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Independent (18 March 2026)

Georgia’s Patriarch Ilia II, the longtime head of the Georgian Orthodox Church and one of the country’s most influential figures, has died. He was 93.

Ilia II died late Tuesday after being hospitalized in critical condition with internal bleeding.

“He was an epochal figure; it is a tremendous loss for the entire Orthodox Church,” said Shio Mujiri, who temporarily took over the leadership of the church pending the election of a new patriarch.

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