Patriarch Ilia II, who led the Orthodox Church in Georgia for almost a half-century and transformed it into the linchpin of the country’s national identity, died on Tuesday in Tbilisi, the capital. He was 93, writes The New York Times.

“His death, in a hospital, was confirmed in a statement by the church. On Wednesday, the Georgian government declared five days of national mourning, which will culminate on Sunday, when the patriarch will be buried at Tbilisi’s ancient Sioni Cathedral.

Thousands of Georgians accompanied the coffin on Wednesday as it was transferred from the patriarchate in Tbilisi’s Old Town to the Holy Trinity Cathedral, the country’s largest church, where he was to lie in state until Sunday.

As Georgia navigated the transition from Soviet repression and civil strife to modern statehood, Ilia II provided a sense of continuity and spiritual stability during tense periods — from the economic collapse of the 1990s to the 2008 war with Russia over two secessionist territories and Georgia’s current drift away from the West. As the longest-serving patriarch in the history of the Georgian Orthodox Church — one of the oldest Christian institutions in the world — Ilia II transformed the church into the country’s most resilient and venerated institution.

“His word had significance in society — everyone listened and paid heed to him,” Armaz Akhvlediani, a Georgian lawmaker who was close to Ilia II for many years, said in an interview. “The patriarch was able, with extraordinary wisdom, to lead the Georgian people through all these terrible roads and paths so as to always remain on the side of normalcy, on the side of the best interests of the church and the state”.

Georgia prides itself on having been one of the first nations to adopt Christianity as a state religion, and its population remains deeply devout. When Ilia II became leader in 1977, however, the church consisted of only a few dozen open parishes and a handful of monasteries. He oversaw an extensive expansion and worked to secure the recognition of the church’s independence. Today, the Georgian Orthodox Church has more than a thousand parishes.

Following the end of Soviet anti-religious suppression, new challenges emerged in Georgia. The country was plunged into civil war, with street battles in central Tbilisi and breakaway regions claiming independence. This post-Soviet power vacuum elevated the role of religion but also made it increasingly difficult for the church to navigate the society’s political polarization”, - writes the author of article.