March 23, 2026 - The South Caucasus News - SouthCaucasusNews.com

The State Security Service of Georgia (SSSG) said on March 23 that it arrested a minor who admitted to making a false terrorist threat at Tbilisi’s Holy Trinity Cathedral on March 22, where the funeral service for the late Patriarch Ilia II was held before a procession to Sioni Cathedral, where he was buried.

According to the agency, “two anonymous calls” about terrorist acts were made to the Interior Ministry at “approximately 14:30.” That was the time when the funeral service had ended, speeches by religious and political leaders were over, and the procession to Sioni Cathedral was beginning.

The SSSG said the caller insisted they were “in the vicinity” of the Holy Trinity Cathedral and claimed to have a firearm and that the area was planted with explosives, threatening that “if the area was not evacuated within 20 minutes, an explosion would occur.”

The grounds of the Holy Trinity Cathedral were crowded on March 22 as thousands paid their final respects to the late Patriarch Ilia II, who was lain in repose there. Inside the cathedral, religious and political leaders, including delegations from the Orthodox world and senior Georgian Dream officials, were present. High-profile attendees included Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople, Georgian Dream founder and Honorary Chairman Bidzina Ivanishvili, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, SSSG Chief Mamuka Mdinaradze, other ministers, officials, and clergy.

According to the SSSG, the caller “altered their voice using specialized software, used a foreign virtual phone number, and masked their IP address” in an effort to cover their tracks and hinder identification.

The suspect, whom the agency said is a minor, was arrested the same evening. The SSSG said it had seized “several mobile phones, laptops, and other evidence relevant to the case.” The minor, who faces three to six years in prison for making a false terrorism alert, “admits to the crime,” the agency added.

The statement, issued a day later on March 23, was followed by an additional comment to pro-government TV channel Imedi, in which the SSSG said that “security measures taken by the security and protection services at the Holy Trinity Cathedral and surrounding areas made it impossible for the call about a terrorist act to be real.”

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Six religious and political leaders, including Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I and Georgian Dream founder and Honorary Chairman Bidzina Ivanishvili, delivered speeches at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Tbilisi following the funeral service for Patriarch Ilia II on March 22, bidding farewell to the leader of Georgia’s Orthodox Church and speaking on the legacy of his extensive tenure that lasted nearly half a century.

Afterward, the body of Patriarch Ilia II, who died on March 17 at age 93 and had lain in repose at Holy Trinity Cathedral, was taken to Sioni Cathedral in downtown Tbilisi in a large funeral procession that drew tens of thousands of people.

Live Blog | Patriarch Ilia II Laid to Rest at Tbilisi’s Sioni Cathedral

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew: ‘A Wise Helmsman’

In his address in Greek, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople said, “The venerable assembly of the First Hierarchs of the Holy Orthodox Church of the East bids farewell to one of its most worthy, wise, and illustrious brothers,” describing Ilia II as a “wise helmsman” and a “God-worthy chief shepherd” of the Georgian Orthodox Church.

“The God-fearing Georgian people have lost a loving father, who until his final breath, remained vigilant for godly edification, for spiritual strengthening, for social progress, and for the well-being of his people.”

“It is unlikely that any of the worthy Catholicoi of the past so closely identified their name with Georgia, the Church, unity, statehood, and peace in the Caucasus region as the late, blessed Patriarch Ilia II did,” Patriarch Bartholomew said, adding, “There is no sphere of religious, social, or national life in Georgia where his personality did not leave a visible and beneficial mark.”

The Ecumenical Patriarch praised Ilia II’s role in leading the Georgian Orthodox Church “out of the dark period of communist atheism and hostile Soviet rule into the light of independence and a free national religious life – peacefully and without destructive turmoil,” adding that he restored the Church “from its very foundations.”

Patriarch Bartholomew also praised Ilia II for “resisting heresy and foreign propaganda…curbing tendencies toward division…building bridges of reconciliation and friendship among Georgia’s various political and national groups…supporting people and their government in critical circumstances, where a threat was posed both to the territorial integrity of the country and to the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate.”

The Ecumenical Patriarch said Ilia II had shown him “unwavering respect, heartfelt love, and sincere friendship,” noting that despite the “difficulties caused by the wars,” he felt it was his “inescapable duty” to attend the funeral in person.

Shio Mujiri: “A Path of Martyrdom”

Georgian Patriarchal Locum Tenens Shio Mujiri, who temporarily carries out patriarchal duties before a new leader is elected, thanked Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew for his words and then emphasized the importance of Ilia II’s long service to both the Orthodox Church and the country, saying “For 49 years, our patriarch carried our country on a razor’s edge with patriarchal wisdom and saved it from many trials.”

He described the Patriarch’s life as “a path of martyrdom,” adding that his legacy of “living faith, humility, and wisdom” would endure for generations. He spoke about the Church’s growth and role during Ilia II’s tenure, adding that it is a “remarkable fact” that over four days, “a sea of people, young and old alike, has been streaming in an immense flow toward the Holy Trinity Cathedral to express their respect and love for their spiritual father.”

“Today our hearts are filled with emotion, feelings, and words,” he said, adding, “We all wish to say something, to express our love, loyalty, and gratitude, and perhaps one more thing must be said, we should ask forgiveness of His Holiness and Beatitude for everything we did not fulfill as we should have, for what caused him pain, for what we could not do as he wished and as he blessed us to do.”

Georgian Dream leaders, including GD-elected President Mikheil Kavelashvili, Speaker of the disputed Parliament Shalva Papuashvili, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, and GD Honorary Chairman Bidzina Ivanishvili, were then invited to speak by Patriarchate’s Protopresbyter Giorgi Zviadadze.

Mikheil Kavelashvili – ‘Patriarch’s Georgia’

Kavelashvili spoke about an era he described as “the Patriarch’s Georgia,” saying Ilia II’s contribution to preserving the nation’s identity and culture was “immeasurable,” and adding that the late patriarch was and remains “a unifying figure for the nation.”

“Today, everyone has seen, both at home and abroad, that no matter what pressure is placed upon us, the Georgian man will not change,” Kavelashvili said, adding, “Our true face is right here: in this cathedral, in this shared grief and reverence.”

“Even at the end of your earthly path, you have given us the greatest lesson: you have united us once more and reminded us of our true nature: love, philanthropy, and that unshakeable unity which no earthly storm can destroy. Your Holiness, we continue upon the path you have bequeathed to us. May God bless your immortal soul, may God bless Georgia!” Kavelashvili concluded.

Shalva Papuashvili – ‘Patriarch of Love’

In his speech, Speaker of the disputed Parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, referred to late Ilia II as the “Patriarch of Love.”

Saying that many ideas in today’s world “fight for supremacy,” naming in particular “freedom, equality, solidarity, and justice,” Papuashvili said, “His Holiness and Beatitude gave each its proper place, but he taught us the most important lesson: freedom, equality, and all the rest lose their meaning if they do not stand upon the supreme value – love.”

“We had the Patriarch of Love, its tireless preacher,” he continued. “He became through his own life an example of how it is possible to love everyone – both the familiar and the stranger, friend and enemy, the righteous and the sinner.”

Irakli Kobakhidze – ‘Old Father’

Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze spoke next, saying that “a great epoch has come to an end,” and describing the late patriarch as a “spiritual father” who “dedicated his entire life to serving his homeland and the Mother Church.”

“Moreover, today is also a momentous day for every Georgian believer. On this day, we can feel with particular intensity the greatness of our Patriarch and remind ourselves with pride how great the nation is from which such a figure can emerge,” Kobakhidze said.

Referencing a poem by the renowned 20th-century Georgian poet Galaktion Tabidze, Kobakhidze described the late patriarch as an “old father,” whose image, he said, “will remain in our memory forever.”

“Many times, we will recall His Holiness and Beatitude Ilia II as an old father tending his most precious vineyard, how he cared for his Mother Church, his homeland, and each of his spiritual children. We thank His Holiness and Beatitude for his service, for his immense contribution, and for his boundless love,” he said.

Bidzina Ivanishvili – ‘A Great Epoch Ended’

Bidzina Ivanishvili, who holds no official religious or government position, was specifically invited by Protopresbyter Giorgi Zviadadze, who highlighted the role of the ruling party’s billionaire founder and honorary chairman in building the Holy Trinity Cathedral.

“In a person’s life, there are rarely moments of such grief and anguish as the one I am facing now,” Ivanishvili said at the start of his speech. “Today, before the entire nation, I bid farewell to our spiritual father. Today, like every Georgian, I carry in my heart a great pain and a love that needs no explanation, because it is shared by all of us,” he said.

Saying that bidding farewell to the late patriarch “does not appear to be an ordinary farewell,” he added, “It is unusually deep, intense, and painful, because this farewell contains not only feelings and emotions, but also an era and a story of great love.”

“They say a person is born twice,” he said, “first physically, and then a second time when he comes to know the purpose of his life.” He then added, “Judge for yourselves how great a person must be for his second birth not to remain confined to personal boundaries, but to merge with the destiny of a nation and be connected to the spiritual path of its people and clergy, and to its future.”

Ivanishvili also drew a parallel with Ilia Chavchavadze, a 19th-century Georgian writer and revered public figure, saying that at critical moments “the nation brings forth such figures.” He described Chavchavadze as someone who “revived a dying nation,” and said Ilia II “restored the Georgian Orthodox Church and became a symbol of the spiritual unity of the Georgian people.”

“These kinds of people are born rarely – the ones whose greatness is defined by selfless devotion to their nation and people – and their legacy is immortal, since such great individuals never truly die. They live on in our hearts and minds and will continue to exist as long as we remain loyal to their ideals.”

“During the years of His Holiness and Beatitude’s patriarchate, the Georgian Orthodox Church became a space where people once again found God, regained faith, peace, and a sense of unity,” he said. “The Catholicos-Patriarch’s word became a consolation in difficult times, and his prayer an invisible support and hope for our nation, for every child of this country, that not only will we survive, but we will prevail!”

In his words, there come moments in the life of a nation when society and people are united by a “great trial or a great joy.” “Today is precisely such a moment in the life of our country: millions of Georgians meet this great trial in silence, and it is in this deafening silence, which now resounds more loudly than anything, that every child of this country fully feels the immense loss you leave behind. In this silence, we bid farewell to the epoch that bore your name,” Ivanishvili said.

Despite this great sorrow, Ivanishvili said that Georgians are “fortunate people” for being the spiritual children of Ilia II, “children of a father who, just as in his lifetime, so too in his passing, devoted himself to uniting his parish, the Georgian people, into a single, united whole,” he noted.

Thanking the late patriarch for his “goodness, wisdom, and love,” Ivanishvili said, “A great epoch has ended,” quoting from Galaktion Tabidze’s poem “Ilia Who Was Killed at Tsitsamuri,” about Ilia Chavchavadze.

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