The Georgian Patriarchate commented on the costs associated with organizing the funeral of Patriarch Ilia II

The Georgian Patriarchate issued an official statement regarding allegations of misuse of funds allocated for the organization of the funeral of Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II. According to Orthodox Times, most of the allocated budget remained unused, as many organizations and individuals declined payment for their services.

The head of the Patriarchate’s public relations office, Archpriest Andria Jagemidze, emphasized that the church leadership was aware of this from the very beginning. According to him, there was constant communication during that period with former Minister of Culture Teya Rukhadze, who confirmed the willingness of many performers to work on a pro bono basis. Jagmaidze expressed hope that these public clarifications would put an end to the unfounded accusations against the church.

Earlier, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze clarified the financial details during a debate on the 1tv.ge channel. According to preliminary data, of the 3 million lari allocated by the state for the funeral, only 722,000 lari were spent. The prime minister rejected speculation about embezzlement, noting that if the organizers had wanted to misappropriate the funds, they could easily have spent the entire allocated amount, and promised to provide the public with a more detailed report following an additional audit.