Source: Interfax-Religion
Moscow, November 21, 2016
Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II of All Georgia, has thanked the Russian Church for its position on the church issue in Abkhazia.
"We value the position of the Russian Orthodox Church, which has said more than once that it recognizes the jurisdiction of the Georgian Orthodox Church in these regions," Ilia II told Patriarch Kirill in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior on Monday at the celebrations of Patriarch Kirill's 70th birthday.
The Georgian patriarch said the settlement of relations between Russia and Georgia is vitally important to both countries.
"We need each other. I think Georgia should be a place for peaceful cooperation between the East and the West, a place for good neighborliness. A conflict between our countries is very dangerous and may lead to a global conflict," Ilia II said.
Ilia II said he was a bishop and metropolitan of the Sukhum-Abkhaz Diocese for 11 years. "There were never any conflicts there. It was always peaceful," he said.
