Parliament Speaker congratulates newly elected Patriarch of Georgia

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili has congratulated the election of the new Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, describing the occasion as a “historic day” for the Georgian Orthodox Church.

In a congratulatory statement, Papuashvili said the new patriarch had been chosen “by the will of God” on the 1,700th anniversary of the declaration of Christianity in Georgia.

“Today, on 11 May 2026, by the will of the Lord, in His two-thousand-year-old Church, on the throne of Andrew the First-Called, on the 1,700th anniversary of the declaration of Christianity in Georgia, a new Patriarch has been chosen — a worthy bishop among the worthy,” Papuashvili wrote.

He referred to the newly elected church leader as “His Holiness and Beatitude Shio III, Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, Archbishop of Mtskheta-Tbilisi and Metropolitan of Bichvinta and Tskhum-Abkhazia”.

“May the Lord grant that we remember the head of the Georgian Church in this way for many years to come,” the Parliament Speaker stated.

Papuashvili also said the “cross of the Patriarch is heavy” and requires special strength and divine grace.

“I congratulate everyone on this great and historic day,” he added. “History continues, and Georgia’s 2,000-year-old Church flourishes.”