The election of the new Catholicos-Patriarch of Georgia is scheduled for May 11, 2026

The extended Church Council, which will elect a new Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, will be held on May 11, 2026 at 13:00 at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Tbilisi. The decision was made at a meeting of bishops of the Georgian Orthodox Church (GOC) to approve the procedural framework and determine the list of candidates for the patriarchal throne. This is reported by the Orthodox Times.

Head of the public relations service of the GOC Andria Jagmaidze explained that the bishops focused on solving all organizational issues in advance so that the Council itself would be fully devoted to the election process. As a result of the secret ballot of the Holy Synod a list of three candidates (triprosopon) was formed: Metropolitan Shio Mujiri, who received 20 votes, and Metropolitans Iov Akiashvili and Grigori Berbichashvili, who received seven votes each.

According to the charter of the SOC, 39 hierarchs will take part in the voting. In order to win in the first round, a candidate must get more than half of the votes (minimum 20). In case none of the candidates receives the necessary majority, a second round will be held between the two leaders of the vote. Andria Jagmaidze also noted that the expanded Council will not be broadcast live, but the full recording of the sessions will be made public later. The church representative stressed that the episcopate remains united and denied rumors of internal confrontation in the Synod.

Metropolitan Nikoloz Pachuashvili of Akhalkalaki and Kumurdo specified that about 1500 delegates from dioceses and monasteries will attend the Council. They will act as observers to ensure transparency of the process, but will not have the right to vote. In turn, Metropolitan Shio Mujiri in his sermon called on the faithful and clergy to intensify prayers before this historic event so that the choice would be made «with dignity, peace and love» for the good of the Church and the Georgian people.