Georgian Orthodox Church to convene grand council to elect new Catholicos-Patriarch

The acting head of the Patriarchal Throne, Shio Mujiri, Metropolitan of Senaki and Chkhorotsku, has announced that the Georgian Orthodox Church will convene an expanded ecclesiastical council next week to select a new Catholicos-Patriarch.

Speaking publicly, Metropolitan Shio said the Church faced an important and historic process, calling on clergy, monastic communities and parishioners to intensify their prayers ahead of the gathering.

“Next week, we will have to hold a grand ecclesiastical council, an expanded church council, where the selection of a new Catholicos-Patriarch must take place,” he said. “I would like to ask our clergy, our monastic community, each of you and our faithful parishioners to strengthen your prayers so that this great event may be conducted with dignity, peacefully and with love, so that God’s will may be revealed and the decision may prove beneficial for our Church and our nation.”

He also urged worshippers to pray for the intercession of Saint George, one of Georgia’s most revered saints.