“I receive my election as Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia with humility, by the grace of God, and in hope,” declared the Head of the Holy Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Georgia, His Holiness and Beatitude, Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, Archbishop of Mtskheta-Tbilisi, Metropolitan of Bichvinta and Tskhum-Abkhazia, Shio III.

Metropolitan Shio was elected Georgia’s new, 142nd Catholicos-Patriarch at the expanded council of the Georgian Orthodox Church recently.

The bishops cast their votes amongst three candidates. The results of the ballot were as follows: the locum tenens of the Patriarchal throne, Metropolitan Shio of Senaki and Chkhorotsku (Mujiri) received 22 votes; Metropolitan Iobi of Mroveli-Urbnisi (Akiashvili) received nine votes; and Metropolitan Grigoli of Poti and Khobi (Berbichashvili) received seven votes.