LAST UPDATE: 16:55
Historic moments are unfolding for the Georgian Orthodox Church following the election of the new Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, Shio III, as his official enthronement took place today at the historic Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, dedicated to the Synaxis of the Holy Twelve Apostles.
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Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili, President Mikheil Kavelashvili, Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze, representatives of executive and legislative governments and Honorary Chair of the Georgian Dream party Bidzina Ivanishvili attended the enthronement ceremony.
The date of the enthronement was announced yesterday by Patriarch Shio himself after the completion of the election process.
Patriarch Shio of Georgia, born Shio Mujiri and until recently Metropolitan of Senaki and Chkhorotsqu, was elected the 142nd Patriarch of Georgia during yesterday’s historic Expanded Council, which was held at the Holy Trinity Cathedral of Tbilisi.
Patriarch Shio III Calls for a Church of Compassion, Service, and Spiritual Responsibility
Shio III, Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, Archbishop of Mtskheta-Tbilisi, and Metropolitan of Bichvinta and Tskhum-Abkhazia, delivered a heartfelt homily at Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, calling on the Church to share both the joys and sufferings of the people and to remain spiritually close to society.
“The Church’s strength is not only in words,” Patriarch Shio III said. “Its calling is found in Christ-like love and in bearing one another’s burdens.”
The newly enthroned Patriarch emphasized that the doors of the Church must remain open to everyone and that clergy should actively reach out to those who may feel distant from ecclesiastical life.
“We must open the doors of the Church widely to all. We should not merely wait for our neighbor to come to the church pulpit,” he stated. “Beyond the walls of the church, we must lovingly embrace our spiritual children, who, like the prodigal son, perhaps do not dare to come to us.”
Patriarch Shio III warned that modern life presents increasingly serious spiritual challenges, saying that “human hearts have become estranged and cold,” while temptations often replace “faith, moral values, family, and loved ones.”
“For this reason, the burden of shepherding the Church is doubly heavy,” he noted, adding that greater effort and sacrifice are required “to preach the faith of Christ and bring His living word into human hearts.”
The Georgian Primate also stressed the importance of young people and education, saying that the future of the nation depends on strengthening Christian faith, national values, respect for tradition, and responsibility toward both the Church and society.
“Our children are the tomorrow and future of the country,” Patriarch Shio III declared. “We must live and labor in such a way that we become worthy examples for them.”
He further underlined that education and public life should be founded not only on knowledge, but also on “Christ-like love and spiritual values.”
Concluding his homily, Patriarch Shio III paid tribute to his predecessors, kneeling “with filial love” before the legacy of the great Catholicos-Patriarchs of Georgia and asking for their prayers and support as he begins his ministry.
“I pray that, like a good shepherd, I may be able to lay down my life for my flock and humbly bear the heavy cross of the Patriarchate,” he said.
“Fidelity to the Legacy of Late Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia”
In another part of his homily, he said: “At this very moment, I especially feel how thorny and difficult was the shepherding path of our great spiritual father, Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II,” Patriarch Shio III said. “As obedient and loving children, we must preserve his spiritual legacy and continue his path — the path of serving God, the homeland, and humanity.”
The newly enthroned Primate called on the faithful to labor steadfastly for the strengthening of the Church and the Orthodox faith, as well as for peace and unity within society.
“Let us work faithfully to strengthen the Church and the faith, to increase love among the people, and to establish unity and peace,” he declared.
Patriarch Shio III also spoke about the weight of the responsibility entrusted to him, acknowledging both the honor and the burden of the Patriarchal ministry.
“Standing before you today, I once again recall the God-blessed past of our Church and nation, its patron saints, heroic ancestors, holy kings and queens, and I am even more deeply overcome by the feeling of my own inadequacy and human weakness,” he said.
“It is impossible to fully comprehend the intention and providence of the Lord or to answer why God allowed and willed such a great grace and burden of ministry to be placed upon me,” the Georgian Primate continued. “Yet I am fully aware of its honor, greatness, and heaviness.”
Patriarch Shio III expressed his trust in God, the Most Holy Theotokos, the Holy Apostle Andrew, and the saints of the Orthodox Church, especially Saint Shio of Mgvime and Saint Alexios of Senaki (Shushania), asking for their blessing and assistance “on the exceedingly difficult path of the Catholicos-Patriarchate.”
The new Patriarch also thanked the hierarchs of the Holy Synod of the Georgian Orthodox Church and the faithful people of Georgia for their support and prayers during the election process.
“I thank the hierarchs of the Holy Synod of the Georgian Orthodox Church for the great trust they have shown toward me,” he stated. “Special thanks I wish to express to you, our beloved people and faithful flock, for your prayers and support during these difficult days and moments.”
Patriarch Shio III further expressed gratitude to the clergy and monastic community, recalling the words often used by Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II about the “beloved clergy” and the “beloved monastic brotherhood.”
Concluding his homily, Patriarch Shio III asked the faithful to continue praying for him and for the future of the Georgian Orthodox Church.
“Please pray for me, pray for the future of our Church,” he said, “because your prayers will give me strength to serve the Orthodox Church and the God-blessed Georgian nation with faithfulness and humility. May we, strengthened by love and faith, glorify the Lord in unity and be one flock and one shepherd.”
“For centuries, our country has struggled, fought, been torn apart, but still unites; falls but gets back on its feet”
“The Georgian people have found their true face through the living word of God. For centuries, our country has struggled, fought, has been torn apart, but still unites, falls but gets back on its feet,” he added.
According to Shio III, he was enthroned on the Day of Saint Andrew the First-Called, while the expanded meeting of the Georgian Orthodox Church granted him the greatest honor and responsibility by the election as the new Patriarch.
“Two thousand years have passed since Saint Andrew the First-Called, blessed by Virgin Mary, departed for Georgia so that the nation, possessing the Lord’s robe, might share in the light of Christ. The Georgian people have found their true face through the living word of God. For centuries, our country has struggled, fought, been torn apart, but still unites, loses its dear sons, but continues to multiply, falls, but gets back on its feet, because, enlightened by the apostle’s merit, it buried the word of the Lord deep in its heart and will never see death. After all, he made Christianity the orientation of his own identity, thinking, and self-existence.
Also, symbolically, today our church celebrates the Day of Georgia’s Allotment to the Virgin Mary and glorifies Saint Andrew the First-Called. In such moments, we especially honor them and pray that the grace and power of the words from God’s first-called disciple may never diminish for our nation and Church,” he said.
Who is the new Patriarch
Born Elizbar Mujiri on February 1, 1969, in Tbilisi. After completing his secondary education and attending music school, he entered the Tbilisi State Conservatory in 1988.
In 1991, he entered the Shio-Mgvime Monastery as a novice and was tonsured a monk in 1993, receiving the name Shio. He served in various capacities within the monastery, including those of refectorian and steward. He was ordained a deacon in 1995 and a priest in 1996 by His Holiness Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II of All Georgia.
He subsequently served in various churches in Tbilisi and Moscow while pursuing theological studies at institutions in Batumi and Moscow. In 2003, he was elected Bishop of the newly established Diocese of Senaki and Chkhorotsqu, with his consecration taking place at Svetitskhoveli Cathedral. He was elevated to the rank of Archbishop in 2009.
On November 23, 2017, he was appointed Locum Tenens of the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia. In 2018, he was granted the right to wear the Diamond Cross.
