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2w ago

Georgia Buries Patriarch Ilia II as Church Begins Two-Month Succession Process

Attention shifts to a two-month succession process that observers say could shape the church’s stance toward Russia.

Mourners, including the founder of the Georgian Dream party Bidzina Ivanishvili, his wife Ekaterine Khvedelidze, and Georgia's Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, attend the funeral service for the late Catholicos-Patriarch of Georgia Ilia II at the Holy Trinity Cathedral, also known as Sameba, in Tbilisi, Georgia March 22, 2026. REUTERS/Irakli Gedenidze/Pool
Mourners attend the funeral ceremony for the late Catholicos-Patriarch of Georgia Ilia II outside the Holy Trinity Cathedral, also known as Sameba, in Tbilisi, Georgia March 22, 2026. REUTERS/Irakli Gedenidze
Mourners attend a funeral service of the late Georgia's Orthodox Patriarch Ilia II outside the Sameba Cathedral in Tbilisi, Georgia March 22, 2026. Giorgi Arjevanidze/Pool via REUTERS
Founder of the Georgian Dream party Bidzina Ivanishvili, his wife Ekaterine Khvedelidze, and Georgia's Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze attend a funeral service of the late Georgia's Orthodox Patriarch Ilia II at the Sioni Cathedral in Tbilisi, Georgia March 22, 2026. Giorgi Arjevanidze/Pool via REUTERS

Overview

  • Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I led the funeral at Tbilisi’s Holy Trinity Cathedral before a procession to Sioni Cathedral, where Ilia II was laid to rest.
  • Metropolitan Shio Mujiri is serving as locum tenens, with the Holy Synod allowed up to two months to elect a new patriarch.
  • Church expert Levan Sutidze and other commentators voiced concern that Mujiri’s potential elevation could increase Russian influence in Georgia.
  • Russia’s special representative Mikhail Shvydkoy attended to convey President Vladimir Putin’s condolences, a visit the Russian foreign ministry said was the first by a Russian official to Tbilisi in nearly two decades.
  • Pope Leo XIV’s message praising Ilia II as a ‘voice of reconciliation’ was read at the service, and King Charles III sent a letter expressing deep sorrow over the patriarch’s death.