{"id":563132,"date":"2026-03-19T15:09:42","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T13:09:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/basilica.ro\/?p=563132"},"modified":"2026-03-19T15:09:42","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T13:09:42","slug":"georgian-ambassador-patriarch-ilia-ii-quiet-strength","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/basilica.ro\/en\/georgian-ambassador-patriarch-ilia-ii-quiet-strength\/","title":{"rendered":"Georgian Ambassador mourns Patriarch Ilia II, praises humility and \u2018quiet strength\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Ambassador of Georgia to Romania, Tamar Beruchashvili, said the late Patriarch Ilia II of Georgia was \u201ca spiritual shepherd in the truest sense,\u201d guiding his people with humility, wisdom and quiet strength through times of trial and change.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Speaking to Basilica.ro after news of the patriarch\u2019s death, she described it as \u201can immense loss for Georgia and for the entire Christian world,\u201d adding<\/a> that his legacy as a great spiritual leader will endure.<\/p>\n

The ambassador also expressed gratitude to Patriarch Daniel of Romania for being the first primate of an autocephalous Orthodox Church to send a message of condolence<\/a> on Tuesday evening, shortly after the patriarch\u2019s passing.<\/p>\n

Patriarch Ilia II\u2014Archbishop of Mtskheta and Tbilisi, Metropolitan of Bichvinta and Tskhum-Abkhazia, and Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia\u2014reposed in the Lord<\/a> on Tuesday evening, 17 March 2026, at the age of 93.<\/p>\n

Georgian authorities have declared a period of national mourning<\/a>, with flags to be flown at half-mast on all administrative buildings nationwide.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Her Excellency Tamar Beruchashvili, Ambassador of Georgia to Romania, and His Beatitude Ilia II, Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia. Photo credit: Embassy of Georgia to Romania files<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Photo: Embassy of Georgia to Romania
\n\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Ambassador of Georgia to Romania, Tamar Beruchashvili, said the late Patriarch Ilia II of Georgia was \u201ca spiritual shepherd in the truest sense,\u201d guiding his people with humility, wisdom and quiet strength through times of trial and change. Speaking to Basilica.ro after news of the patriarch\u2019s death, she described it as \u201can immense loss…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":562950,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[37100,37097,8996,1988,37099,3929,37098],"class_list":["post-563132","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","tag-ambassador-tamar-beruchashvili","tag-georgia-national-mourning","tag-georgian-ambassador","tag-patriarch-ilia","tag-patriarch-ilia-ii-legacy","tag-patriarch-of-georgia","tag-quiet-strength"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/basilica.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/563132","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/basilica.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/basilica.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basilica.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basilica.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=563132"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/basilica.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/563132\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basilica.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/562950"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/basilica.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=563132"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basilica.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=563132"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basilica.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=563132"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}