According to a report in the Liberali magazine , the Girchi (Pine cone) party registered the religious order with the Justice ministry in March, giving them the state-recognised power to issue a document saying that a person is a priest. "Georgian law exempts a priest serving a religious organisation from compulsory military service," Girchi leader Iago Khvichia explained, "Therefore, if a person is still conscripted into the army, it is a clear and flagrant violation of their rights."

The Girchi leadership was at pains to point out that the new religious order - named the Christian Evangelical Protestant Biblical Freedom Church of Georgia after several failed attempts to earn government approval - would not take any old riff-raff into its ranks. "He cannot be a fascist nor homophobe or xenophobic. He is obliged to spread the idea of freedom in society," Mr Khvichia said. The Girchi party opposes military conscription, which was restored in the country last November.