Shio III of Georgia

{{Short description|Catholicos-Patriarch of Georgia (born 1969)}} {{Infobox Christian leader | honorific_prefix = His Holiness and Beatitude | name = Shio III | native_name = {{Lang|ka|შიო III}} | patriarch_of = Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, Archbishop of Mtskheta-Tbilisi and Metropolitan Bishop of Bichvinta and Tskhum-Abkhazia | image = Shio III on 17 May 2026 (cropped).jpg | birth_name = Elizbar Mujiri | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1969|02|01|df=y}} | birth_place = Tbilisi, Georgian SSR, Soviet Union | nationality = Georgian | church = Georgian Orthodox Church | enthroned = 12 May 2026 | predecessor = Ilia II | previous_post = {{indented plainlist| *Bishop of Australia and New Zealand (2010–2026) *Bishop of Senaki and Chkhorotskuri (2003–2026) }} | ordination = 1995 (deacon)<br>1996 (priest) | consecration = 2003 | signature_type = Khelrtva | signature = Shio III khelrtva.svg | caption = Shio III in 2026 }} '''Shio III'''{{efn|{{lang-ka|შიო III}}}} (secular name '''Elizbar Mujiri''';{{efn|{{lang-ka|ელიზბარ მუჯირი}}}} born 1 February 1969) is the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia. He was previously the bishop of Senaki and Chkhorotsku from 2003 to 2026 and ''locum tenens'' of the Patriarchal Throne from 2017 to 2026.

Born in Tbilisi, Soviet Georgia, he studied at the Moscow Theological Academy and Saint Tikhon's Orthodox University. He became a monk in 1993 and was also ordained to the priesthood in 1996. In 2003, Mujiri was made the bishop of the new eparchy of Senaki and Chkhorotsku, and was also placed in charge of parishes in Australia and New Zealand in 2009. In 2017 he was appointed ''locum tenens'' of the Patriarchal Throne by Ilia II of Georgia. He became the temporary leader of the Georgian Orthodox Church after the death of Ilia II in 2026 and was later elected as patriarch.

== Education and early career == Born Elizbar Mujiri (ელიზბარ მუჯირი) on 1 February 1969 in Tbilisi, then the capital of Soviet Georgia, Mujiri was trained as a cellist at the Tbilisi State Conservatoire, which he graduated from in 1991. His father, Teimuraz Mujiri, was an archaeologist, while his mother, Nana Kurdiani, was a doctor of philology. His grandparents were physicians.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ყველაფერი საქართველოს ახალ კათოლიკოს-პატრიარქის, შიო მესამის შესახებ - გზა კონსერვატორიიდან საქართველოს ეკლესიის წინამძღვრობამდე |url=http://www.resonancedaily.com/index.php?id_artc=251058&id_rub=4 |access-date=2026-05-30 |website=www.resonancedaily.com |language=en}}</ref>

Mujiri received his theological education at the Batumi Theological Seminary in Georgia and further, in Russia, at the Moscow Theological Academy and Saint Tikhon's Orthodox University, from which he received a Doctor of Divinity degree in 2015.<ref name="civ1">{{cite news|date=26 November 2017|title=Georgian Orthodox Patriarch Names Locum Tenens|work=Civil Georgia|url=http://civil.ge/eng/article.php?id=30670|access-date=28 November 2017}}</ref><ref name="goc">{{cite web|title=სრულიად საქართველოს კათოლიკოს-პატრიარქის, უწმინდესისა და უნეტარესის ილია II-ის მოსაყდრის, სენაკისა და ჩხოროწყუს მიტროპოლიტ შიოს (მუჯირი) ბიოგრაფია [Shio Mujiri's biography]|url=http://patriarchate.ge/geo/sruliad-saqartvelos-katolikos-patriarqis-uwmindesisa/|publisher=Patriarchate of Georgia|access-date=28 November 2017|language=ka|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171127021104/http://patriarchate.ge/geo/sruliad-saqartvelos-katolikos-patriarqis-uwmindesisa/ |url-status=dead|archive-date=2017-11-27}}</ref>

Elizbar Mujiri was tonsured a monk under the name of Shio in 1993. He was ordained a hierodeacon in 1995 and a hieromonk of the Georgian Orthodox Church in 1996. He was a father superior at the Kldisubani church of Saint George and then at the Narikala church of Saint Nicholas, both in Tbilisi, between 1997 and 2001 when he was moved to lead St. George parish church in Moscow, serving a local Georgian diaspora community.<ref name="civ1"/><ref name="goc"/>

== Bishop == On 18 August 2003, Shio was appointed to the newly created Georgian Orthodox eparchy of Senaki and Chkhorotsku with a bishops rank. The eparchy was carved out of parts of the Chqondidi and Poti-Senaki bishoprics in the territory of the Samegrelo region. As of 2017, the eparchy operated 39 churches and monasteries. Bishop Shio was additionally placed in charge of the Georgian parishes in Australia and New Zealand on 30 April 2009 and elevated to the rank of a metropolitan on 2 August 2010. He has a seat in the Holy Synod of the Georgian Orthodox Church and is, also, a member of its Canonization Commission.<ref name="goc"/>

According to the Georgian media outlets, Bishop Shio was a childhood friend of the President of Georgia Giorgi Margvelashvili, a commentator and activist Irakli Kakabadze, and businessman Levan Vasadze. The latter is known for his conservative views and anti-Western rhetoric<ref name="jam1">{{cite news|title=Can it be that Georgia has been introduced to its next Patriarch?|url=https://jam-news.net/?p=71865|access-date=28 November 2017|work=Jam News|date=23 November 2017}}</ref> and has presided, since 2013, over the board of trustees of the government-sponsored Georgian Demographic Revival Fund of which Shio is also a member.<ref>{{cite news|title=Levan Vasadze to head Board of Trustees of Georgian Demographic Revival Fund|url=http://www.messenger.com.ge/issues/2905_july_17_2013/2905_press_scanner.html|access-date=28 November 2017|work=The Messenger|date=17 July 2013}}</ref><ref name="OC1">{{cite news|date=23 November 2017|title=Georgian Patriarch names 'incumbent of the patriarchal throne'|work=OC Media|url=http://oc-media.org/georgian-patriarch-names-incumbent-of-the-patriarchal-throne/|access-date=28 November 2017}}</ref>

== Patriarchal locum tenens == On 23 November 2017, Saint George's Day, the leader of the Georgian Orthodox Church, Catholicos Patriarch Ilia II announced an appointment of Shio as the patriarchal ''locum tenens'', that is a church official who would act as a temporary head of the Georgian Orthodox Church for 40 days after the incumbent Patriarch died, until the Holy Synod elected a new Patriarch. The decree, drafted by Ilia II with his own hand, came amid the ongoing internal tensions within the church leadership, widely publicized in the aftermath of the "cyanide case", in which a Georgian Orthodox priest was arrested and ruled guilty on charges of plotting to murder the Patriarch's personal secretary and adviser with cyanide earlier that year. The incumbent patriarch's decision to name his locum in his own lifetime came to many Georgians as a surprise; the Georgian media suggested this might indicate Ilia II's support for Shio's candidacy as a future patriarch.<ref name="civ1"/><ref name="jam1">{{cite news|title=Can it be that Georgia has been introduced to its next Patriarch?|url=https://jam-news.net/?p=71865|access-date=28 November 2017|work=Jam News|date=23 November 2017}}</ref><ref name="OC1"/>

After a meeting of the Holy Synod on 2 November 2023, he called for peace in Ukraine, the Middle East, and the whole world.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Patriarch welcomes Georgia's policy to preserve peace |date=4 November 2023 |access-date=20 March 2026 |work=1tv.ge |url=https://1tv.ge/lang/en/news/patriarch-welcomes-georgias-policy-to-preserve-peace/ }}</ref>

On 17 March 2026, Metropolitan Shio officially became patriarchal ''locum tenens'' following the death of Ilia II.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Georgian Orthodox Patriarch Ilia II, hailed as an 'epochal figure,' dies at 93 |url=https://abcnews.com/International/wireStory/georgian-orthodox-patriarch-ilia-ii-hailed-epochal-figure-131174318 |access-date=2026-03-18 |website=ABC News |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2026-03-18 |title=Metropolitan Shio (Mujiri): Ilia II was an epoch-making figure; his passing is a tremendous loss for the entire Orthodox world – we, all of Georgia, have gained a heavenly protector; he was, is, and will remain our father, and we are his children |url=https://www.interpressnews.ge/en/article/146401-metropolitan-shio-mujiri-ilia-ii-was-an-epoch-making-figure-his-passing-is-a-tremendous-loss-for-the-entire-orthodox-world-we-all-of-georgia-have-gained-a-heavenly-protector-he-was-is-and-will-remain-our-father-and-we-are-his-children/ |access-date=2026-03-18 |website=www.interpressnews.ge |language=en}}</ref> This was confirmed by the Holy Synod of the Georgian Orthodox Church when it convened on 18 March.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Georgian Orthodox Church confirms Locum tenens, establishes funeral commission for Patriarch Ilia II |date=18 March 2026 |access-date=18 March 2026 |work=Georgia Today |url=https://georgiatoday.ge/georgian-orthodox-church-confirms-locum-tenens-establishes-funeral-commission-for-patriarch-ilia-ii/ }}</ref> Because of his previous appointment, Metropolitan Shio was widely seen as the front-runner to succeed Ilia II as patriarch.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Georgia mourns Patriarch Ilia II as succession process begins |date=24 March 2026 |work=Eurasianet |access-date=24 March 2026 |url=https://eurasianet.org/georgia-mourns-patriarch-ilia-ii-as-succession-process-begins }}</ref>

==Patriarchate== thumb|Shio III during enthronement ceremony. On 11 May 2026, Shio was elected as the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia in a vote by the Holy Synod of the Georgian Orthodox Church,<ref>{{Cite news |date=2026-05-11 |title=Georgia elects new patriarch of influential Orthodox Church |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/georgia-elects-new-patriarch-of-influential-orthodox-church?ref=latest |access-date=2026-05-12 |work=The Straits Times |language=en |issn=0585-3923}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Georgian Orthodox Church elects new patriarch |date=11 May 2026 |access-date=11 May 2026 |work=Anadolu Agency |url=https://aa.com.tr/en/eurasia/georgian-orthodox-church-elects-new-patriarch/3934040 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Metropolitan Shio elected Georgia's new Catholicos-Patriarch |date=11 May 2026 |access-date=11 May 2026 |work=Georgia Today |url=https://georgiatoday.ge/metropolitan-shio-elected-georgias-new-catholicos-patriarch/ }}</ref> He received 22 votes from the 39 person Synod.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Metropolitan Shio (Mujiri) was elected the new, 142nd Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia |url=https://1tv.ge/lang/en/news/metropolitan-shio-mujiri-was-elected-the-new-142nd-catholicos-patriarch-of-all-georgia/ |access-date=2026-05-13 |website=1TV |language=en-US}}</ref> Shio was enthroned in Svetitskhoveli Cathedral on 12 May.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Enthronement of new Patriarch Shio of Georgia is taking place today (LIVE) (upd) {{!}} Orthodox Times (en) |url=https://orthodoxtimes.com/enthronement-of-new-patriarch-shio-of-georgia-is-taking-place-today-live/ |access-date=2026-05-12 |website=orthodoxtimes.com |language=en-US}}</ref> In his first sermon, delivered during his enthronement, he pledged to continue the legacy of his predecessor. Shio spoke of the church's role in addressing contemporary social and social challenges, and emphasized faith, tradition, and national responsibility that the Georgian youth must uphold.<ref>{{Cite web |title=შიო III-მ საქართველოს მართლმადიდებელი ეკლესიის პატრიარქის რანგში პირველად იქადაგა |url=https://civil.ge/ka/archives/734311 |access-date=2026-05-30 |website=Civil Georgia |language=ka-GE}}</ref>

== Views == Shio is associated with socially conservative positions within the Georgian Orthodox Church. During the Church's "Family Purity Day" events, he described the family as a divinely created institution and said that family values were under threat.<ref>{{cite news |date=17 May 2018 |title=Patriarch's Locum Tenens Joins Family Purity March, Speaks Against "Anti-Family" Values |url=https://civil.ge/archives/242025 |access-date=11 May 2026 |work=Civil Georgia}}</ref> In 2019, he linked the defense of family to opposition to abortion and what he called "LGBT ideology".<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-05-18 |title=Orthodox Church, Conservative Groups March for 'Family Purity' |url=https://oldwp.civil.ge/archives/305639 |access-date=2026-05-11 |website=Civil.ge |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-05-17 |title=Reverend Shio: In the modern era, when a deliberate struggle is underway against the traditional family, we are more obliged to take care of the family, the sanctity of the family, the values of the family, and to pray and care for the survival and strengthening of the family in our country |url=https://www.interpressnews.ge/en/article/139748-reverend-shio-in-the-modern-era-when-a-deliberate-struggle-is-underway-against-the-traditional-family-we-are-more-obliged-to-take-care-of-the-family-the-sanctity-of-the-family-the-values-of-the-family-and-to-pray-and-care-for-the-survival-and-strengthening-of-the-family-in-our-country/ |access-date=2026-05-11 |website=www.interpressnews.ge |language=en}}</ref>

Commentators have described Metropolitan Shio as a conservative figure within debates over the Church’s political orientation. In 2026, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace described him as “widely regarded” as a radical conservative and as supportive of closer relations with the Russian Orthodox Church. Archbishop Zenon Iarajuli has described Shio as "dangerous", and preferred by both Russia and Georgian authorities. Shio has denied allegations of links to Moscow, describing them as slander.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2026-03-26 |title=After Ilia II: What Will a New Patriarch Mean for Georgia? |url=https://carnegieendowment.org/russia-eurasia/politika/2026/03/uhod-patriarha-chto-prineset-smena-glavy-cerkvi-gruzii |access-date=2026-05-11 |website=Carnegie Endowment for International Peace |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2026-05-08 |title=Senior Georgian bishop calls leading patriarchal candidate Mujiri 'dangerous' and preferred by Russia |url=https://oc-media.org/senior-georgian-bishop-calls-leading-patriarchal-candidate-mujiri-dangerous-and-preferred-by-russia/ |access-date=2026-05-11 |website=OC Media |language=en}}</ref>

=== Treatment of minorities === After a violent mob, including several Orthodox priests, attacked and injured numerous participants of Tbilisi Pride march, as well as journalists, on July 5, 2021,<ref>{{cite tweet|number=1411999926247215105|user=OCMediaorg|title=TV Formula journalist Rati Tsverava was attacked by anti-pride protesters near the Kashveti Church on Rustaveli Ave… |date=5 July 2021}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=March 2026}} Mujiri did not condemn the violence, but suggested that to prevent further violence, Georgia should "outlaw insulting religious and national feelings".<ref>{{cite tweet|number=1412068109570215940|user=OCMediaorg|title=After the violence in Tbilisi today, Reverend Shio Mujiri, the Incumbent of the Patriarchal Throne, has suggested t… |date=5 July 2021}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=March 2026}}

== Notes == {{notelist}}

== References == {{commons}} {{reflist|2}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mujiri, Shio}} Category:1969 births Category:Bishops of the Georgian Orthodox Church Category:Clergy from Tbilisi Category:Living people Category:21st-century Eastern Orthodox bishops Category:Moscow Theological Academy alumni Category:Saint Tikhon's Orthodox University alumni Category:Bishops in Georgia (country) Category:Eastern Orthodox Christians from Georgia (country) Category:Catholicoses and Patriarchs of Georgia (country) Category:Classical cellists from Georgia (country)

Shio III of Georgia

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