In post-Soviet Georgia, the relationship between the Georgian Orthodox Church [GOC] and the politics manifest itself in two ways: the instrumentalization of GOC by the political parties and the government, as well as the attempts by GOC to strengthen its political infuence. This paper tries to go beyond a purely institutional level and explores the deeply internalized perception of Christian Orthodoxy as a core element of Georgian identity. Such perception leads to formation of diferent societal groups consolidated around diferent religious beliefs and political views. This article analyzes controversies and clashes between these groups during a confict occurred on May 17, 2013, when a small antihomophobic event was attacked by a big group of counter-protestants. The study focuses on this case and uses, as its core methodology, in-depth interviews, participant observation and interpretive analysis. Keywords: religion, politics, secularization, modernity, traditional, national identity, public space, social confict, confrontational sides. Dzhanelidze B. Religion, Politics and modernity in Georgia: Debates around the events of May 17, 2013.Gosudarstvo, religiya, tserkva v Rossii i za rubezhom [State, Religion, Church in Russia and Abroad]. 2016. N2. pp. 92-106. Janelidze, Barbare (2016) "Religion, Politics and Modernity in Georgia: The Case of May 17th, 2013", Gosudarstvo, religiia, tserkov' v Rossii i za rubezhom 34(2): 92-106. page 92 The forest blooms elegant, The swallows in the sky are singing, Vine leaves Spring tears are pouring down. The mountains are getting more and more beautiful, Meadow multicolored prigozh. Our dear motherland, You?when will you bloom? Ilya Chavchavadze, "Spring" (1861) (Translated by N. Zabolotsky) May seventeenth ON the morning of May 17, 2014, in a small park located on Freedom Square in the Georgian capital Tbilisi, about a hundred pairs of shoes could be found on the ground. There wasn't a soul around. Silence. The name of th ... Читать далее