Patriarch Kirill: return of remains of Georgian kings to Tbilisi is possible with public support

Kirill, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, said that the return to Georgia of the remains of the Georgian kings Vakhtang VI and Teimuraz II, buried in Astrakhan in the XVIII century, requires a public discussion in Russia. In his view, with the lack of public support such action could harm relations between the two countries.

He also noted that the Russian Church is sympathetic to the request of the Georgian side on the transportation of the remains to Tbilisi.

Earlier, Vestnik Kavkaza reported that Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II appealed to Patriarch Kirill and the Russian authorities already back in 2011 with a request to rebury the remains of the two Georgian tsars in Georgia.

At the initiative of Patriarch Kirill, a bilateral commission was established. It held its first meeting in December 2012.

Ilia II, accompanied by a Georgian delegation, has recently arrived in Moscow.

Adapted from: Vestnik Kavkaza