TBILISI, March 22 (Reuters) - Large crowds of Orthodox Christians gathered in the centre of the Georgian capital on Sunday to mourn Ilia II, the spiritual leader who led the church through nearly half a century of Georgia's often tumultuous history.
Ilia II, born Irakli Ghudushauri-Shiolashvili, died on Tuesday in hospital aged 93, having served as patriarch in the overwhelmingly Orthodox country for 49 years.
"He was a friend, he was a father, he was a leader," said mourner Nino Kajaia. "This is the end of an era."
Georgians of all ages, some holding flowers and candles, gathered along the Tbilisi river embankment to bid farewell as Ilia II's funeral cortege made its way to the Sioni Cathedral, where the patriarch was laid to rest.
Many wept and clapped as the car bearing his coffin drove by, shouting "I love you, patriarch!"
Georgia adopted Christianity as its state religion in the early fourth century, and remains deeply religious to this day.
Ilia II became patriarch in 1977 and led the church through the Soviet period and the civil wars of the 1990s.
"We lost a man who, over the course of 49 years, managed to unite the nation," said Giga Tutberidze, a doctor.
(Reporting by Lucy PapachristouEditing by Christina Fincher)
