Metropolitan Shio has called on clergy and worshippers to intensify their prayers ahead of next week’s election of a new Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, urging that the process be conducted “with dignity, in peace and in love.”
Speaking during a sermon at Kashveti Cathedral, Metropolitan Shio announced that the expanded council of the Georgian Orthodox Church would convene next week to elect the Church’s new spiritual leader.
“You will know that next week we shall be called upon to hold a great Church Council, an expanded Church Council, at which a new Catholicos-Patriarch is to be elected,” Shio told the congregation. “I wish to ask our clergy, our monastic community, and every one of you, our beloved congregation, that we strengthen our prayers, so that this great occasion may be conducted with dignity, in peace and in love, that the will of God may be made manifest, and that the choice, the decision, may prove beneficial to our Church and to our people.”
He also called on believers to pray to Saint George, one of Georgia’s most revered saints, asking that his grace accompany the Church during the historic process.
The Holy Synod selected three candidates for the patriarchal throne during a session held on April 28. The nominees are Metropolitan Shio of Senaki and Chkhorotsku (Mujiri), Metropolitan Iobi and Metropolitan Grigoli.
Synod says Metropolitan Shio received the largest share of support in the secret ballot with 20 votes, while Metropolitan Iobi and Metropolitan Grigoli each received seven votes.
The upcoming election is expected to be one of the most significant events in the Georgian Orthodox Church in decades. The Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia serves as the head of the Church and remains one of the most influential public and spiritual figures in the country.
The Georgian Orthodox Church is among the country’s most trusted institutions and plays a major role in Georgia’s religious, cultural and social life. The election of a new patriarch is therefore being closely watched both within Georgia and among Orthodox Christian communities abroad.
