The Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, along with members of the delegation, arrived in Tbilisi a few minutes ago. He will participate in the funeral service (rite of burial) for Ilia II at the Holy Trinity Cathedral.

His All-Holiness Bartholomew, Archbishop of Constantinople – New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch, will perform the funeral service for His Holiness and Beatitude, Ilia II, together with the Locum Tenens of the Patriarchal Throne and members of the Synod.

Various delegations will attend the ceremony, and speeches are also scheduled. The Vatican delegation is already in Georgia. Cardinal Kurt Koch, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, and his accompanying persons were met at Tbilisi International Airport by the Papal Nuncio, Archbishop Ante Jozić, a counselor, and representatives of the Vatican Embassy.

Ilia II will be carried out of the Holy Trinity Cathedral around 3:00 PM, and a funeral procession on foot toward the Sioni Patriarchal Cathedral will begin.

A human corridor will be organized along the way to the Sioni Cathedral, and citizens will also have the opportunity to watch the entire service live on screens installed along the route. Only clergy will be present inside the Sioni Cathedral during the burial of His Holiness and Beatitude, Ilia II.

From the moment the Catholicos-Patriarch is laid in state at the Sioni Cathedral until the burial, mourning bells will toll in all active churches across Georgia.