TBILISI, March 23 – Georgia on Sunday buried Patriarch Ilia II, following a week of mourning for the country’s long-time spiritual leader. Ilia II died late on March 17 at the age of 93. The Holy Synod later decided that he would be buried on Sunday, March 22, at Sioni Cathedral in Tbilisi, in line … Read more
TBILISI, March 19 – The imprisoned former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili has asked to be taken to the funeral of Patriarch Ilia II, saying he wants to attend as both a friend of the late church leader and as Georgia’s third president. Saakashvili announced the request on social media on Wednesday, stating that he had … Read more
TBILISI, March 19 – Georgia’s mourning for Patriarch Ilia II moved into a public phase on Wednesday and Thursday, as the late church leader was transferred to Holy Trinity Cathedral in Tbilisi (pictured) and the cathedral was opened around the clock for mourners. Ilia II, who led the Georgian Orthodox Church for nearly half a … Read more
TBILISI, March 18 – Ilia II, the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia and one of the most influential figures in the country’s modern history, died Tuesday night at the age of 93, church and state officials said. The official announcement was made at the Caucasus Medical Center by Metropolitan Shio, the patriarchal locum tenens. According to … Read more
TBILISI, January 7 – Georgia marked Orthodox Christmas with sharply contrasting scenes as the clock passed midnight on January 6–7. At Tbilisi’s Holy Trinity Cathedral, Patriarch Ilia II led the traditional Christmas liturgy and issued his annual epistle, calling for peace, unity, restraint in speech, and fidelity to Christian values amid global wars and domestic … Read more
TBILISI, January 2 – Georgia welcomed 2026 with the usual New Year sparkle, but also with the same political tension that has kept nightly protests going in central Tbilisi. On Wednesday evening, December 31, protesters remained gathered outside the country’s parliament, where they have been gathering daily for over a year. Their core demands stayed … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–A session of the Holy Synod in Tbilisi has shocked the entire nation, as one of its members accused the spiritual leader and most popular person in the country, Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II, of “pederasty”. The accusation was so obscene and sudden that the dozens of journalists awaiting the results of the meeting outside of … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–In Georgia, the government is embroiled in a scandal involving the Orthodox Church, after a bishop claimed the government tried to depose the highly respected Patriarch Ilia II. Iakob, Archbishop of Bodbe Diocese, made the incendiary claim during an appearance on Pirveli TV on Saturday. During the interview, the bishop, who is reportedly a … Read more