The News in Brief

Shio III Enthroned as Patriarch of the Georgian Orthodox Church at Svetitskhoveli Cathedral

Shio III was enthroned as Patriarch of the Georgian Orthodox Church on May 12 during a ceremony at Svetitskhoveli Cathedral in Mtskheta, attended by senior clergy, Georgian Dream officials, and the faithful.

The enthronement came a day after Metropolitan Shio (Mujiri) was elected patriarch by 22 of the 39 members of the Holy Synod at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Tbilisi on May 11, taking the name Shio III. He had served as locum tenens following the death of Patriarch Ilia II, who died aged 93 in March.

The date coincided with St. Andrew the First-Called Day, a public holiday marking the arrival of St. Andrew, regarded under Christian tradition as the first to preach Christianity in Georgia in the first century A.D.

Among those attending inside the cathedral were Georgian Dream-elected President Mikheil Kavelashvili, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili, and Georgian Dream founder and Honorary Chairman Bidzina Ivanishvili.



Public Defender Welcomes Police Arrests Over Protest Violence, Urges Process to Continue

Public Defender Levan Ioseliani welcomed the arrest of five riot police officers over violence against protesters and called on the relevant agencies to determine the full scope of accountability.

"It is not possible for so many people to be detained on one side and no one on the other to be responsible for the facts that occurred last year," Ioseliani said. "The fact that something like this happened, and it happened for the first time, and I cannot recall another case where there was a systemic approach to punishing the perpetrators, I welcome this. It is important that the process reaches its conclusion."

Asked about the possibility of the new Patriarch pardoning those detained during the protests, Ioseliani said he favored a humane approach and supported all mechanisms that help people leave prison early. He added that the new Patriarch has "a very great, very special" role to play, and said the legacy of Ilia II as "the Patriarch of all strata of society" was an approach Shio III should continue.