Head of the Phanar will not participate in the Liturgy on the day of Patriarch Ilia's burial in Tbilisi

The Georgian Orthodox Church is finalizing preparations for the farewell to the newly deceased Patriarch-Catholicos of All Georgia Ilia II. Funeral services and the funeral ceremony will be held this Sunday with the participation of distinguished guests, including Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople. At the same time, the head of the Phanar will not take part in the Divine Liturgy on the day of Patriarch Ilia’s burial. This is reported by the information resource SPJ-Georgia.

According to the program of events, the Divine Liturgy will begin at 9:00 am. The service will be led by Metropolitan Shio, the locum tenens of the Patriarchal Throne, in the company of members of the Synod. Archimandrite Iovane (Mchedlishvili) emphasized that the participation of the clergy in the service will be strictly regulated: the entrance to the church is provided only by special passes.

Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople is expected to arrive in Tbilisi around 11:00 and join the funeral service at 12:00. After the prayerful farewell, His Holiness will deliver a eulogy dedicated to the memory of the deceased Primate. At the end of the service, the coffin with the body of the deceased will be transferred to the Zion Cathedral, where the burial will take place.

As a reminder, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphrius, Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church , sent an official letter of condolence to Metropolitan Shio of Senaki and Chkhorotskuia, the Locum Tenens of the Patriarchal Throne of the Georgian Orthodox Church, in connection with the death of His Holiness and Beatitude Ilia II, Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia.