Ilia II by Levan Urushadze
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His Holiness and Beatitude Ilia II (secular name: Irakli Gudushauri-Shiolashvili. Born January 4, 1932) is a famous ecclesiastic figure of Georgia, the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, Archbishop of Mtskheta and Tbilisi.
He was born in 1932 in Vladikavkaz (Northern Caucasus). In 1960 he graduated from the Moscow Theological Academy.
In 1963-1969 he was Bishop of the Batumi-Shemokmedi Eparchy (in Western Georgia). In 1969 he was elevated to the rank of Metropolitan.
On December 23, 1977, he was elected the Catholicos-Patriarch of all Georgia. On December 25, 1977 he was enthroned and given the name Ilia II. He is also Chairman of the Holy Synod of the Georgian Orthodox and Apostolic Church.
His Holiness and Beatitude received the highest Church awards from Patriarchs of the Orthodox Churches of Antioch, Jerusalem, Alexandria, Russia, Georgia, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania and almost all other Orthodox Churches.
Ilia II was conferred a Honorary Doctorate of Theology from: St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary in New York (1986), the Academy of Sciences in Crete (1997) and the St. Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania (1998).
