Patr. Shio Receives Constantinople Delegation in Georgia

TBILISI, GEORGIA — Catholicos-Patriarch Shio III of Georgia received Metr. Arsenios (Kardamakis) of Austria and Exarch of Hungary and Central Europe, a representative of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, during a visit to the Georgian Patriarchate on October 1.

Metr. Arsenios was accompanied by Bp. Maximos. The delegation was received by Patr. Shio at the Georgian Patriarchate, where discussions focused on relations between the two Orthodox Churches and Metr. Arsenios’s assistance to the Georgian Orthodox parish in Austria.

The meeting was attended by Metr. Teodore (Chuadze), head of the Georgian Patriarchate’s Foreign Affairs Service; Protopresbyter Giorgi Zviadadze, head of the Church’s Society Relations Service; Archpriest Andria Jagmaidze, Head of the Patriarchate’s Public Relations Department; and Archpriest Archil Khachidze, deputy head of the Foreign Affairs Service.

According to the Georgian Patriarchate’s Public Relations Department, the participants expressed gratitude to Metr. Arsenios for his support of the Georgian parish in Austria. The meeting also included a remembrance of the achievements of the late Patr. Ilia II, who led the Georgian Orthodox Church for decades before his repose in 2025.

The visit comes as representatives of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and Georgian Orthodox Church continue contacts concerning relations between the two Churches. The Georgian Patriarchate said the meeting concluded with an exchange of gifts, while the visiting delegation thanked Patr. Shio for the warm reception.

The Georgian statement also noted that Metr. Arsenios is among approximately 50 guests visiting Georgia to offer congratulations and participate in celebrations with the blessing of the Catholicos-Patriarch. The delegation’s visit was presented as part of broader ecclesiastical contacts between Georgia and the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

Previously, the UOJ reported that a Georgian pilgrimage marked 1,700 years of Christianity.