Recep Tayyip Erdoğan expresses condolences on the passing of Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent an official message of condolences to Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on the death of Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II. The head of the Turkish state expressed his deepest condolences to the Orthodox community and the entire Georgian people in connection with this irreparable loss.

According to the Orthodox Times, in his address, Erdogan emphasized that he was deeply saddened by the news of the death of His Holiness, which occurred on the night of March 17. In the text of the letter, the President emphasized the importance of the Patriarch’s figure and conveyed words of support to his family and friends.

«On behalf of the Turkish people and on my own behalf, I would like to express my sincere condolences to Your Excellency, the Orthodox Church and the people of Georgia,» reads the official statement of Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The death of the spiritual leader of Georgia caused a wide resonance, and condolences from world leaders confirm the high authority of Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II in the international arena.

Earlier, we reported that the heads of the UOC-KP and the OCU Filaret Denisenko and Epiphany Dumenko expressed condolences to the Georgian people, clergy and faithful of the Georgian Orthodox Church in connection with the death of Georgian Patriarch Elijah II. The heads of the Ukrainian schismatic groups took this step despite the fact that neither the UOC-KP nor the OCU were in Eucharistic or prayerful communion.