“Today, like every Georgian, I carry in my heart great pain and love that needs no explanation, because it is common to all of us—an unprecedentedly deep, intense, and painful feeling, because the parting with [Ilia II] contains not only emotions and feelings, but also an entire era and a history of great love,” said the honorary chairman of Georgian Dream, Bidzina Ivanishvili, at the Holy Trinity Cathedral.

According to him, the farewell to His Holiness and Beatitude, Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II, “is not an ordinary separation.”

“There are rare moments of sorrow and emotional intensity in a person’s life such as the one I feel now. Today, before the entire nation, I bid farewell to our spiritual father. Today, like every Georgian, I carry in my heart great pain and love that needs no explanation, because it is shared by all of us. Today, all of us—young and old, in silence or through spoken words—are trying to pay tribute to a person who has left an indelible mark on each of our hearts. All of Georgia is bidding farewell to His Holiness and Beatitude, Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II, and this is not an ordinary farewell. It is unprecedentedly deep, intense, and painful, because this separation encompasses not only feelings and emotions, but also an entire era and a history of great love.

It is said that a person is born twice: first physically, and the second time when they come to understand the purpose of life. Judge for yourself how great a person must be for their second birth to go beyond personal boundaries and merge with the destiny of a country, connecting with the spiritual path of a nation and its future.

Throughout our centuries-long history, in the most difficult times when our country stood on the brink of existence, by God’s will, the nation itself gave rise to individuals who became pillars for the homeland in times of hardship.

If not for God’s will, how else can it be explained that we are a country and a people who gave birth to Ilia Chavchavadze, the father of the Georgian nation, who revived a dying people? If not for God’s will, how else can it be explained that we are a country and a people who gave birth to Ilia II, the spiritual father of Georgia, who restored the Georgian Orthodox Church and became a symbol of the spiritual unity of the Georgian people?

Such individuals are born rarely—people whose greatness is defined by their self-sacrifice for their country and people, and whose legacy is immortal, because great people never leave us. They live on in our hearts and memories and will live forever as long as we remain faithful to their ideals,” said Bidzina Ivanishvili.