Tbilisi, May 12, 2026
Photo: interpressnews.ge
“This is both a great honor and a heavy cross to bear,” His Holiness Catholicos-Patriarch Shio III of Georgia said yesterday after being elected to the primatial throne, receiving 22 of 39 episcopal votes.
Addressing his Georgian flock, Pat. Shio said:
It’s hard for me in these moments to express to you my spiritual state, my thoughts, my feelings. This is both a great honor and a heavy cross to bear. First and foremost, I’m grateful to Almighty God for this great blessing He’s bestowed. Thanks to the Most Holy Mother of God, to the assembly of saints of the Orthodox Church, to St. Shio of Mgvime, to St. Alexi of Senaki—patron of the Senaki and Chkhorotsku Diocese—and to other workers for their help and protection.
Thanks to the bishops of the Holy Synod of the Georgian Orthodox Church for showing such great trust in me. To every person who worked tirelessly to ensure today’s Council was conducted worthily, to all the delegates and guests of the Council. Special thanks to the Georgian people for their love, prayers, and support. I also want to thank the clergy and congregation of the Senaki and Chkhorotsku Diocese for the love they’ve shown, and for the years spent serving God and the Church together with them. It’s a great grace and blessing from God, but at the same time the cross of shepherding and responsibility weighs heavy.
It’s impossible to fathom the Lord’s providence and intentions or to find an answer to the question of why God willed to grant such great grace and service. I’m aware of both the greatness and honor of this calling on one hand, and my human frailty and weakness on the other. I’ll serve trusting in the All-Merciful Lord, the Most Holy Mother of God, the assembly of saints, the prayers of our predecessors—the Catholicos-Patriarchs of All Georgia—the prayers of Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II of All Georgia, and also the prayers and love of the Georgian people.
Please pray for me, pray for our Church’s future, so that together, with love and peace, we may glorify the Lord and worthily continue our service for the good of the Church and the nation.
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