Ilia II.
Ilia II. ( Georgian ილია II ; born Irakli Ghuduschauri-Shiolashvili (Georgian ირაკლი ღუდუშაური-შიოლაშვილი); born January 4, 1933 in Ordzhonikidze , North Ossetia-Alania ) is a Georgian Orthodox clergyman. He is Catholicos - Patriarch of the Georgian Orthodox Church , Archbishop of Mtskheta - Tbilisi and Metropolitan of Tshum - Abkhazia .
Life
career
The son of Giorgi S. Schiolaschvili and his wife Natalia Kobaidze come from an influential family clan that is related to the Georgian royal house of the Bagratids . He was baptized a few days after he was born. After graduating from high school in 1952, he began studying at the Moscow Theological Seminary and later at the Moscow Theological Academy . In 1957 he took the monk's vows and was given the name Ilia in honor of the prophet Elias. In 1959 he was ordained a priest. In 1960 he completed his studies with the academic degree of "candidate of theology" (= Dr. theol.). The doctoral thesis dealt with the originally Georgian monastery Iviron on Mount Athos.
In the same year he moved as a priest to the Cathedral of Batumi , Georgia. In 1963 he became Bishop of Batumi- Shemokmedi and Patriarchal Vicar . At the same time he took over the post of rector of the Theological Seminary of Mtskheta until 1973, which at that time was the only theological training center in Georgia. In 1967 Ilia was transferred to Abkhazia , where she acquired the rank of Metropolitan in 1969 . In 1977 he was elected Catholicos Patriarch of the Georgian Orthodox Church and has been named Ilia II since his enthronement on December 25th.
During his tenure, the number of Orthodox dioceses in Georgia rose from 15 to 27, the number of monasteries to 53 and the number of priests to over 600. Five new theological seminaries and academies were established and three Orthodox grammar schools opened. The Bible was printed in modern Georgian, numerous theological magazines and newspapers were published, Orthodox homes for the elderly and the disabled, orphanages and youth centers were built.
Memberships
Ilia had been a member of the Christian Peace Conference since 1964 , in whose All-Christian Peace Assemblies (ACFV) he regularly participated. The V. ACFV in Prague elected him as a member of the committee for the continuation of work. From 1978 to 1983 he was one of the then six presidents of the World Council of Churches (WCC / WCC) . Since 1997 he has been a member of the UN International Academy for Information .
Positions on politics and society
His positions on democracy and human rights are controversial. In October 2007 he proposed to amend the Georgian constitution and introduce a constitutional monarchy . He spoke out in favor of offering the throne again to the Bagratid dynasty, dethroned by the Russian tsar in 1801 .
In 2013, the Patriarch called for a homosexual demo to be banned in Tbilisi on International Day Against Homophobia on May 17th. Homosexuality is "abnormal and a disease". The rally was a "violation of the rights of the majority" and "an insult to the Georgian nation". On the day of the demonstration, around 5,000 Orthodox counter-demonstrators came to the elevator. Led by priests, they broke the police barriers and drove human rights activists to flight.
Awards
In 1986 he received honorary doctorates from the St. Vladimir theological seminary in New York , and in 1997 from the Academy of Sciences of Crete . He has been an honorary member of the Georgian Academy of Sciences since 2003 and of the International Academy for the Advancement of Scientific Research since 2007 . In February 2008 he was awarded the Dawit Guramishvili Prize.
Web links
- Ilya the Second. ( Memento from June 15, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Caucasian Knot
Individual evidence
- ↑ ცხუმ-აფხაზეთის ეპარქიის მმართველობა ილია მეორეს გადაეცა / Ilia II was elected Metropolitan of Tshum-Abkhazia
- ↑ EurasiaNet: Time For a King in Georgia? ( Memento of the original from January 21, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , October 12, 2007
- ↑ Russia Today: Georgia considers a return to monarchy. ( Memento of the original from December 17, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. October 14, 2007
- ↑ Violence against homosexuals: Westerwelle criticizes the Georgian government . In: BBC News , May 19, 2013. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
- ^ Thousands protest in Georgia over gay rights rally . In: BBC News , May 17, 2013.
predecessor | Office | successor |
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David V. Dewdariani |
Patriarch of the Georgian Orthodox Apostle Church 1977 - |
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personal data | |
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SURNAME | Ilia II. |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | ილია II (Georgian); Irakli Guduschauri-Schiolashvili (maiden name) |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Georgian Orthodox Patriarch |
DATE OF BIRTH | January 4, 1933 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Ordzhonikidze , Soviet Union |