Patriarch Ilia II of Georgia died yesterday (2026/03/17 NS) at the age of 93.
I won't say much, except that we are about to find out whether his successors will be as eager to rejoin the WCC as Fr. Joseph believes. (Even if not, I still don't consider WO to be an Orthodox body, but I still hope for them to do the less evil thing.)
Sadly, even though the Orthodox Church of Georgia was pressured into withdrawing from the World Council of Churches in 1997, Pat. Ilia II was still an ecumenist and syncretist until his end, and is of sorry memory. So, even if they don't rejoin the WCC, they could still elect another ecumenist heretic like Ilia II was. It should be remembered, the "Roman Catholic Church" has never formally joined the WCC, but nevertheless, the popes in recent generations have been rabid ecumenists.
From a glance at the general news, it sounds like Patriarch Ilya was being widely mourned in Georgia.
But we have mentioned about him on here, Euphrosynos Cafe - the less favorable sides.
Are there any candidates being discussed yet to succeed him ?
Agree, they will probably be of the same ilk
An interesting essay on the history of ecumenism in the Georgian Patriarchate. The author is an ecumenist, which is in this case is helpful because they oftentimes tell on themselves. One especially interesting excerpt is the following:
"Exit from ecumenical organizations for the OCG did not mean the suspension of every kind of ecumenical activity. For example, there are still official theological dialogues with the Roman Catholic and Anglican Churches. There is also the ‘practical ecumenism’ mentioned above: The Patriarch himself and, through his blessings and permit, other Georgian bishops continue to participate in common prayers along with the representatives of other
Christian or non-Christian religious congregations. In 2005, a delegation
consisting of members of Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish religious congregations extant in Georgia meeting in Oslo first visited a synagogue, Muslim mosque, and Catholic, Lutheran, and Baptist churches there.
Finally, the delegation attended the Divine Liturgy along with Georgian
Orthodox bishops, Daniel Datuashvili, and Gerasime Sharashenidze.108 On
July 7 of the same year, Patriarch Ilia II himself served a paracleses for the
Azerbaijani people in Baku, which was attended by Father Ian, the leader of
the Catholic parish in Baku, and by Semion Ikhiilov, a representative of
Azerbaijan’s Jewish community.
During a meeting with Abraam Miqelashvili, the chief rabbi in Georgia,
held at the initiative of Patriarch Ilia II on December 29, 2005, the Patriarch gave his greetings to the Jewish people for the feast of Hannukah, lit
some Hannukah candles, and chanted the first Psalm together with the chief
rabbi.110 Two Georgian bishops, Daniel Datuashvili and Nikoloz Pachuashvili attend a liturgy served by the Russian Patriarch Aleksy II along with
Archbishop Antonio Mennini, the Vatican’s Nuncio, in Moscow on July 6, 2006.111 The list of such events taking place even after the official decision
of 1997 could easily be continued. Generally, there emerged a paradoxical
picture for outside observers: on one hand, the national government strives
for integration with Western organizations; on the other hand however, the
ecclesiastical government is leaving Western religious organizations."
In short the Georgian Patriarchate never abandoned ecumenism.
