Ephraim II ( ka, ეფრემ II, ''Eprem''; 19 October 1896 – 7 April 1972) was

Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia ( ka, სრულიად საქართველოს კათოლიკოს პატრიარქი) is the Archbishop of Mtskheta and Tbilisi and the head of Georgian Orthodox Church. The of ...

from 1960 until his death. His full title was ''His Holiness and Beatitude, Archbishop of

Mtskheta Mtskheta ( ka, მცხეთა} ) is a city in the Mkhare, region of Mtskheta-Mtianeti, Georgia (country), Georgia. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It is locat ...

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

and Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia''. Born as Grigol Sidamonidze, the future prelate graduated from the

Tiflis Theological Seminary Tbilisi Theological Academy and Seminary ( ka, თბილისის სასულიერო სემინარია, tr; ) is a seminary in Tbilisi, Georgia. It operated from 1817 to 1919 under the name Tiflis Theological Seminary in ...

in 1918 and from the

Tbilisi State University Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University ( ka, ივანე ჯავახიშვილის სახელობის თბილისის სახელმწიფო უნივერსიტეტი, tr; often shorten ...

with a degree in

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

in 1925. He became a

monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

in 1922. At various times, from 1927 to 1960, he served as bishop of Nikortsminda, bishop of Gelati and

Kutaisi Kutaisi ( ; ka, ქუთაისი ) is a city in the Imereti region of the Georgia (country), Republic of Georgia. One of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, it is the List o ...

, and metropolitan of

Batumi Batumi (; ka, ბათუმი ), historically Batum or Batoum, is the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), second-largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia and the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, located on the coast ...

- Shemokmedi and Chkondidi. After the death of Melchizedek III in 1960, Ephraim was elected to the office of Catholicos-Patriarch of Georgia. During his tenure, Ephraim tried to avoid confrontation with the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

government, but produced a series of

sermon A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present context ...

s, appealing to Georgian

patriotism Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and a sense of attachment to one's country or state. This attachment can be a combination of different feelings for things such as the language of one's homeland, and its ethnic, cultural, politic ...

, for which he gained popularity. At the same time, he cultivated friendly ties with the

Russian Orthodox Church The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...

and the

Armenian Apostolic Church The Armenian Apostolic Church () is the Autocephaly, autocephalous national church of Armenia. Part of Oriental Orthodoxy, it is one of the most ancient Christianity, Christian churches. The Armenian Apostolic Church, like the Armenian Catholic ...

and, in 1962, brought the Georgian church into the

World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, most jurisdictions of the Eastern Orthodo ...

(of which it would remain a member until 1997).Max Hayward, William C. Fletcher (1969), ''Religion and the Soviet State: a Dilemma of Power'', p. 179. Praeger He died in 1972 and was interred at the

Tbilisi Sioni Cathedral The Sioni Cathedral of the Dormition () is a Georgian Orthodox cathedral located in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. Following a medieval Georgian tradition of naming churches after specific places in the Holy Land, the Sioni Cathedral bears the ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ephraim 02 Of Georgia 1896 births 1972 deaths Catholicoses and Patriarchs of Georgia (country) Eastern Orthodox Christians from Georgia (country)