I sit in silence and think, what can I, an ordinary person, possibly say that is special about a personality, a legend, an epoch-making man before whom the entire country stood up. I sit and think to myself, how? How can a person, sent by God, endear himself not just to someone, but to an entire nation?!
Ilia II, the epochal spiritual figure of our time, represented a transformative force not only for the ecclesiastical sphere, but also for the spiritual and moral development of the entire nation. His life was the embodiment of boundless talent and divine calling, a talent that strengthens not only the individual within himself, but illuminates the whole society.
There are people whose lives transcend the boundaries of time and become part of eternity. Among them was His Holiness and Beatitude Ilia II, Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, our Patriarch, a spiritual father whose words, as he himself would say, always reminded us: „Love is the only force that can save the world.“
His service was not merely the ministry of the Church, it was the carving of a spiritual path for the nation. In the storms of different eras, when society often lost its balance, his voice would reach us with hope: „There is no human being without love, just as there is no life without breath.“
These words were not merely a sermon, they were a way of life that he himself embodied.
The unusual silence perceived in his voice was a miracle that sounded from his lips like a melody during every sermon.
Ilia II was a preacher of peace at a time when confrontation seemed inevitable. He taught us that „evil cannot be defeated by evil“, and with this simple yet profound truth, he turned people back toward one another.
His spiritual authority did not come from power, it came from humility. „Humility is the path to God,“ he would say, and he himself was the shining example of that path.
Therefore, over the years, he became not only the head of the Church, but also the conscience of the nation, the voice that never lost hope even in difficult times.
Today, as we bid him farewell, we hear the power of his words with particular intensity: „A person is strong when they are capable of love.“
And he truly was strong, he managed to unite the country, clergy and people alike. A continuous stream of people flowed daily toward the Holy Trinity Cathedral, he managed to unite Georgia. Women, children, the elderly, pregnant women, and persons with disabilities stood in lines for hours without moving, in wind or rain, to bid farewell one last time to our dearly beloved Patriarch.
I stood there and thought in my heart...
How many of those who came here today, I wonder, had not entered the doors of a church for a long time, yet were brought here by this greatest and most painful loss. He, our beloved Patriarch, truly managed to unite the stubborn Georgian nation!
This is his legacy, not only temples, not only a historical path, but spiritual nourishment that will continue to enlighten future generations as well.
Ilia II has passed into the eternal world, but his spoken word, his prayer, his spiritual strength remained, as an eternal light.
And perhaps that is why this is not the end. It is a continuation, of his word, his love, his faith.
And finally, when the countdown of the final moments began, his gentle voice could be heard by each of us, like a mother’s lullaby,
I love you, Georgia!
I love you, Georgia!
I love you, Georgia!
Nino Asanidze
SANGU Graduate
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