Ilia II of Georgia

Common card · No. 451138

Ilia II (secular name Irakli Gudushauri-Shiolashvili; 4 January 1933 – 17 March 2026) was the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia from 1977 until his death in 2026. He was the longest serving patriarch in the history of the Georgian Orthodox Church, which spans more than a millennium. Born in Ordzhonikidze (modern-day Vladikavkaz, Russia), to a Georgian Orthodox family, he studied at the Moscow Theological Academy from 1956 to 1960. During that time he became a monk and was also ordained to the priesthood. Ilia served as bishop of Batumi and Shemokmedi from 1963 to 1967 and as bishop of Sukhumi and Abkhazia from 1967 to 1977. He also led the church's external relations department from 1964 to 1977. In that position, he worked to secure the recognition of the autocephaly of the Georgian Orthodox Church by other Eastern Orthodox churches. He was elected as Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia in 1977. During his patriarchate, Ilia II led the growth and restoration of the Church in Georgia...

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