Post by Deleted on Aug 31, 2023 20:47:31 GMT
The Patriarch of Georgia is a truly extraordinary man. This year he celebrated his 90th birthday, and last year he celebrated 45 years as Patriarch and Head of the Georgian Orthodox Church, which comprises 85% of the Georgian population. Now he is celebrating 60 years as a bishop. Many sent messages to him to congratulate him on the special day.
He was born in 1933 in southern Russia and baptised by the famous Georgian bishop Tarasy Kandelaki.
Ilia claims that as a small boy during Stalin’s Great Purge of 1937, he remembered hearing a voice which told him, “You will bring your people to Christianity”. This inspired him, against all odds, to go to the seminary in 1952 in the difficult period of Stalin’s rule; to be ordained a priest during the terrible persecutions of Christians unleashed by Khrushchev, to be consecrated a bishop, and then to accept his election as Patriarch. He was, from the time of his consecration as a bishop in 1963, one of the Soviet Union’s most prominent Christian leaders. In a country such as the USSR, that came as more of a burden than an honour.
In 1963, he was consecrated Bishop of Shemokmed by Catholicos-Patriarch Ephraim II. The number of bishops in Soviet Georgia was in the single digits at the time.
When he became Patriarch in 1977 – he was the preferred candidate in 1972 but the KGB intervened to ensure a more pliable candidate was elected – there were as few as 30 active churches in Soviet Georgia. As soon as he was elected he began a revival of Christian faith in Georgia. 2000 Orthodox parishes now function in Georgia, thanks to Ilia’s leadership. Even under Brezhnev, much of his time was spent going back and forth between Moscow and Georgia, trying to get permission to open new churches.
His enthronisation as Patriarch of Georgia took place on the 25th of December 1977, and was attended by Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Pimen, Archbishop of Vyborg Kirill (now Patriarch of Moscow), Metropolitan Nikodim (Rotov), and various dignitaries of the Russian and other Orthodox Churches.
He has been Patriarch of Georgia under every leader of the USSR and independent Georgia from Brezhnev to Gorbachev and from Shevardnadze to Garibashvili. He had already been Patriarch for almost 15 years by the time the USSR collapsed, and immediately set about filling the societal void left by the collapse of communism.
He made great contributions to Catholic – Orthodox dialogue, and in 1978 he ordered a delegation of the Georgian Orthodox Church sent to the funeral of Pope Paul VI. He has welcomed Popes John Paul II and Francis to Georgia. In August 2023, he sent a special letter to Pope Francis thanking him for praying for the victims of a natural disaster in Georgia.
After Russia invaded Georgia in 2008, he was allowed by the Russians to enter the combat zone to collect the remains of fallen Georgian defenders.
Some have said that when he dies, Georgia as a state will face very difficult decisions, because for 46 years they have had one spiritual leader, and during times of political turbulence he has taken on many government responsibilities.
Such extraordinary individuals deserve honour and recognition. I wish many happy years to His Holiness and Beatitude, Archbishop of Mtskheta-Tbilisi, Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II.
Ad multos annos!
He was born in 1933 in southern Russia and baptised by the famous Georgian bishop Tarasy Kandelaki.
Ilia claims that as a small boy during Stalin’s Great Purge of 1937, he remembered hearing a voice which told him, “You will bring your people to Christianity”. This inspired him, against all odds, to go to the seminary in 1952 in the difficult period of Stalin’s rule; to be ordained a priest during the terrible persecutions of Christians unleashed by Khrushchev, to be consecrated a bishop, and then to accept his election as Patriarch. He was, from the time of his consecration as a bishop in 1963, one of the Soviet Union’s most prominent Christian leaders. In a country such as the USSR, that came as more of a burden than an honour.
In 1963, he was consecrated Bishop of Shemokmed by Catholicos-Patriarch Ephraim II. The number of bishops in Soviet Georgia was in the single digits at the time.
When he became Patriarch in 1977 – he was the preferred candidate in 1972 but the KGB intervened to ensure a more pliable candidate was elected – there were as few as 30 active churches in Soviet Georgia. As soon as he was elected he began a revival of Christian faith in Georgia. 2000 Orthodox parishes now function in Georgia, thanks to Ilia’s leadership. Even under Brezhnev, much of his time was spent going back and forth between Moscow and Georgia, trying to get permission to open new churches.
His enthronisation as Patriarch of Georgia took place on the 25th of December 1977, and was attended by Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Pimen, Archbishop of Vyborg Kirill (now Patriarch of Moscow), Metropolitan Nikodim (Rotov), and various dignitaries of the Russian and other Orthodox Churches.
He has been Patriarch of Georgia under every leader of the USSR and independent Georgia from Brezhnev to Gorbachev and from Shevardnadze to Garibashvili. He had already been Patriarch for almost 15 years by the time the USSR collapsed, and immediately set about filling the societal void left by the collapse of communism.
He made great contributions to Catholic – Orthodox dialogue, and in 1978 he ordered a delegation of the Georgian Orthodox Church sent to the funeral of Pope Paul VI. He has welcomed Popes John Paul II and Francis to Georgia. In August 2023, he sent a special letter to Pope Francis thanking him for praying for the victims of a natural disaster in Georgia.
After Russia invaded Georgia in 2008, he was allowed by the Russians to enter the combat zone to collect the remains of fallen Georgian defenders.
Some have said that when he dies, Georgia as a state will face very difficult decisions, because for 46 years they have had one spiritual leader, and during times of political turbulence he has taken on many government responsibilities.
Such extraordinary individuals deserve honour and recognition. I wish many happy years to His Holiness and Beatitude, Archbishop of Mtskheta-Tbilisi, Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II.
Ad multos annos!