The aims and activities of the Centre:

In Georgia the theoretical foundations of the academic discipline of canon law, together with the relevant normative acts and their practical application, present a wide range of research issues, the study of which carries not only theoretical but also practical significance. To the present day, both Georgian humanities and ecclesiastical practice itself display a great need for academic study of original Georgian and translated canon law documents. The following questions need to be answered: in what way and how accurately did the legal ecclesiastical norms function in Georgia? In what way did it, and does it, relate to civil law? To which body of canon law did the church refer for guidance? Does ecclesiastical canon law still apply today, and does it still keep its initial function in essence and in real terms? What kind of changes can canonical norms be subject to, etc.?

The purpose of establishing the Canon Law centre is, on the one hand, to analyze the norms of canon law in the Georgian Orthodox Church, their existence, meaning, genesis, and classification, and, on the other, to understand the place of, and enhance the functioning of this component in current church life. Also, is the study of canon law linked with socio-political processes? And the most importantly, the goal of the centre is to study and develop such an important field of Georgian humanities as canonicity in the doctrine of church government.