Shota Kintsurashvili’s doctoral dissertation, entitled “In Search of Orthodox Social Ethics: The Case of Georgia — A Theological and Sociological Analysis,” has been published by the academic publisher LIT Verlag in Germany.From a Christian social-ethical perspective, this study examines the major social and societal challenges facing independent Georgia and explores the role of the Georgian Orthodox Church in understanding and addressing these challenges.
It focuses on issues including the conflicts in Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region, the 2008 Russian-Georgian War and the subsequent occupation, the situation of internally displaced persons, poverty and social inequality, labour migration, economic dependency and over-indebtedness. It also addresses the growing prevalence of various forms of addiction among young people, including drug addiction, alcohol dependence and gambling addiction, as well as the problem of suicide.
A central question of the study is the extent to which the Georgian Orthodox Church recognises these issues as part of its social responsibility and how it responds to them pastorally and through its social-ethical engagement. Particular attention is given to the Church’s approach to peacebuilding, conflict transformation, the consequences of occupation, support for internally displaced persons, social inequality, and the challenges facing young people.
The study also examines the extent to which the Church’s public and prophetic voice corresponds to the actual needs of society, and how ethical assessments of these issues, grounded in the Orthodox theological tradition, can be translated into practical forms of social action. In this context, particular significance is attached to diakonia as a practical expression of the Church’s social responsibility and its ministry within society.
The research aims, through the case of Georgia, to demonstrate the potential for developing an Orthodox social ethic and to highlight the importance of strengthening the Church’s institutional diaconal ministry in responding to contemporary social challenges.
The book brings together perspectives from Orthodox social ethics, Public theology and Diakonia, examining their significance within the context of contemporary social transformation in Georgia. The dissertation was submitted to the Faculty of Theology at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU Munich) in the field of Christian Social Ethics. It was successfully defended on 3 March 2026 and received the grade magna cum laude. It is worth noting that, in German-speaking academia, doctoral candidates are required, upon completion of their doctoral dissertations, to publish their work through an academic publisher, either as a printed book or in electronic form, in order to make the knowledge generated by their research accessible to a wider audience.
The dissertation received the highest distinction, magna cum laude. The book is available on the publisher’s website: LIT Verlag.
