GOC releases information in connection with Catholicos-Patriarch’s funeral

The Public Relations Service of the Georgian Orthodox Church (GOC) released information in connection with the funeral ceremony of Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, His Holiness and Beatitude Ilia II.

According to the GOC, the Sameba (Holy Trinity) Cathedral will be closed from 2 a.m. tonight till 8 a.m. on Sunday to prepare the territory for the attendance of delegations and ensure security standards, while admission into the cathedral will be possible with special passes.

The church service will begin at 9 a.m. on March 22 to be conducted by Metropolitan Shio Mujiri, locum tenens of the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia and members of the Holy Synod.

Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople of the Eastern Orthodox Church, Bartholomew I, will arrive at Sameba at noon. The transfer of Ilia II’s remains from Sameba in a procession on foot to the Sioni Cathedral will begin at 3 p.m. The parishioners, who did not have the opportunity to bid farewell to the Patriarch in Sioni, can follow the procession.

The GOC apologized for the inconvenience, saying: “Due to the protocol and other technical details related to the funeral ceremony, it is not possible to allow the public into the temple.”

Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II passed away on March 17 at the age of 93.

Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, His Holiness and Beatitude Ilia II, will be laid to rest on Sunday, March 22, in the Sioni Cathedral.