Georgia Elects Patriarch
Members of the Holy Synod of the Georgian Orthodox Church, at a closed extended meeting of representatives of the dioceses, elected Metropolitan and Keeper of the Patriarchal Throne Shio III (Mujiri) as the Patriarch of Georgia, as announced to journalists by Metropolitan Anania (Japaridze).
TL;DR
- Metropolitan Shio III (Mujiri) has been elected as the new Patriarch of Georgia.
- The election took place during a closed meeting of the Holy Synod and diocesan representatives.
- The new patriarch is 57 years old and has a background in music and theological studies.
- He studied at the Tbilisi Conservatory, Batumi Theological Seminary, Moscow Theological Academy, and St. Tikhon's Orthodox Humanitarian University.
- Shio III was consecrated as a bishop in 2003, became a metropolitan in 2010, and served as Keeper of the Patriarchal Throne since 2017.
- The previous Patriarch, Ilia II, passed away on March 17th at the age of 93.