Georgia bids farewell to Ilia II

On Sunday, March 22, the funeral of Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II of All Georgia is taking place in Tbilisi. He passed away last Tuesday, March 17, at the age of 93. On Wednesday, his coffin was brought to the Holy Trinity Cathedral, where everyone could bid farewell to the spiritual leader of the nation.

Due to the funeral, traffic in central Tbilisi has been completely suspended for the day.

At 12:15 PM local time (11:15 AM Moscow time), Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople arrived at the Holy Trinity Cathedral (Sameba), where the farewell ceremony is being held. Together with the Locum Tenens of the Patriarchal Throne, Metropolitan Shio, and members of the Holy Synod of the Georgian Orthodox Church, he will conduct the funeral rite for Ilia II.

At 3:00 PM (2:00 PM Moscow time), the patriarch's body will be transferred from Sameba Cathedral to the Sioni Cathedral.

Representatives from most Orthodox churches have arrived in Georgia to to bid farewell to Ilia II. An 80-member delegation from the Russian Orthodox Church is led by Metropolitan Benjamin of Minsk and Zaslavl, Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus. Delegations have also arrived from the Vatican, the Orthodox Church of Alexandria, and various other countries, Sputnik Georgia reports.

Representatives from more than 40 countries are attending the funeral, including Mikhail Shvydkoy, Special Representative of the President of Russia; Sahiba Gafarova, Speaker of the Azerbaijani Parliament; and Vahagn Khachaturyan, Armenia's Presidet among others.

Ilia II will be laid to rest in the northern part of Sioni Cathedral, to the left of the altar, between two of the cathedral's sacred relics - the Cross of St. Nino and the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God.

During the funeral, bells will ring in all churches of the Mtskheta-Tbilisi Diocese. Only clergy will attend the burial service, while believers will be able to enter Sioni Cathedral starting Monday, March 23.