Abstract
This paper examines the geopolitical and societal effects of the 2026 patriarchal succession within the Georgian Orthodox Church (GOC), by analyzing how the recent election of Catholicos-Patriarch Shio III on May 11, 2026, impacts Georgia’s European Union integration efforts. The GOC is seen as the foundation of Georgian national identity and state legitimacy, also deeply rooted in the legacy of the late Patriarch Ilia II. The enthronement of the new Patriarch Shio III may reinforce the anti-Western narratives deployed by the ruling Georgian Dream party, which has actively delayed Georgia’s EU accession through illiberal policies such as the "Foreign Agents Law." By combining sociological theories of ethno-religious nationalism with contemporary media analysis, this article explores the evolving church-state relations in Georgia. It argues that Shio III’s leadership could complicate Georgia’s EU integration process. The article concludes that by mobilizing traditionalist rhetoric against European secularism to protect Georgian identity, the new patriarchal regime could provoke a domestic paradox–advancing pro-Russian narratives, creating internal fragmentation inside the Church, and pushing away its pro-European, modernist believers.
Recommended Citation
Siekkinen, Elina Mirjam
(2026)
"The Orthodox Church of Georgia in a Shifting Political Landscape: Long Traditions, the Holy Patriarchate and Geopolitics Between the European Union and Russia,"
Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe: Vol. 46
:
Iss.
8
, Article 7.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.55221/2693-2229.2873
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/ree/vol46/iss8/7