The Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia, H.E. Shalva Papuashvili, congratulated the newly elected Patriarch of All Georgia.

“Today, on 11 May 2026, by the will of the Lord, within His two-thousand-year-old Church, upon the throne of Saint Andrew the First-Called, and on the 1700th anniversary of the proclamation of Christianity in Georgia, a new Patriarch has been chosen — a worthy hierarch among the worthy.

His Holiness and Beatitude Shio III, Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, Archbishop of Mtskheta-Tbilisi, and Metropolitan of Bichvinta and Tskhum-Abkhazia — may the Lord grant that we commemorate the Leader of the Georgian Church in this manner for many years to come.

May God’s mercy and grace never depart from him. The Patriarch’s cross is heavy, and bearing it requires special divine assistance.

Congratulations to everyone on this greatest and historic day!

History continues, and Georgia’s two-thousand-year-old Church flourishes!” — reads the congratulatory statement of the Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia, Shalva Papuashvili.