George the Hagiorite into a vibrant center of Georgian Orthodox culture. At some point between 1052 and 1057, George left his fellow monk George of Oltisi in charge of the Iviron monastery, and set off to Antioch to appear before the Patriarch to defend his brethren, accused by a group of the Greek clerics of heresy. The dispute quickly evolved around the canonical legality of the autocephaly of the Georgian Orthodox church, which had originally operated within the framework of the see of Antioch, but had been becoming increasingly independent since the 6th century. In defense of the Georgian autocephaly, George was referring
Catholic Church in the Dominican Republic Catholic Church in the Dominican Republic The Catholic Church in Dominican Republic is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome. The Catholic Church is the world's largest Christian Church, and its largest religious grouping. There are an estimated 7.6 million baptised Catholics in the Dominican Republic, (78% of the population), in 11 territorial dioceses and one military ordinariate, served by 800 priests. Within the Dominican Republic the hierarchy consists of: The Dominican Republic offers religious freedom, but the Catholic Church still enjoys certain favors, in particular due to a 1954 concordat with