Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II passed away on March 17 at the age of 93.
Modern.az reports that Father Shio officially announced this at the Caucasus Medical Center. The Patriarch had been admitted to the intensive care unit of the Caucasus Medical Center with a diagnosis of gastric bleeding.
It should be noted that Ilia II was elected Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia on December 23, 1977.
With the blessing of Ilia II, the Holy Scripture, theological collections, brochures, books, magazines, and three types of calendars were published in modern Georgian, and newspapers were established.
In 1988, under the leadership of Ilia II, the Mtskheta Theological Seminary was moved to Tbilisi and the Tbilisi Theological Academy-Seminary was established, and theological schools were opened in various parts of Georgia.
Under the patronage of the church for centuries, the Gelati Theological Academy and the Gelati Academy of Sciences were re-established. Within twenty years, the number of dioceses of the Georgian Church increased from 15 to 33, the number of monasteries to 53, and the number of clergy to 1000. New saints were added to the list of saints, and the Holy Trinity Cathedral was built.
