Tbilisi, March 23, 2026
Photo: sazu.ge
On Sunday, March 22, the funeral of Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II of Georgia was held at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Tbilisi, with primates and representatives of Local Orthodox Churches, state and political leadership, clergy, and thousands of the Georgian faithful in attendance.
Before the funeral, a Divine Liturgy was celebrated at the cathedral, led by the Locum Tenens of the Patriarchal throne, Metropolitan Shio of Senaki and Chkhorotskhu, together with other Georgian hierarchs, the Georgian Church reports.
“Along with our grief, our hearts are full of hope and trust that the Lord will grant him rest among the righteous in the Heavenly Kingdom and that, through him, we have gained another great Heavenly intercessor and protector of Georgia, who will help us continue the Church life and the life of our nation as he desired, as he entrusted us and left us a legacy,” Met. Shio preached.
“Let us achieve harmony, mutual love, reconciliation with one another, and let us return firmly and definitively to those values whose revival and spread were so greatly served by his life and work,” he added.
Photo: sazu.ge
Among the primates present were His Holiness Patriarch Daniil of Bulgaria, His Beatitude Archbishop John of Albania, His Beatitude Rastislav of Prešov and the Czech Lands and Slovakia, and His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon of Washington and All America and Canada (Orthodox Church in America). The Patriarchates of Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, Moscow, Romania, and Serbia, as well as the Churches of Cyprus and Greece, were represented by their respective hierarchs. The canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church was also represented by several hierarchs.
The Local Church delegations served panikhidas for the Patriarch’s repose.
The funeral service itself was presided over by Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, with Met. Shio and other Georgian hierarchs concelebrating.
Thousands of Georgians gathered outside the cathedral, following the service on large screens set up at multiple locations. A procession then moved from the Holy Trinity Cathedral to the ancient Sioni Cathedral, where the burial took place in accordance with the Patriarch’s own wishes. The funeral was attended by Georgia’s full state, political, and military leadership, diplomats, and representatives of other Christian confessions and religions.
Patriarch Bartholomew’s homily
Patriarch Bartholomew delivered the funeral homily, opening with the words of Sirach —Weep for the dead— and describing Pat. Ilia II as one of the most venerable, wise, and distinguished primates of the Orthodox East. He spoke of him a true pillar of both the Church and his homeland, humble and prayerful in character, gifted in iconography, painting, musical composition, and church architecture, yet firm in matters of faith.
Photo: sazu.ge
Pat. Bartholomew noted that the departed Georgian primate had served as hierarch for 63 years and as Patriarch of Tbilisi for 48, as the 141st primate of the Georgian Church.
He concluded on a note of Paschal hope, urging the Georgian faithful not to be overcome by grief, and ended his address with a proclamation of “Christ is risen!”
Remarks were also given by Met. Shio on behalf of the Holy Synod of the Georgian Church, and by Georgian President Mikhail Kavelashvili, Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili, and Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze.
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