Georgian Patriarch Praises `Historic’ Visit to Russia

Catholicos Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II
© RIA Novosti. Sergei Pyatakov

TBILISI, January 27 (RIA Novosti) – The Catholicos-Patriarch of the
Georgian Orthodox Church, Ilia II, praised his five-day visit to
Russia as `historic’ upon his arrival to Georgia late on Saturday.
`With God’s help, my visit was successful, and I think it was a
historic visit and good results will follow,’ he told journalists.
The 80-year-old Catholicos-Patriarch, Georgia’s most trusted public
figure who is often referred to as the nation’s spiritual leader, came
to Moscow last Sunday.
Although the official purpose of the visit was to receive a
prestigious award on Monday from a Russian Orthodox Church-affiliated
foundation for his contribution to fostering the unity of Orthodox
Christian nations, he also met with Russian President Vladimir Putin
on Wednesday and `relayed greetings’ from the Georgian Prime Minister
Bidzina Ivanishvili.
Georgia and Russia cut diplomatic ties after the 2008 conflict over
South Ossetia.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress