The new Patriarch of Georgia is to be elected by the Extended Council of the Georgian Orthodox Church.
Under the Statute governing the administration of the Georgian Orthodox Church, as reported by 1tv.ge, the Locum Tenens of the Patriarchal Throne is required to convene the Council no sooner than forty days and no later than two months following the vacancy.
Ahead of the Extended Council, a session of the Holy Synod will be convened to select the patriarchal candidates.
A candidate for Patriarch of Georgia must meet the following criteria: they must be of Georgian nationality, a bishop of the Georgian Orthodox Church, possess theological education and significant experience in church governance, be between forty and seventy years of age, and be a monk.
The Holy Synod will select three candidates to be put forward to the Extended Council.
Each member of the Synod is entitled to nominate one patriarchal candidate, including himself. The three bishops who receive the greatest number of votes at the Synod will stand as candidates for the Patriarchate at the Extended Council.
Should no candidate receive more than half of the votes in the first round, a second ballot will be held, in which the two candidates who received the most votes in the first round will participate.
Only bishops are eligible to participate in the vote for electing the Patriarch. The candidate who secures more than half of the votes cast by the bishops present at the Council will be considered elected as the Patriarch of Georgia.
The procedure for electing the Patriarch of Georgia is set out in the Statute on the Administration of the Georgian Orthodox Church, adopted at the Thirteenth Extended Council of the Georgian Orthodox Church, held at Svetitskhoveli Cathedral on September 18–19, 1995.
Until a new Patriarch is elected, the governance of the Church is led by the Locum Tenens of the Patriarchal Throne. Metropolitan Shio (Mujiri) has held the position of Locum Tenens since November 23, 2017.
