During their annual banquet on Oct. 18, the Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate presented the Athenagoras Human Rights Award to Michael R. Pompeo, 70th U.S. Secretary of State.
The award was presented by Archbishop Elpidophoros of America and Archon National Commander Dr. Anthony Limberakis, who recognized Pompeo for his “heartfelt and deeply informed concern for the rights of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and all of the religious minorities in Türkiye, as well for the plight of all those around the world who have suffered for exercising their freedom of conscience.”
Before nearly 700 guests, Archbishop Elpidophoros highlighted Pompeo’s support of the 2019 creation of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ukraine. “Secretary Pompeo, your appreciation of Orthodox Christianity shines through,” the Archbishop said.
“This was a decision honoring religious freedom and the principles of self-determination and self-governance of any people, and these are the very principles for which the Order of Saint Andrew, Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, have honored you this evening.”
Limberakis spoke about Pompeo’s relationship with the Greek Orthodox Church, sharing that this relationship has continued beyond his tenure as Secretary of State. “He was the dynamic keynote speaker of the 4th Archon International Conference on Religious Freedom,” Limberakis said.
“Secretary Pompeo praised His All-Holiness for granting autocephaly to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, saying that finally 40 million Ukrainians now have the ability to exercise their true faith,” Limberakis continued. “The Secretary also criticized the Russian government for egregiously using the Russian Orthodox Patriarchate to justify that horrific war, where the Russian Orthodox are slaughtering innocent Ukrainian civilians.”
Pompeo expressed deep gratitude in receiving the award. “You can’t imagine the high honor I consider tonight to be with you–with the great and noble people serving the oldest Christian Faith Community in the world,” Pompeo said. “The work of the Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate at home and abroad protect the ability of your 300 million Orthodox Christians to practice their faith freely and for all peoples all across the world to enjoy religious freedom.”
On Sunday, Oct. 19, following a celebration of the Divine Liturgy at the Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, the following were invested into the Archon Class of 2025: John A. Aivazoglou; Esq., Dick “Dikaos” Anagnost; Stavros Steve Anthony, Ph.D.; Thomas Constantine Bartzokis, M.D.; John Andreas Catsimatidis, Jr.; Anthony Joseph Diamandakis; Peter Takis Dionisos; Asteris James Fanikos, Esq.; Demetrios Fokas; William John Georgas; Stephen Hanna; Emmanuel Chris Kaitson, Esq.; Steven Nicholas Kalkanis, M.D.; Konstantinos (Gus) M. Karpathakis; Kostas Katsohirakis; Basil C. Kollias, Esq.; Amb. Michael Kozak, Esq.; Anthony C. Limberakis; Paul G Loupakos; Pericles A. Maillis, Esq.; Christsos Marafatsos; Konstantinos Mastorakis; David Gus Matty, Ph.D.; James A. J. Nickolas, Esq.; Dennis George Pantazis, Esq.; George Anast Pappas; Michael Petridis; John Pogas; Stephen Seremetis; Dimitri Sigounas, M.D.; Nicholas Spanakis; Nicholas Ivan Timko, Esq.; James Peter Trakas; John H. Trihas; George Nikiforos Valaskantjis; Stavros Veletsis; Konstantinos L. Vellios; John Harry Vratsinas; and Jimmy Zervoudis.
Photos by Orthodox Observer/Dimitrios Panagos
