“I am confident that Shio III will be the distinguished Patriarch, who will say his word in our country and will contribute to the unification of the nation,” said Mamuka Mdinaradze, State Minister for Coordination with Law Enforcement Agencies.

Mamuka Mdinaradze with the new Patriarch’s success in his future endeavours.

“Metropolitan Shio, who is already the Patriarch, is a worthy person. Those who know or do not know him personally are confident in this. This was the will of God and Metropolitans and today is a truly historical day.

My congratulations to him. I wish him success and strong health so that he can fulfil this great responsibility and the duty that God and the representatives of the Synod have assigned to him. It is truly difficult to fulfil this responsibility after Ilia II. But due to his personal merit, I am confident that Shio III will be the distinguished Patriarch, who will say his word in our country and will contribute to the unification of the nation,” he said.