On March 17, Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, Archbishop of Mtskheta and Tbilisi, Metropolitan of Pitsunda, Sukhumi and Abkhazia Ilia II passed away, reported the TV channel "Mtavari Arkhi". He was 93 years old.

Ilia II. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II led the Georgian Orthodox Church for almost half a century, since 1977. His patriarchate became the longest in its history.
In 2017, part of the patriarch's powers was transferred to the patriarchal locum tenens, Metropolitan Shio, due to Ilia II's health condition.
This night, the hierarch was hospitalized in the Caucasian Medical Center with massive gastrointestinal bleeding. He remained in intensive care for several hours.
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