Shio instead of Elijah: what will the new Georgian Patriarch change in relations between Moscow and Tbilisi

Tbilisi has elected a new patriarch of the Georgian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Shio (Mujiri). He is considered a conditionally pro—Russian hierarch - he studied in Moscow and served in the capital's church. It is expected that the dialogue between the GOC and the Russian Orthodox Church may intensify with him. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.

How were the elections

The previous Patriarch of the Georgian Orthodox Church, Ilia II, died on March 17 at the age of 93. He held his post for almost half a century and during this time managed to dramatically raise the authority and importance of the GOC. Under him, the number of churches and clergy increased significantly, he personally baptized children in large families, and more than once acted as a peacemaker in political battles.

After the death of Elijah II, the process of choosing a new patriarch began. According to the charter of the GOC, an ethnic Georgian tonsured monk between the ages of 40 and 70, who has a theological education and the rank of bishop or metropolitan, could become the leader. The election procedure itself was supposed to be carried out up to two months after the death of the previous head, that is, the name of the new patriarch had to be announced before May 17.

As a result, after several stages of discussions and an initial vote of the Holy Synod, the GOC decided on three candidates, each of whom represented different models of development. One of the contenders for the throne was Metropolitan Job (Akiashvili). He is considered a representative of the radical conservative wing, has repeatedly opposed ecumenical tendencies, and during the coronavirus pandemic called the disease artificially created.

The second candidate was Metropolitan Grigol (Berbichashvili). On the contrary, he was considered a more liberal candidate. In the public field, he repeatedly demanded support for the granting of autocephaly to the schismatic Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), criticized the restrained position of the GOC on this issue, and also resented the influence of "Russian propaganda" in Georgia.

The third candidate and the clear favorite was Metropolitan Shio (Mujiri). He is 57 years old, which is quite a young age by church standards. It was he who was appointed locum tenens of the patriarchal throne by Ilia II back in 2017, that is, he actually made his successor. In an ideological sense, he was considered a proponent of a centrist position, a dialogue between secular and spiritual authorities.

As a result, on May 11, an expanded meeting of the Holy Synod of the GOC was held in the Tbilisi Cathedral of the Holy Trinity (Tsminda Sameba), at which Metropolitan Shio was chosen as the new Catholicos-Patriarch. He received 22 votes with the required minimum of 20. Job had nine supporters, Grigol had seven, and one ballot was declared invalid.

After his election, the winner gave a rather restrained comment. "God's grace and mercy are great, but at the same time the cross and responsibility of pastoral care are heavy. It is impossible to predict the providence and intentions of the Lord," he said.

On May 12, the enthronement ceremony of the new patriarch, who will now be called Shio III, took place in ancient Mtskheta.

What to expect from the new patriarch

Metropolitan Shio is considered to be a supporter of the conservative line in domestic Georgian issues. For example, last year he supported the removal of the concept of gender identity from the country's laws, as well as the prohibition of LGBT propaganda (the movement is recognized as extremist and banned in the Russian Federation). Then, in one of his sermons, he called on the secular and spiritual authorities to jointly fight against destructive social constructs.

He also noted that "destructive forces" are waging war not only against the Church and the church family, but also against family values in general. "The family is a small church, the state is a big church. By undermining families, they destroy states and state sovereignty. We must resist these theories and technologies, we must restrain them as much as possible and, if necessary, eradicate them," the metropolitan emphasized.

In addition, Shio sounded the alarm because of the demographic situation. According to him, the number of Georgian people has decreased from 5 million to 3.7 million in recent decades. "One of the reasons, among many other circumstances, is the alarming abortion statistics. Because of this, we lose about 22,000 births a year, and if we add medical solutions, this number will double. We definitely have to think about it," he said.

At the same time, Shio did not hesitate to raise difficult and sensitive issues for the government. It is known, for example, that he personally appealed to Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze with a request to release prisoners who ended up behind bars after the protests.

It is interesting that now, after the elections, this issue is back on the agenda. The head of the GOC's public relations service, Andria Jagmaidze, promised that the new leader would have another conversation with secular leaders on this topic. "I confirm that this will happen. Although it is very difficult to talk about exact dates now," he stressed.

On the issue of foreign relations, Shio is considered a proponent of maintaining and strengthening ties with the Russian Orthodox Church. There is a rather long Russian period in his own biography. In 2001-2003, he served in the Moscow church on Bolshaya Gruzinskaya Street. In addition, he studied at the Moscow Theological Academy and St. Tikhon's Orthodox University of the Humanities, where he defended his dissertation.

In this regard, it is expected that the dialogue between the GOC and the Russian Orthodox Church will intensify under the new Patriarch. "I pray that in your primatial ministry you will find a worthy continuation of the traditions of fraternal communion that developed under your venerable predecessors, especially under His Holiness and Beatitude Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II," Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia said in his congratulatory telegram.

To this day, the Georgian Church has also not recognized the autocephaly of the schismatic OCU. At the same time, Metropolitan Shio was one of the main speakers on this issue. In 2019, he announced that the GOC would carefully study this issue. Since then, no response has been received, and such a reaction in the church community is usually interpreted as a diplomatic refusal.

It is also interesting that after the death of Ilia II, a delegation of the canonical Ukrainian UOC visited Tbilisi. Metropolitan Shio, who, of course, was busy with numerous funeral chores and the upcoming elections, nevertheless found time to meet with the guests. But his conversation with Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, who also visited in March, was not reported.

What the experts say

The election result was predetermined, emphasizes Archil Sikharulidze, a political scientist and founder of the SIKHA Foundation Research Institute. The authority and trust of Elijah II, according to him, was enough for Metropolitan Shio to win a convincing victory.

— I think the new patriarch will fight for the preservation of traditional values, and will also continue his predecessor's policy of maintaining friendly contacts with the Moscow Patriarchate. Perhaps he will try to strengthen the spiritual influence of the GOC in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. In general, no radical changes are expected, in many ways he will probably continue the course of Elijah II," says the editorial interlocutor.

In turn, Shota Apkhaidze, an expert at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, notes that Patriarch Shio III does not cause serious controversy in the church environment, being considered a neutral candidate, since he is equidistant from different groups of influence.

— He is a well-known intellectual, a good theologian. After all, it was not for nothing that the previous patriarch chose him. I hope that under his leadership the GOC will not change its position on internal and external issues. I note that during the election campaign, pro-Western forces accused him of having ties with Moscow, calling him almost an agent of the Kremlin. Perhaps after that, he will be afraid to take any bright steps towards the ROC, so as not to receive new charges. Although in general, I think he will be quite firm on the main issues," he expects.