Tbilisi Mayor: May 11 to remain important date, reminding us of eternal values ‘God, Homeland, and Human’
Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze has congratulated Georgia on what he described as the “great historic event” of electing the country’s spiritual leader, the 142nd Patriarch of Georgia.
In a social media post, Kaladze said that from today the leader of the Georgian Church is Shio III, Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, Archbishop of Mtskheta-Tbilisi, and Metropolitan of Bichvinta and Tskhum-Abkhazia.
“This is a day which, through the leadership of Shio III, should further strengthen the Georgian Church, contribute to the spiritual growth of the nation, reinforce national identity, and help preserve peace.
May 11 will forever remain one of the most important dates for our country, reminding us of the eternal values on which Georgia stands — ‘God, Homeland, and Human’,” Kaladze wrote.
The Georgian Orthodox Church recently elected His Holiness Shio as the 142nd Catholicos-Patriarch of Georgia.
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.