“The passing of a righteous man carries its own consolation, and we have been witnesses to a true miracle. All of Georgia rose to its feet and stirred, to pay homage, to give thanks, to show its love for Ilia II. That love, that unity, has given us immense spiritual strength and consolation to carry us through the most difficult of days. It gives us hope that we shall be able to preserve the great values that our Patriarchs have handed down to us,” declared His Eminence Shio (Mujiri), Metropolitan of Senaki and Chkhorotsku, and Locum Tenens of the Patriarchal Throne, in a sermon delivered at Sioni Cathedral.
Metropolitan Shio extended his congratulations to the people on the Day of the Restoration of the Autocephaly of the Georgian Church, and spoke of the labours of Ilia II in that cause.
“It is true that in 1917 we proclaimed the restoration of Autocephaly, yet what was still required was its recognition by the Patriarchate of Constantinople and by the Orthodox Churches of the world. It was His Holiness and Beatitude Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II who took this great cause upon himself. Through years of tireless labour and by the weight of his immense moral authority, he achieved what had long been sought: in 1990, on the Feast of the Triumph of Orthodoxy in Constantinople, the Ecumenical Patriarch, His All-Holiness Dimitrios I, presented the Georgian Church with the documents confirming and affirming the recognition of our Church’s Autocephaly and Patriarchal title, rights that had belonged to our Church since antiquity. It may be said that our Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II crowned the labours and struggles of our forebears in the cause of Autocephaly.
Today we stand in this holy Cathedral of Sioni, filled with deep reverence and gratitude towards our holy Patriarchs and ancestors, those who would not accept, who never accepted, the loss of Autocephaly. Through their self-sacrifice, their toil, and at the cost of their greatest efforts, they restored and returned to our country and our Church the ancient, historic Autocephaly that had once been its own. These were the holy Catholicos-Patriarchs Kirion, Ambrosi, Kalistrate, Leonide, Kristepore, Melkisedek, Eprem, and others, both clergy and laity, among them Metropolitan Anton Giorgadze and many more. The Catholicos-Patriarchs rest here, in this holy cathedral, and beside them, their worthy heir and the continuer of their work, Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II, has now found his eternal resting place. As the Gospel says, all can see how his works shine before men, that we may glorify our Father in Heaven.
These have been days of the deepest grief for us. And yet we know that when a holy and righteous person departs this life, consolation and even joy accompany that passing. We waited to see how this would manifest. And we have been witnesses to a true miracle, all of Georgia rose to its feet and moved towards the remains of His Holiness and Beatitude, to venerate, to give thanks, to express its love. There was a wondrous unity, a love for God and a love for him personally. For in him, our people glorify the Church and glorify God; it is to God that they give thanks. This outpouring of love and unity gives us great spiritual strength and consolation to carry us through these hardest of days. It also gives us great hope that, with God’s help, we shall be able to preserve those great values bequeathed to us by our great Patriarchs and forebears, above all, what His Holiness Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia left to us as his legacy: true faith in God, fidelity to the homeland, and love for one’s fellow man. If we preserve these things, if we strive and labour for their sake, the Lord will surely come to our aid and grant us the strength to preserve both our ecclesiastical Autocephaly and our national independence, and to see our country made whole and strong once more.
Once again, I congratulate you on the Day of the Restoration of the Autocephaly of the Georgian Church. May God bless you and grant you strength. May God bless, remember, have mercy upon, and grant eternal rest to the immortal soul of His Holiness and Beatitude, Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II. May God bless, unite, and save Georgia,” Metropolitan Shio has said.
Today, March 25, marks the ninth day since the passing of Ilia II. At Sioni Cathedral, the Locum Tenens of the Patriarchal Throne, Metropolitan Shio (Mujiri) of Senaki and Chkhorotsku, served an intercessory prayer and prayer vigil together with the assembled bishops and clergy. The service was attended by the Prime Minister of Georgia, Irakli Kobakhidze, the President of Georgia, Mikheil Kavelashvili, and the Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, Shalva Papuashvili.
His Holiness Ilia II, the 141st Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, passed away on March 17 at the age of 93. He was laid to rest at Sioni Cathedral on March 22.