The Georgian Patriarchate has responded to allegations concerning expenditure related to the funeral of the late Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II, saying it had known from the outset that most of the funds allocated for the funeral had not been spent.
Archpriest Andria Jagmaidze, head of the Georgian Patriarchate’s Public Relations Service, made the statement on social media while sharing remarks by Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on the issue.
“We knew from the very beginning that the majority of the funds allocated for the Patriarch’s funeral had not been spent,” Jagmaidze said.
He explained that the Patriarchate had maintained frequent communication with former Culture Minister Tea “Tika” Rukhadze during the period surrounding the funeral.
“Especially during that period, we were in frequent communication with Ms. Tika Rukhadze, and we knew from her that organizations and private individuals providing various services had, for the most part, declined fees or payment,” Jagmaidze said.
Referring to the Prime Minister’s subsequent comments, the cleric expressed hope that the controversy would now come to an end.
“The Prime Minister has publicly confirmed this, and I hope that the use of the Patriarch’s name for unfounded accusations and slander will come to an end,” Jagmaidze said.
Kobakhidze: GEL 3 million allocated, GEL 722,000 spent
According to Georgian media, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze addressed the controversy during a debate on Rustavi 2 on September 14, after being questioned about allegations that funds allocated for Patriarch Ilia II’s funeral had been improperly spent.
According to Kobakhidze, preliminary figures showed that GEL 3 million had been allocated for the funeral, while only GEL 722,000 was ultimately spent.
“They said that the expenses related to the Patriarch’s funeral had been incurred dishonestly and that money had allegedly been stolen,” Kobakhidze said.
He argued that the amount left unspent did not support the allegation, adding that if someone had intended to steal the allocated money, “they could easily have spent the entire three million.”
The Prime Minister stressed that these were preliminary figures and said he would examine the matter further before providing the public with more detailed information.
Source: 1tv.ge
