Massive crowds gathered to pay their final respects to Georgia's longest-serving Patriarch Ilia II, as Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, Georgian Dream founder Bidzina Ivanishvili, and other leaders delivered speeches at his funeral service in Tbilisi.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew arrived in Tbilisi, Georgia, with head-of-state honors to bid his final farewell to Patriarch Ilia II of Georgia, welcomed by government officials.

Georgia will lay Patriarch Ilia II to rest on Sunday, March 22, with an all-day event in Tbilisi expected to draw a large crowd and feature major officials and religious leaders, including Ecumenical…

Regional * Yesterday, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had a telephone conversation with his Georgian counterpart Irakli Kobakhidze, offering his condolences for the death of Patriarch Ilia II.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan sent a letter of condolence to his Georgian counterpart Irakli Kobakhidze following the death of Georgian Patriarch Ilia II, with Catholicos Karekin II also sending similar condolences.

Ilia II, the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, has died, leaving behind a troubled legacy after 48 years of leading the Georgian Orthodox Church.

Georgia's State Security Service announced the arrest of a minor who admitted to making a false terrorist threat at Tbilisi’s Holy Trinity Cathedral during the funeral service for the late Patriarch Ilia II.

Georgians are mourning the passing of Ilia II, the longest-serving head of the Orthodox Church of Georgia, who died at the age of 93 after nearly five decades leading one of the world's oldest Christian churches.

Karekin II has been under a travel ban since February.

The longest-serving leader in the history of the Georgian Orthodox Church, he helped guide his country in its transition from Soviet repression to modern statehood.

Large crowds of faithful, clergy, and officials joined a solemn procession on March 18 to pay their respects to Ilia II, a day after he passed away at the age of 93.

The influential Georgian Patriarch Ilia II, who led the Georgian Orthodox Church for nearly half a century, has died at the age of 93, officials announced on Tuesday.

Armenian authorities rejected a petition to allow Catholicos Karekin II to attend the funeral of Georgian Patriarch Ilia II, citing a travel ban that has been in place since February.

A delegation from Azerbaijan attended the funeral service for Georgian Patriarch Ilia II.

Ilia II, the long-standing Patriarch, will be laid to rest on Sunday.

Reflecting on the passing of Patriarch Ilia II

Georgian Orthodox Church Patriarch Ilia II has been hospitalized on the night of March 17 and is in “very serious” condition, Georgian Dream Health Minister Mikheil Sarjveladze confirmed. “Considering the age and every factor, the situation definitely is not easy,” GD Health Minister Mikheil Sarjveladze told the media at the Caucasus Medical Center, a hospital …