New Patriarch elected in Georgia

Patriarch Shio. Photo: Press Service of the Georgian Church

On May 11, 2026, a Council of the Georgian Church was held at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Tbilisi to elect a new Patriarch. According to the results of the vote, Metropolitan Shio (Mujiri) of Senaki and Chkhorotsku was elected the new primate. He received the votes of 22 hierarchs.

The new Patriarch was born on February 1, 1969, in Tbilisi. In his youth, his interests lay in the arts, and after graduating from Secondary School No. 53, he entered the Tbilisi State Conservatoire to study cello. He was regarded as an exceptionally gifted musician and was expected to have a brilliant career. In 1991, however, Elizbar sharply changed the course of his life, becoming a novice at the ancient Shio-Mgvime Monastery. In 1993, he was tonsured a monk with the name Shio.

In 1996, Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II ordained him a hieromonk. In the late 1990s, the future metropolitan served as rector of several churches in Tbilisi. He graduated from the Batumi Theological Seminary, studied externally at the Moscow Theological Academy, and later at St. Tikhon’s Orthodox University in Moscow. From 2001 to 2003, Shio served as rector of the Church of the Great Martyr George the Victory-Bearer in Gruziny, Moscow, the spiritual center of the Georgian diaspora in Russia.

In 2003, he was consecrated Bishop of Senaki and Chkhorotsku, and in 2010 he was elevated to the rank of metropolitan. In 2015, he defended a candidate dissertation in historical theology at St. Tikhon’s Orthodox University, devoted to the Georgian saint Alexiy (Shushania).

A turning point in his ecclesiastical career came on November 23, 2017, when Patriarch Ilia II, unexpectedly for many, appointed him as his locum tenens.

Theologically, Metropolitan Shio has established himself as a consistent conservative.

His sermons are usually centered on exegetical interpretation of Holy Scripture. On ethical issues, he takes a firm stance: for example, he has called abortion “a form of aggression” and “legalized fascism.” With his active involvement, the Church initiated the tightening of legislation in the area of gambling and online casinos.

Earlier, the UOJ wrote that the Georgian Synod had named three candidates for the patriarchal throne.

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