Monasteries open their doors to prisoners

(Staff)  What do monks and prisoners have in common? Both live in cells. And now in the nation of Georgia some prisoners are being given the opportunity to swap their prison uniforms for cassocks and serve at least some of their sentence in monastic cells.

The prisons in this mountainous ex-Soviet republic, squeezed between Russia and Turkey, are severely overcrowded. So this new church-state arrangement is a welcome one. Only ten convicts have begun community service in monasteries but if successful, hundreds more could follow.

The program was proposed by the church and the decision about whom to transfer is made jointly by church and prison officials. So far none of the convicts selected are violent offenders and none are locked up but they must report regularly to probation officers.

The first prisoner in the program, Tariel Maizeradze, is enjoying his comparative freedom in the Father Ambrosi Khelaia Monastery, near the Georgian capital of Tbilisi. Maizeradze, 50, was sentenced in 2006 to seven years for minor offences he had committed while working as a policeman. He had already spent four years behind bars.

In the pine-forested monastery Maizeradze follows the same routine as the monks, engaging in daily prayer and Bible study and corporate worship. His daily labour involves bee keeping and animal husbandry. All this takes place in the midst of a supportive community. 

"I am at peace here. I don't think I'll ever become a fully-fledged monk, but I know I never want to be a policeman again either -- that's for sure."

He even says he would consider spending more than his allotted three years at the monastery.

The head of the monastery, Father Saba, said he would accept even violent offenders if they are prepared to ask for forgiveness -- even murderers.

"With the support of God we are able to welcome criminals who are eager to become better people and confess their sins," he said.

Eighty percent of Georgians adhere to the Orthodox faith. State officials said they would welcome similar proposals from other faith and non-faith groups. Tato Kelbakiani, assistant head of Georgia's penitentiary department, told the BBC that it was the government's intention to "release people into monasteries, but also into other schemes as well."

He also suggested that violent criminals may indeed one day be introduced into monasteries.

"People on life sentences might also become eligible for the scheme after they have served a minimum of 20 years," he said.

Such rehabilitation programs, with their positive and gracious outlook, could prove popular in this poor nation which has one of the highest incarceration rates in the world.