His Beatitude Daniel, Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church, issued a message of condolence on Tuesday evening following the passing of His Beatitude Ilia II, Patriarch of Georgia.
The Primate of the Romanian Church refers to Patriarch Ilia II as “a venerable personality of contemporary Orthodoxy and a steadfast confessor of the faith, who shepherded with wisdom the Orthodox Church of Georgia during periods of both trial and renewal”.
Full text:
Bucharest, 17 March 2026
To the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church of Georgia
Your Eminences,
Your Graces,
It is with deep sorrow that we received the news about the passing from this world of our beloved brother in Christ, Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, Ilia II of blessed memory, a venerable personality of contemporary Orthodoxy and a steadfast confessor of the faith, who shepherded with wisdom the Orthodox Church of Georgia during periods of both trial and renewal.
On behalf of the hierarchs, clergy, and faithful of the Romanian Orthodox Church, we extend condolences to the members of the Holy Synod and to the entire Georgian Orthodox Church.
At the same time, we pray to our Lord Jesus Christ, Who is “the Resurrection and the Life” (John 11, 25), to rest the soul of Patriarch Ilia II in the dwelling places of His beloved saints, where there is no pain, nor sorrow, nor sighing, but life everlasting.
May his memory be eternal from generation to generation!
† DANIEL
Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church
