Head of the Belarusian Exarchate will represent the Russian Orthodox Church at the funeral of Patriarch Ilia II of Georgia

Metropolitan Veniamin (Tupeko), Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus, will represent the Russian Orthodox Church at the official farewell ceremony for Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II. The Metropolitan will arrive in Tbilisi by direct order of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia. This is reported by News Georgia agency.

The relevant information was made public on March 20, 2026. In a letter of condolences sent to Metropolitan Shio, the locum tenens of the Patriarchal Throne of the Georgian Church, Metropolitan Veniamin called the late Primate «a faithful laborer in the vineyard of Christ.» He emphasized that the name of Ilia II is forever inscribed in the history of the Georgian people, and recalled the significant authority of the hierarch in the Orthodox world, noting his visit to Belarus in 2013 as part of the celebration of the 1025th anniversary of the Baptism of Russia.

The funeral ceremony is scheduled for March 22 in Tbilisi. Patriarch Ilia II died on March 17 at the 93rd year of life, after almost fifty years of service at the head of the Georgian Orthodox Church. In addition to the ROC delegation, other high-ranking clergymen, including Patriarch Bartholomew, are expected to arrive to pay their last respects to one of the oldest hierarchs of modern Orthodoxy.

Earlier we reported that the funeral rites for the deceased Primate of the Georgian Orthodox Church, His Holiness Patriarch Ilia , will be presided over by Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople.