The Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, congratulated Shio III on his election as Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, Archbishop of Mtskheta and Tbilisi, and Metropolitan of Pitsunda and Tskhum-Abkhazia, calling the event historic. “Today, May 11, 2026, by the will of God, in His two-thousand-year-old Church, on the cathedra of Andrew the First-Called, in the year of the 1700th anniversary of the proclamation of Christianity in Georgia, a new Patriarch has been elected — a worthy hierarch among the worthy,” the politician wrote. He noted that Shio III holds a high ecclesiastical title and expressed hope that he would be mentioned as the primate of the Georgian Church for many years to come. “May God not deprive him of His grace and mercy. The Patriarch’s cross is heavy, and bearing it requires […]
The Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, congratulated Shio III on his election as Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, Archbishop of Mtskheta and Tbilisi, and Metropolitan of Pitsunda and Tskhum-Abkhazia, calling the event historic.
“Today, May 11, 2026, by the will of God, in His two-thousand-year-old Church, on the cathedra of Andrew the First-Called, in the year of the 1700th anniversary of the proclamation of Christianity in Georgia, a new Patriarch has been elected — a worthy hierarch among the worthy,” the politician wrote.
He noted that Shio III holds a high ecclesiastical title and expressed hope that he would be mentioned as the primate of the Georgian Church for many years to come.
“May God not deprive him of His grace and mercy. The Patriarch’s cross is heavy, and bearing it requires special support,” the statement reads.
Papuashvili congratulated everyone on this “great historical day” and emphasized: “History continues; the two-thousand-year-old Georgian Church rejoices.”
It should be noted that the Locum Tenens (temporary administrator) of the patriarchal throne, Shio Mujiri — henceforth Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Shio III — was elected as the new Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia (the 142nd in the country’s history) at the 14th expanded assembly in the Sameba (Holy Trinity) Cathedral on May 11, 2026.
Up to 1,200 delegates participated in the expanded assembly. Shio Mujiri received 22 votes, Metropolitan Iov received 9 votes, and Metropolitan Grigol received 7 votes.
The enthronement of the new Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Shio Mujiri — Shio III — will take place at the Svetitskhoveli Cathedral in Mtskheta on May 12. According to church statutes, the solemn ceremony of the new leader’s assumption of office in the Georgian Orthodox Church must take place on the first religious holiday following the conclusion of the voting and the election of the new patriarch.
As a reminder, Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II passed away on March 17 at the age of 93. From March 18, his lying in state was held at the Sameba Cathedral. Thousands of citizens paid their respects to the Georgian Patriarch. Throughout the days of mourning, the flow of people wishing to say goodbye to the head of the GOC was continuous, 24 hours a day.
In many cases, citizens had to stand in line for several hours to enter the cathedral. Some had to stay overnight on the grounds of Sameba due to the large flow of parishioners in order to get into the church by morning.
Ilia II was buried on March 22 in the Sioni Cathedral.
To organize the funeral and ensure security during the mourning days, a state commission was established, headed by the Prime Minister of Georgia, which included members of the government and three representatives of the Georgian Orthodox Church.
Ilia II was elected Catholicos-Patriarch on December 23, 1977. His Holiness’s enthronement took place on December 25, 1977.
