16,951
edits
Changes
date the transition to autocephaly
He was raised to the dignity of [[archimandrite]] and served as [[abbot]] of the Monasteries of Zedazeni, Khirsi, and St. John the Baptist in Georgia. He also was chairman of the Commission for Correction of the Georgian Bible.
Archim. Leonid was also active, with other Georgians, in the struggle for restoration of autocephaly of the Church of Georgia during the early part of the twentieth century. After the 1917 February revolution in Russia, the Georgian [[synod]] proclaimed autocephaly on [[March 12]], 1917 and elected . Pending the election of the Catholicos-Patriarch, Leonid was the locum tenens until Bishop [[Kirion II (Sadzaglishvili) of Georgia|Kirion II]] was elected Catholicos-Patriarch of the restored churchon [[September 30]], 1917. In the restoration hierarchy, Archim. Leonid was [[consecration of a bishop|consecrated]] a bishop and was appointed Bishop of Gori Imereti Guria-Samegrelo as well as Metropolitan of Tbilisi.
On [[June 27]], 1918, Catholicos-Patriarch Kirion was found murdered in his residence at Martqopi Monastery. On [[November 28]], 1918, Metr. Leonid was elected Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia.
