Prepared by Messenger Staff
Georgian Patriarch Meets Moscow Church Delegation
Georgian Orthodox Patriarch Shio III met with a delegation from the Moscow Patriarchate on September 30, with the sides discussing relations between Georgia and Russia and the situation in Georgia's "troubled regions," the Georgian Patriarchate said.
The Patriarchate said the sides discussed possible ways for the Georgian Orthodox Church to establish relations with local Orthodox parishes in the regions, apparently referring to Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
The Russian delegation was led by Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, head of the Moscow Patriarchate's Department for External Church Relations. The delegation also included senior Russian Orthodox clergy and the Moscow Patriarchate's representative in Georgia.
The delegation congratulated Shio III on his enthronement and conveyed greetings from Russian Patriarch Kirill. The sides also exchanged gifts, according to the Patriarchate.
Shio III was elected patriarch in May, succeeding Ilia II, who died in March at the age of 93 after nearly five decades as head of the Georgian Orthodox Church.
The meeting comes as Shio III's previous ties to Russia remain under scrutiny. He served at a Georgian parish in Moscow, studied at the Moscow Theological Seminary and received a doctorate from Moscow's St. Tikhon's Orthodox University in 2015.
The Georgian and Moscow patriarchates have maintained church contacts despite Georgia severing diplomatic relations with Russia after the 2008 war.
Lavrov Meets De Facto Abkhazia Foreign Minister
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with Oleg Bartsits, the de facto foreign minister of Georgia's Russian-occupied Abkhazia region, with the two discussing economic cooperation, investment and tourism, Russian state media reported.
Lavrov said Russia saw "great potential" for investment cooperation with Russian-occupied Abkhazia and noted that trade between the two had grown by 16% last year. He also said the region remained popular with Russian tourists.
Bartsits described relations with Russia as being at an "absolute all-time high," pointing to major infrastructure projects and the expansion of the de facto authorities' international airport.
He said the airport had handled more than 200,000 passengers over the past year and a half, calling the figure important for the economic development of the region.
