Georgian Patriarch Ilia II passes away at 93

Ilia II, the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, has died at the age of 93. The information was officially confirmed to the media by the Patriarch’s locum tenens, Shio Mujiri.

Ilia II, born Irakli Ghudushauri-Shiolashvili on January 4, 1933, in Vladikavkaz, was elected Catholicos-Patriarch at the age of 44 during the 12th Church Council in 1977. His enthronement took place on December 25 of the same year at the Svetitskhoveli Cathedral.

He graduated from the Moscow Theological Academy in 1960. His ecclesiastical journey began earlier, in 1957, when he was tonsured a monk and given the name Ilia. That same year, on April 18, he was ordained as a hierodeacon at Sioni Cathedral. On May 10, 1959, he became a hieromonk at the St. Sergius Lavra. After returning to Georgia, he served at the Batumi Cathedral.

In the early 1960s, he rapidly advanced through church ranks: he was elevated to hegumen in 1961 and later to archimandrite. In 1963, he was appointed as chorepiscopus to the Catholicos-Patriarch and served as the first rector of the Mtskheta Theological Seminary from 1963 to 1972. In 1967, he was transferred to the Abkhazian diocese, and in 1969, he was elevated to the rank of metropolitan.

During his leadership, the Georgian Orthodox Church experienced significant revival and expansion. With his blessing, the Bible and numerous theological works were published in modern Georgian. Religious education institutions were reestablished and expanded, including the relocation of the Mtskheta Seminary to Tbilisi in 1988 and the founding of the Tbilisi Theological Academy-Seminary. Seminaries were also opened in Batumi, Akhaltsikhe, and Kutaisi, along with a religious school and gymnasium in Khulo. The historic Gelati Academy was restored, along with the Gelati Academy of Sciences under the Church’s auspices.

Over the decades, the number of dioceses in Georgia grew from 15 to 33, monasteries reached 53, and clergy numbers rose to around 1,000. The construction of the Holy Trinity Cathedral (Sameba), the largest church in Georgia, also took place during his tenure.

Ilia II is widely regarded as one of the most influential spiritual leaders in modern Georgian history.