“Do not allow grief to overwhelm you. Bury him with reverence and follow the advice and teachings of Ilia II—this will be his best memorial,” said Bartholomew I, Archbishop of Constantinople-New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch, during the funeral ceremony of the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, Ilia II, at the Trinity Cathedral.
According to Bartholomew I, it is of Patriarch Ilia that it is said, ‘the dead are alive,’ for the righteous continue to live.
“We will remember with fondness our fruitful relations with the departed holy brother: our mutual assistance, and the gatherings of Orthodox chief pastors that we convened periodically—especially the March 2014 gathering, which was crowned with a magnificent Patriarchal co-service on the Sunday of Orthodoxy. His profound respect for the Ecumenical Patriarchate and his brotherly love, expressed in many ways, were fully appreciated. He held us in undivided respect, heartfelt love, and sincere friendship.
Despite the many tearful wars near us, it was our obligation to come personally and join our tears with those of the children of the local Church, to honor and send off with glory and reverence the chosen person of God, our beloved, respected brother and co-consecrator, His Holiness Patriarch Ilia II.
Be encouraged, brothers and sons: your Patriarch and Father is not dead, but asleep. He lives where the incorruptible light and blessed visions dwell, in all things holy and invisible. He lives in the all-bright kingdom of the Triune God, in whose honor the magnificent Holy Trinity Cathedral was erected in Tbilisi. He lives alongside the saints of his people—Saints Nino, Ketevan, Hilarion, David, and the hundred thousand martyrs martyred in Tbilisi.
Do not let sorrow overwhelm you. Bury him with reverence, follow his teachings, and rejoice: your spiritual father, Patriarch Ilia II, is glorified in the abode of the living. He is even stronger than when he walked among you, interceding before the Throne of God on your behalf. Embrace his holy paternal right hand in spirit, ask for his prayers and blessings, and bid him farewell. While it may seem unusual to speak of joy in such sorrow, joy is entirely appropriate here. Christ is risen, long-lived, driving away death, and filled with the sound of joy—to Him all glory, honor, worship, and thanks, Amen.”
Bartholomew I also emphasized the Patriarch’s historic role in restoring the Georgian Church.
“God made Ilia II worthy, on March 4, 1990, at the initiative of our blessed predecessor, Ecumenical Patriarch Demetrios, to receive canonical recognition of the autocephaly and patriarchal dignity of the Most Holy Church of Georgia. On March 30, during the joint communion of chief pastors at the All-Holy Patriarchal Cathedral of St. George in Panari, he received the patriarchal and synodal tomos, which we, as the Synod, confirmed with our signatures.
God made Ilia II worthy to lead the Georgian Church out of the dark period of communist atheism and hostile Soviet rule into the light of independence and free national-religious life. He calmly restored the Church from its foundations: clergy, monasticism, theology, catechization, theological education, publication of liturgical and spiritually useful works, social charity, construction of new churches and monasteries, missionary work, resistance to heresies, inter-church dialogue, reconciliation among political and national groups, and support of the people and government in critical situations threatening both territorial integrity and the Patriarchate’s jurisdiction.
All this he accomplished not by worldly power, wealth, or force, but by the Spirit of the Almighty Lord, to whom he attributed all achievements with humility and gratitude. For this reason, he was greatly loved by the clergy and the nation as a true father, protector, educator, and shepherd, sacrificing himself for his flock. He is honored as a modern worker of the Gospel, worthy of the deepest reverence,” said Bartholomew I.