to the separatist regions."