The Earth Mourns and Heaven Rejoices – Archimandrite Dorotheus Qurashvili

“The earth mourns and heaven rejoices.
Bless us, Your Holiness.
I cannot tell you anything new; even in your passing, I say to you what I told you during your lifetime.
Not goodbye, but until we meet again,” Archimandrite Dorotheus Qurashvili wrote on social media.

Patriarch Ilia II passed away on the evening of March 17. He will be buried on March 22 at Sioni Cathedral. Days of mourning have been declared in Georgia following the Patriarch’s death, lasting through the day of his funeral.

Ilia II was elected as the head of the Georgian Orthodox Church in 1977.