Georgia has elected a new patriarch.

Patriarch Shio (Elizbar Mujdiri) is 57 years old. He studied at the Tbilisi Conservatory in the cello class, completed three courses, and entered the Shio-Mgvime Monastery as a novice. In 1993, he was tonsured a monk. Since 2003 - Bishop of the GOC, since 2010 - Metropolitan of the Georgian Orthodox Church, The Caspian Post reports, citing NasaNiva.

The previous Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II died on March 17, 2026, at the age of 93. He led the Georgian Orthodox Church since 1977.