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Patriarch Ilia of Georgia passed away over 40 days ago. He was a remarkable figure in the Georgian Church. He was chosen patriarch during the difficult Soviet times, when churches and moansteries were closed. But he was able to stabilize church life and lead a huge revival once Georgia became free from communism. The Church became once again the most powerful part of Georgian culture. Many churches were reopened as well as monasteries. Many new dioceses and bishops.
Patriarch Ilia was regarded as the father of his country. To encourage a higher birthrate, the patriarch offered to be godfather to all new babies, so he became the godfather of thousands of children. He also combated Western influence in the country which tried several times to install like-thinking politicians into positions of power and encouraged the passing of laws in favor of same sex marriage, abortion and the like.
Patriarch Ilia reigned for over 40 years. He personally chose Bishop Shio to be the locum tenens during his long period of steadily declining health. On May 12, 2026 the Holy Synod of the church chose Shio as patriarch, and he was installed in the ancient see of the Georgian church as per the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_GM9-AWhY0
He is known to be pro-Russian and traditional (Orthodox) in morality and other such issues. He is highly educated.
