TBILISI, May 11. /TASS/. Georgian Prime Minister Irakly Kobakhidze has congratulated Shio III on his election as Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia and expressed hope that the new head of the Georgian Church will serve the country's united and strong future.

"The Church has always been an unshakable pillar of Georgian statehood and spiritual strength. It is the Orthodox faith that has preserved for us those eternal values, thanks to which our country has reached this day. I believe that your pastorate will serve the peaceful, united, and strong future of our country. May the Lord protect our country and its new spiritual father," Kobakhidze said in his congratulatory letter. The prime minister expressed confidence that Shio III would continue the path of Patriarch Ilia II.

On Monday, an expanded meeting of the Georgian Church was held at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Tbilisi, where 39 members of the Synod voted for a new patriarch; 57-year-old Bishop Shio, who served as locum tenens for Patriarch Ilia II, who died on March 17, received 22 votes and was elected the new patriarch.