"Patriarch Ilia II of Georgia Dies at 93" By Carlo Coppola
La versione italiana di questo articolo di Carlo Coppola è apparsa sul giornale "In città Giovinazzo" diretto da Papás Antonio Calisi al seguente indirizzo:
93 տարեկանում մահացել է Վրաստանի պատրիարք Իլյա II-ը: Կառլո Կոպպոլայի հոդված.
Ilia II of Georgia, the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia and the longest-serving Orthodox patriarch in office, died this evening in Tbilisi at the age of 93.
Elected on 25 December 1977, he assumed leadership of the Georgian Orthodox Church at a time when it had been reduced to just 15 dioceses and 30 active churches after decades of Soviet repression.
Born in 1933 as Irakli Shiolashvili, a descendant of the historic Bagrationi dynasty, he took monastic vows under the name Ilia, in honour of the biblical prophet Elijah, and was consecrated patriarch at the age of 44.
His patriarchate marked a profound revival —often described by observers as a “resurrection” — of the Georgian Church. By the time of his death, the Church had grown to 47 dioceses, around 2,000 parishes and more than 3,000 clergy, alongside a vibrant network of Georgian communities abroad. These figures reflect not only institutional recovery but the return of faith after the long decades of Soviet rule, under a system epitomised by the Georgian-born Joseph Stalin.
As the most senior serving patriarch in global Orthodoxy, Ilia II guided Georgia through the final years of Soviet domination, the violent upheavals of the 1990s, and the difficult emergence of an independent state.
He was present among the crowd on 9 April 1989, when Soviet troops violently dispersed demonstrators in Tbilisi, leaving 22 dead — an episode remembered as the Tbilisi Massacre of 1989. His decision to stand with his people in that moment of danger became a defining image of his leadership. In 2013, a national poll recorded a 94 per cent approval rating, making him the most trusted public figure in the country.
Deeply concerned by demographic decline and emigration, in 2007 he launched an initiative to personally baptise every third child born into Georgian families. The programme contributed to a notable rise in births. At the time of his death, he had baptised more than 48,000 children, assuming a unique spiritual fatherhood in contemporary Christian history.
Not a systematic theologian, Ilia II was прежде всего a pastor. His vision centred on safeguarding Christianity as the cornerstone of Georgian national identity. This stance made him both a deeply revered figure domestically and a controversial one among critics of his firm positions, which included scepticism toward institutional ecumenism, support for the restoration of the Bagrationi monarchy, and a consistent adherence to traditional doctrine.
Among his early and significant contacts with the Catholic world was his meeting with Francesco Colasuonno, Apostolic Nuncio and later a cardinal.
Despite recurring health problems, Ilia II remained active and resolute for as long as possible, embodying a life of ecclesiastical service and unwavering devotion to the Church he led for nearly half a century.
Carlo Coppola
