Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos spoke exclusively to orthodoxtimes.gr about the personal relationship he had developed with the late Patriarch of Georgia, Ilia. Among other things, he refers to the humility of the late Hierarch and to his decisive role in the ecclesiastical and social life of the country. Read what the Metropolitan said to orthodoxtimes.gr below, and after read a text by Metropolitan Kallinikos of Kastoria that supplements the text:
Remembering Patriarch Ilia II of Georgia
By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos
By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos
From my repeated visits to Georgia for the presentation of my books that were translated into Georgian, and from the lectures I gave in Tbilisi with the blessing of the late Patriarch Ilia, I observed the devotion of the Georgians to the Orthodox Church, as well as their deep respect for their Patriarch. I always visited him at the Patriarchate, and despite the health problems he had in recent years, I noticed that he enjoyed universal recognition from the ecclesiastical and political spheres as well as from the people.
The late Patriarch Ilia had particular gifts, such as simplicity, humility, and discernment. He was an iconographer, knowledgeable in Georgian music, and a composer of ecclesiastical hymns. He took care for the construction of a magnificent Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in the center of Tbilisi, on different levels, with halls and auxiliary spaces, with a height of 71 meters.
The most important thing is that at times he played a mediating role between the President of the country and the opposition, who sought his advice. Also, during the war with Russia, everyone recognized him as a negotiator. Furthermore, beyond these things, he made many efforts to support families, especially large families, and he showed concern for the ecclesiastical life.
He always received me at the Patriarchate with great love, and we had interesting discussions. Once he told me 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 of Georgia, Ilia, was truly a great ecclesiastical and national leader for the Georgian people and a prudent primate for the Orthodox Church.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
A Few Funeral Flowers for Patriarch Ilia II of Georgia
By Metropolitan Kallinikos of Kastoria
By Metropolitan Kallinikos of Kastoria
A great contemporary figure of the Orthodox Church, the late Patriarch of Mtskheta, Tbilisi, and All Georgia, Ilia II, has fallen asleep and has been added to the Fathers.
I had the blessing to receive his blessing at the seat of the Patriarchate of Georgia in Tbilisi, as a priest accompanying His Eminence Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos.
Specifically, His Eminence Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos visited Georgia and its capital Tbilisi three times, in the years 2009, 2017, and 2019, in order to speak on the occasion of the translation and publication of his books A Night in the Desert of the Holy Mountain, Orthodox Psychotherapy, and The Science of Spiritual Medicine into Georgian, by the publishing house Akali Iberoni.
The impressions of His Eminence Mr. Hierotheos and his talks there have been recorded in the relevant press releases issued by the Sacred Metropolis of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou, titled: “Guest among a pious people. Visit to Georgia” (2009), “Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos in Tbilisi of Georgia. The Science of Spiritual Medicine in Georgian” (2017), and “Talks of the Metropolitan of Nafpaktos in Tbilisi of Georgia. On the occasion of the presentations of His Eminence’s books in Tbilisi” (2019). His talks from the year 2009 have also been published in his book Speeches and Dialogues, in Cyprus, Russia, Romania, and Georgia (2010).
During these missionary journeys of His Eminence Mr. Hierotheos, I had the blessing to accompany him and to come to know experientially this Orthodox country and its Patriarch. After these trips, Georgia is no longer for me a distant and unknown country, but a sister country to Greece — with a great history, with devout inhabitants, with an Orthodox spirit, with a thirst for neptic theology, with worship and monasticism, with dignity and Orthodox self-consciousness.
Its Patriarch, Ilia II, was surrounded with honor and love by the people. They did not honor him as an inaccessible leader — although he truly was a leader of the people — but as a Father–Patriarch.
His Eminence Mr. Hierotheos wrote at that time about the Patriarch of Georgia Ilia II:
“His Beatitude the Patriarch is an important personality not only of the Church, but also of the country. He was enthroned as Patriarch on December 25, 1977, and since then for 32 years he has exercised his duties with discernment and love for his flock. He renewed the Church of Georgia, elected new metropolitans, archbishops, and bishops, rebuilt churches, founded new holy monasteries, and most importantly, during his time new clergy were ordained and many young people put on the monastic habit" (2009).
Ten years later, as an accompanying priest of the Metropolitan of Nafpaktos and as a collaborator of Ecclesiastical Intervention of the Sacred Metropolis of Nafpaktos, I wrote about their meeting:
“The Patriarch had read the preface of his book and asked Mr. Hierotheos to develop its main positions for him. He also said that such books with this content should be widely disseminated through modern means and through the internet, and he thanked the Metropolitan for responding to the invitation to visit and speak in Georgia. He also emphasized the need for peace and unity in the Church.
His Eminence replied to His Beatitude that theology is a therapeutic science, that the Church is a spiritual hospital which heals man from the passions and imagination — something very important in our time, because in this way genuine ecclesiastical consciousness is cultivated and fanaticism, from wherever it may come, is avoided. He also informed His Beatitude that his books and texts are also posted on the internet; people from all over the world are interested in the message they convey, and for this reason they have been translated and circulated in 25 languages, which shows the value of the Orthodox tradition even in our time.
Mr. Hierotheos praised His Beatitude the Patriarch for his great experience, discernment, calmness, and sobriety, and his other virtues, which make him respected and beloved by all the Georgian people” (2019).
I repeat that I feel a great blessing that I came to know and received the blessing of the late Patriarch of Georgia, Ilia II, in whose person I see the pious brotherly people of Georgia — with its great history, its free self-consciousness, and its Orthodox faith.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
