Holy Synod meeting underway at GOC

The Holy Synod meeting is underway at the Georgian Orthodox Church at noon. Members of the Holy Synod will select three Patriarchal candidates.

Three candidates will be shortlisted through a vote. The candidates must meet certain criteria: There is an age limit: the candidate should be no younger than 40 and no older than 70. The outstanding candidate must also have a higher theological education and be a monk. The candidate should have sufficient experience in church governance.

A member of the Holy Synod should nominate one candidate, including his own candidacy.

The three high priests who receive the majority of votes at the Synod will run for election to the extended meeting as candidates for the patriarch.

If no candidate receives more than half of the votes, a second round of ballots will be held with only two candidates running who received the majority of votes in the first round.

High priests will participate in the vote at the expanded meeting. A candidate who receives more than half of the votes will become the Patriarch.

The date for convening the extended assembly is set by the church’s governing board regulations: The assembly is held 40 days after the death of the Patriarch, but no later than two months.

The Holy Synod may set the date of the extended meeting today. Andria Jaghmaidze, Head of the Public Relations Service of the Georgian Orthodox Church (GOC), explained that the extended sitting, at which the Patriarch will be elected, must be held by May 17.