Metropolitan Ierotheos of Nafpaktos spoke exclusively with orthodoxtimes.com about his personal relationship with the late Patriarch Ilia of Georgia.
He highlights the late hierarch’s humility and his decisive role in the country’s ecclesiastical and social life.
Read below to learn more about what the Metropolitan told orthodoxtimes.com.
Through my repeated visits to Georgia to present my books, which had been translated into Georgian, and through the lectures I gave in Tbilisi with the blessing of the late Patriarch Ilia, I witnessed the Georgian people’s devotion to the Orthodox Church and their profound respect for their Patriarch.
Despite his health problems in recent years, I always visited him at the Patriarchate and noticed that he enjoyed universal recognition from both the ecclesiastical and political spheres, as well as from the people.
The late Patriarch Ilia possessed exceptional gifts: simplicity, humility, and prudence. He was an iconographer, a connoisseur of Georgian music, and a composer of ecclesiastical hymns. He oversaw the construction of the magnificent Holy Trinity Cathedral, which has multiple levels, halls, and auxiliary spaces and reaches a height of 71 meters, in the center of Tbilisi.
Most importantly, he played a mediating role between the president and the opposition, who sought his counsel. During the war with Russia, he was recognized as a negotiator by all. Furthermore, he made numerous efforts to support families, especially large ones, and was deeply concerned with the life of the church.
He always received me at the Patriarchate with great love, and we had engaging discussions. On one occasion, he said something that left me embarrassed: he kissed my hand and said, “I am a sinner,” as an expression of his humility. I admired him.
The late Patriarch Ilia of Georgia was a great ecclesiastical and national leader for the Georgian people, as well as a wise primate of the Orthodox Church.
