Georgian Patriarch Ilia II turns 89

The Patriarch of Georgia Ilia II turned 89 today. He has been taking the position for 44 years. 

Parliament Speaker of Georgia Shalva Papuashvili has congratulated him on the day, wishing long life and good health. 

“Our patriarch took over an actually non-congregational church with about 50 functioning churches and about 40 clergy. Today more than 3,000 clergy from more than 2,000 churches  and thousands of parishioners are sending him kind birthday wishes,” Papuashvili said. 

Ilia II was born Irakli Ghudushauri-Shiolashvili in Vladikavkaz (then Ordzhonikidze), currently North Ossetia [Russian Federation] in 1933.

In 1967 he was appointed bishop of Tskhumi and Abkhazeti in the currently Russian-occupied region, and gained the rank of metropolitan in 1969.

After the death of Patriarch David V, he was elected the new Catholics-Patriarch of Georgia on December 25, 1977. In the new position Ilia II has initiated a number of reforms, enabling the Georgian Orthodox Church to regain its former influence  by the late 1980s. 

As of now Ilia II is the most trusted figure in Georgia according to all public polls, while the Patriarchate is the second most trusted institution after the army.