As sharply contested parliamentary voting approached in Georgia last week, the country\u2019s Orthodox patriarch implemented his own peculiar pre-election ritual: He arranged for an airplane carrying icons and holy relics to circle over Georgian airspace while priests prayed over the country\u2019s future, in an updated version of an ancient practice employed ahead of enemy invasions and other calamities.<\/p>\n
It was a revealing gesture from Georgia\u2019s church, which exerts a profound but mostly behind the scenes influence on political life. The elections brought an end to the eight-year dominance of President Mikheil Saakashvili and his team \u201d\u201d as well as their sometimes aggressive push to introduce Western ways to this conservative society. That quest drove Mr. Saakashvili\u2019s government into occasional conflicts with the church, which worsened as the country approached a highly competitive election.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey hoped, I think, that in the critical moment the patriarch would back them, which apparently was wrong,\u201d\u009d said Levan Abashidze, a religious scholar. Instead the church repeatedly stated its neutrality in the race, he said, sending a signal to voters that it was not endorsing the government.<\/p>\n