In 1801, the kingdoms of present-day eastern and central Georgia were occupied and annexed by the Russian Empire. The Russian authorities abolished the independent status of the Georgian church and made the region subject to the Russian Orthodox Church; the use of the Georgian language in the liturgy was suppressed, and many church buildings in Georgia were defaced and fell into disrepair.Rapp (2010), p. 150. The Georgian Orthodox Church (GOC) reasserted its autocephaly after the overthrow of Tsar Nicholas II in 1917,Rapp (2010), p. 151. but the Georgian church was subjected to renewed harassment in the 1920s and 1930s by the newly created Soviet Union, during the rule of the Georgian-born Soviet leader, Joseph Stalin.Rapp (2010), p. 152.
In 1801, the kingdoms of present-day eastern and central Georgia were occupied and annexed by the Russian Empire. The Russian authorities abolished the independent status of the Georgian church and made the region subject to the Russian Orthodox Church; the use of the Georgian language in the liturgy was suppressed, and many church buildings in Georgia were defaced and fell into disrepair.Rapp (2010), p 150. The Georgian Orthodox Church (GOC) reasserted its autocephaly after the overthrow of Tsar Nicholas II in 1917,Rapp (2010), p 151. but the Georgian church was subjected to renewed harassment in the 1920s and 1930s by the newly created Soviet Union, during the rule of the Georgian-born Soviet leader, Joseph StalinRapp (2010), p. 152.