patriarch of Georgia

David, Catholicos Patriarch of Georgia consecrated in 1426.

In 1978, the energetic Patriarch of Georgia Ilia II succeeded in obtaining permission from the Soviet authorities to reopen a monastery at Betania.

On Sept. 22 Gamsakhurdia met an opposition representative, Tedo Paatashvili, at the residence of the Patriarch of Georgia, Illya II.

Before they arrived, the Convent was re-established by the blessing of patriarch of Georgia Ilia II, where the nuns moved from Tbilisi Peristsvaleba Convent.

July 11 - The Russian Empire removes Anton II, Catholicos Patriarch of Georgia, from his office, placing a Russian-appointed bishop at the head of the Georgian church.

October 14 - President Shevardnadze and Patriarch of Georgia Ilia II sign a constitutional agreement between the state and the Georgian Orthodox Church at the Svetitskhoveli Cathedral in Mtskheta.

On November 23, 2004, on St. George's Day, the cathedral was consecrated by Catholicos Patriarch of Georgia Ilia II and high-ranking representatives of fellow Orthodox Churches of the world.

It was signed by President of Georgia Eduard Shevardnadze and Patriarch of Georgia Ilia II on October 14, 2002 at the Cathedral of the Living Pillar in Mtskheta, Georgia.

The young prince was educated at the royal court at Tbilisi and then at the Tbilisi Theological Seminary under the guidance of Anton I, his relative and predecessor as Catholicos Patriarch of Georgia.

In course of the Georgian presidential election in 2008, Salome Zourabichvili and many other politicians in opposition agreed to the Patriarch of Georgia Ilia II's indicated support to the establishment of a constitutional monarchy under the House of Bagrationi.

That same year, he succeeded, at the age of 25, as the Catholicos Patriarch of Georgia on the death of Anton I. Anton's enthusiasm for religious building and patronage of education combined with his provenance added to his prestige of a religious leader.

Moments before the attack by the Soviet forces, the Patriarch of Georgia Ilia II addressed the demonstrators asking them to leave Rustaveli Avenue and the vicinity of the government building due to the danger which accumulated during the day after appearance of Soviet tanks near the avenue.