Most of the funds allocated for the funeral of Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II remained unspent, as many organizations and individuals waived fees for their services.

Archpriest Andria Jaghmaidze, head of the Patriarchate’s public relations service, said organizations and private individuals had largely declined to receive fees or salaries for various services related to the funeral, according to Sputnik Georgia.

He added that Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze had publicly confirmed the matter and expressed hope that the Patriarch’s name would no longer be used for what he described as unfounded accusations and slander.

Earlier, Kobakhidze said the government had allocated 3 million lari ($1,153,999) for Ilia II’s funeral, but only 722,000 lari ($277,729) was ultimately spent.