Orthodox Leaders Congratulate Patr. Shio After Georgian Election
Primates across multiple countries congratulated His Holiness, emphasizing unity, continuity, and shared spiritual mission.
EDITOR'S NOTE: This article is being updated as more letters from Orthodox primates become available.
MAY 12, 2026 — Since the election of His Holiness and Beatitude Shio III as Patriarch of Georgia Monday afternoon, congratulatory letters have been sent from Orthodox primates around the world to express well wishes upon Shio III and the Georgian nation.
Compiled below are the official communications from various autocephalous churches around the Orthodox world.
Constantinople
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople sent a congratulatory message to Patr. Shio III, wishing him a long, blessed, and fruitful primatial ministry.
"With great joy, we have received, both personally and together with all those serving at the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the glad news of the worthy election of Your beloved Beatitude to the ancient and renowned Catholicos-Patriarchal Throne of All Georgia, in succession to the late and ever-memorable Catholic-Patriarch Ilia II, who rendered luminous and historic service to the venerable Church of Georgia and to the whole of Orthodoxy.
Glorifying the Lord, the Founder and Sustainer of His Church, we fraternally congratulate Your Beatitude, and we pray that you may be granted a long, blessed, and fruitful Primatial ministry, for the glory of God, for the good of your devout flock, for peace and stability among the Georgian people, and for the advancement, in harmonious cooperation with us and with the other Primates of the sister Orthodox Churches, of pan-Orthodox unity, collaboration, and common witness before the world. Axios!"
Serbia
Patr. Porfirije of the Serbian Orthodox Church extended congratulations to Catholicos-Patriarch Shio III of Georgia, calling the election a moment of shared joy for the Church of St. Sava and the wider Christian world. He praised the assembly in Tbilisi that confirmed the vote and emphasized unity, pastoral responsibility, and continuity of Orthodox tradition.
“As participants in history, enlightened by the unwaning light of the Risen Christ, and experiencing the mystery of God’s love in the echo of this most beautiful exclamation under the sun, we rejoice that today, within its harmony, there resounded a voice that has gladdened the Church of Saint Sava and the entire Christian world — that the sister Church of Georgia, in your God-loving person, has gained its archpastor and primate.
We deeply believe that your election to the sacred and ancient throne of the Georgian patriarchs is an expression of the good will of God, through which the Christ-loving people of the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Nina have received a virtuous father, a good shepherd, and a tireless teacher. We are convinced that, in your new obedience to the Holy Church, your ministry will be for all a living confirmation and strengthening that ‘God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and wisdom’ (2 Timothy 1:7), and that in this way you will prove yourself a worthy successor of the blessedly reposed Patriarch Ilia and all the other spiritual giants who, through past centuries of terrible storms and tempests, wisely steered the ship of the Georgian Patriarchate.
To Your Holiness, in Our personal name, together with the brother bishops, clergy, and faithful people of the Church of Saint Sava, we offer our most heartfelt congratulations on this great gift of God’s love, sending cordial greetings and prayerfully wishing that your forthcoming patriarchal ministry may be for the glory of God and for the benefit and edification both of your local Church and of the entire fullness of the Church of Christ.”
Russia
Patr. Kirill of Moscow wrote to Patr. Shio III, saying that his election had increased the Paschal joy the Church is still experiencing during this season.
"Please accept my heartfelt congratulations on your election as Primate of the Georgian Orthodox Church. The news of this event has heightened the radiant Paschal joy in the hearts of our faithful who sincerely love Iberia – a domain of the Most Holy Theotokos.
By the Divine Providence, our two sisterly Churches have been connected throughout their common history, bearing their zealous witness to the Gospel truth and firmly upholding the faith which was once delivered unto the saints (Jude 1:3). When visiting Georgia on many occasions and when welcoming dear guests from the Iberian land, I always felt that there is a deep spiritual affinity between the two peoples of the same faith.
I pray that, with God’s help, your Primatial ministry will further contribute to the traditions of fraternal communion established under your esteemed predecessors, especially under the ever-memorable His Holiness and Beatitude Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II of All Georgia who is revered throughout the Orthodox world.
With all my heart, I wish you good health and unceasing help from above for many and good years of peaceful and blessed Patriarchal service."
Romania
Patr. Daniel of the Romanian Orthodox Church began his letter with the traditional Paschal greeting before expressing his joy at the election of Patr. Shio III.
"With great joy in our Lord Jesus Christ, we would like to congratulate you on the occasion of your election as Archbishop of Mtskheta and Tbilisi, Metropolitan of Bichvinta and Tskhum-Abkhazia, and Catholicos Patriarch of All Georgia. At the same time, we pray our Lord Jesus Christ to grant you many spiritual accomplishments in the new mission entrusted to you.
On behalf of the members of the Holy Synod, the clergy and the faithful of the Romanian Orthodox Church, we wish Your Beatitude many blessed years in the service of the Orthodox people of Georgia and help from God in all your pastoral and missionary activity.
Many and blessed years to come!"
Albania
Abp. John of Albania issued congratulations, praising the new Patriarch's pastoral mission, affirming historic ties between their Churches, and wishing him health, spiritual wisdom, and long, peaceful service.
"On the occasion of Your worthy election as the 142nd Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, as You ascend the Most Holy Throne of the historic Apostolic Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Georgia, glorifying the Triune God, we rejoice wholeheartedly and join in the acclamation: 'Axios!' We are convinced that You will guide the beloved people of Georgia toward spiritual progress and fruitfulness, while at the same time deepening the unity of Orthodoxy and its dynamic witness in the much-suffering contemporary world.
The inheritance of the throne of the late, blessed Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II — a hierarch of extraordinary stature, who for nearly half a century shepherded with wisdom and unwavering faith the historic and martyric Church of Georgia — passes on to Your Beatitude a sacred and significant legacy, which we are confident You will continue with zeal and dedication.
The Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania, always mindful of the brotherly bonds uniting our two Sister Churches, joins in the joy of Your hope-filled flock on the occasion of Your election and forthcoming enthronement.
'Now unto Him who is able to keep us from falling and to present us faultless before His glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.' (Jude 1:24–25)."
Cyprus
Abp. Georgios of Cyprus greeted Patr. Shio with warm congratulations and brotherly joy.
With the canonical election of Your Beatitude to the Patriarchal throne of the Church of Georgia, the Hierarchy of the Church of Cyprus and I personally express our warmest congratulations and our deep brotherly joy in the Lord.
The Church of Georgia, which throughout the centuries has distinguished itself for the steadfastness of the Orthodox faith and the devotion of its pious people, enters into a new patriarchal ministry under the fatherly guidance of Your Beatitude.
We pray to the All-Good God to grant You health, many years, and every wisdom from above, so that You may shepherd in a God-pleasing manner the sacred clergy and the faithful people of the Church of Georgia.
Greece
Abp. Ieronymos expressed congratulations on behalf of the hierarchs, priests, and people of the Church of Greece. As reported by Ekklisia Online:
Through this Synodal Letter, among other things, His Beatitude wished that the All-Good God would grant the new Primate of the Church of Georgia health, spiritual strength, illumination, and support in carrying out his lofty mission and highly responsible duties, so that he may become a worthy continuator of the age-old ecclesiastical tradition of the Georgian Church, shepherding with discernment, a paternal spirit, and sacrificial love the people of God entrusted to him, while bearing unadulterated witness to the Orthodox faith in the contemporary world.
At the same time, he expressed confidence that the relations of love and cooperation between the two sister Orthodox Churches would continue, “in the bond of peace,” to be cultivated and strengthened for the benefit of the pan-Orthodox witness.
Ukraine
Metr. Onuphry of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church shared his respect for the legacy of the Georgian Orthodox Church and commended the testimony of the Church in conducting a respectable election following the loss of Patr. Ilia II.
"Please accept my heartfelt congratulations on the election of Your Holiness as Primate of the Georgian Orthodox Church and your ascent to the ancient throne of the Georgian First Hierarchs.
Your election has become a living testimony to the great trust of the episcopate, clergy, monastics, and laity, and at the same time the acceptance of the great responsibility of primatial service, connected with care for the unity of the Church, the purity of the Orthodox faith, and the spiritual guidance of the flock entrusted to you.
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church regards the sister Georgian Orthodox Church with deep respect — for its fidelity to Holy Orthodoxy, canonical order, and Sacred Tradition. We express the hope that under the primatial leadership of Your Holiness and Beatitude, the good and sincere relations between our Churches will continue to be strengthened in a spirit of mutual respect, peace, and love in Christ, just as they were during the wise and blessed ministry of your ever-memorable predecessor, His Holiness and Beatitude Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II.
On this significant day of Your Enthronement, we humbly offer prayers to the Risen Christ Almighty, asking that He grant you abundant and rich mercies, and we sincerely wish that He may bestow upon Your Holiness good health, strength of spirit, spiritual wisdom, and His inexhaustible help in your further primatial ministry. Through the prayers of the Most Holy Theotokos, of the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Saint Nino, enlightener of Georgia, and of all the saints who shone forth in the Georgian land, may your primatial ministry be peaceful, long-lasting, blessed, and spiritually fruitful, to the glory of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, for the benefit of the Holy Church, and for the good of the God-protected Georgian flock."
Statements from all sides underscored a shared Orthodox recognition of the election, emphasizing continuity, unity, and spiritual encouragement for the Georgian Church’s new primatial leadership across the global Orthodox communion.
UOJ-America has also reported on letters sent by Metr. Tikhon of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA) and Bp. Saba of the Georgian Diocese in North America.
Previously, the UOJ reported that Metr. Shio received church leaders in Tbilisi.
