As part of Stalin's efforts to unite the Soviet citizenry against the Nazi threat during World War II, state-sponsored persecution of religion was somewhat eased, and the GOC's independence from the Russian church was once again formally recognized in 1943. Restrictions on religious organizations returned after the end of the war, and the general corruption which plagued the leadership of the Georgian SSR in the early 1970s affected church officials in Georgia. When Ilia II became patriarch of the GOC in 1977, he moved to rejuvenate the church, directing the renovation of derelict churches, as well as construction of new churches. The GOC joined the World Council of Churches (WCC) in 1962, and Ilia II served as president of the WCC between 1979 and 1983.