December 25 marked the 44th anniversary of the enthronement of the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, His Holiness and Beatitude Ilia II.
His Holiness and Beatitude was unanimously elected as Patriarch of Georgia on Dec. 23, 1977. The enthronement of Ilia II took place on December 25 – Christmas Day based with the Gregorian calendar – at the historic Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, southwest of Tbilisi.
Solemn services were held in all Orthodox churches around Georgia in commemoration.
On the occasion of the anniversary, the Russian Orthodox Church’s Metropolitan of Volokolamsk, His Eminence Hilarion, who is also the chairman of the latter’s Department of External Church Relations, conveyed the Moscow Patriarchate’s congratulations to the Primate of the Georgian Orthodox Church.