“The Sunday service will begin at nine o’clock in the morning, with His Eminence Metropolitan Shio concelebrating the Divine Liturgy alongside other hierarchs. The Ecumenical Patriarch’s aircraft is expected to land at Tbilisi International Airport at approximately eleven o’clock, with his arrival at the Cathedral anticipated by noon. This is his own decision, and he will take part in the funeral rite,” Archimandrite Ioane Mchedlishvili, a clergyman of the Holy Trinity Cathedral, told journalists.

He further noted that entry to the Holy Trinity Cathedral will be subject to certain restrictions.

“There will be addresses and homilies from various clergy and public figures, commemorating the Catholicos-Patriarch. His Holiness will then be borne to Sioni Cathedral, where he will be interred. The Patriarchate will publish the official list of guests. I cannot enumerate them precisely myself. Queues of the faithful stretch from the metro station without interruption, for many hours on end, and on the day of the funeral itself, the numbers will be far greater still. The entire area from the Holy Trinity Cathedral to Sioni is likely to be utterly thronged. Entry to the Cathedral will be restricted and permitted only to those bearing passes. Clergy, too, will serve in limited numbers during the Liturgy, and admission will be by pass only. Members of the public will, in all likelihood, be able to enter the courtyard. That is yet to be confirmed; the protocol is still being arranged. The media will not be admitted inside.

As for the exact timing of the procession bearing His Holiness to Sioni, I cannot say with certainty, much depends on when the Ecumenical Patriarch arrives, how long the rite, the addresses, and the lying-in-state take. Somewhere between three and four in the afternoon, most probably,” said Archimandrite Mchedlishvili.

His Holiness Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II passed away on March 17 at the age of 93. A period of national mourning has been declared across Georgia.