Tbilisi, April 27, 2026
Photo: sazu.ge
The Georgian Orthodox Church observed the 40th day since the repose of His Holiness Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia of All Georgia on Saturday, April 25.
His Eminence Metropolitan Shio of Senaki and Chkhorotsku, Locum Tenens of the Patriarchal Throne, celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Sioni Patriarchal Cathedral in Tbilisi, where the Patriarch is buried, alongside bishops and other clergy members, reports the Georgian Orthodox Church.
The service was attended by Georgian President Mikheil Kavelashvili, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili, and representatives of the legislative and executive branches of government, along with a large congregation.
Following the Liturgy, a panikhida was served for the repose of Pat. Ilia’s soul.
In his sermon, Met. Shio reflected on the 40-day mourning period, saying it was “a time of reflection, of seeing His Holiness’ personality anew, of understanding ourselves and our people.”
Photo: sazu.ge
He described the continuing devotion of Georgians: “To this day, the flow of people to His Holiness’ grave does not cease. People of all ages, all walks of life want to express their love and gratitude to him. How joyful it is that are many young people among them.”
Met. Shio spoke of the Patriarch’s character as “a true teacher who leads his flock to the Lord and who, like Moses, showed our people the way out of spiritual captivity and illuminated this path toward the promised land.”
Addressing the first Pascha without Pat. Ilia II, he acknowledged the difficulty but said the faithful overcame despair “with the Lord’s grace, with His Holiness’s great love, this sorrow and pain was conquered in us by the great spirit of faith and hope in God.”
The Metropolitan expressed faith that the Patriarch’s soul “will occupy an eternal house not made by hands in the Kingdom of the Lord and from now on we, our country and each of us will have a great intercessor.” He described the Patriarch’s path as one “based on the love and loyalty of the Orthodox Church, on love for God, homeland and neighbor... especially what he preached to us: on peace, unanimity, forgiveness, mercy.”
He concluded: “I want to praise God together with you and thank the Lord that in such difficult decades (His Holiness labored for almost 50 years) He sent us such a shepherd!”
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