“History continues, the 2,000-year-old Church of Georgia rejoices,” writes the Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia, Shalva Papuashvili, regarding the election of His Holiness and Beatitude Shio III, Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, Archbishop of Mtskheta-Tbilisi, and Metropolitan of Bichvinta and Tskhum-Abkhazia.

According to the Speaker of Parliament, may God’s blessing and grace not be withheld from him.

“Today, on May 11, 2026, by the will of God, in His 2,000-year-old Church, at the Cathedral of St. Andrew the First-Called, on the 1700th anniversary of the proclamation of Christianity in Georgia, a new Patriarch has been elected - a worthy hierarch among the worthy.

His Holiness and Beatitude Shio III, Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, Archbishop of Mtskheta-Tbilisi, and Metropolitan of Bichvinta and Tskhum-Abkhazia - may God grant that for many years we address the leader of the Georgian Church in this way.

May God’s mercy and grace not be taken from him. The Patriarch’s cross is heavy, and carrying it requires special divine assistance.

Congratulations to everyone on this great, historic day!

History continues, the 2,000-year-old Church of Georgia rejoices,” Papuashvili writes.