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Published by the Greek
Orthodox Archdiocese of America, October 17, 2005
NOBEL
PEACE PRIZE LAUREATE MIKHAIL GORBACHEV TO
RECEIVE ATHENAGORAS HUMANITARIAN AWARD
OCTOBER 22
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President Gorbachev to be
Invested as Archon of the Ecumenical Patriarchate
Homeland Security Council Chair Frances Fragos
Townsend to Speak at Reception Former CIA Director
George Tenet to be Master of Ceremonies at Banquet
New York, NY (Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of
America) - Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Mikhail
Gorbachev has accepted the invitation of His
Eminence Archbishop Demetrios, spiritual leader of
the Greek Orthodox Church in America, to be the
recipient of the 2005 Athenagoras Human Rights
Award. The Award will be presented on Saturday,
October 22, at the annual banquet of the Order of
St. Andrew, an organization of distinguished
laymen of the Greek Orthodox Church who have been
granted the title of Archon by the Ecumenical
Patriarchate of Constantinople.
Established in 1986, the Athenagoras Award honors
Patriarch Athenagoras who served as Archbishop of
the Americas for 18 years before being elected
Ecumenical Patriarch in 1948. He was universally
acknowledged as a visionary leader of Orthodoxy,
numbering more than 250 million faithful
worldwide, who worked for peace among Churches and
people throughout his life. Previous recipients of
the award include Archbishop Iakovos, President
Jimmy Carter, President George H.W. Bush,
Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Mother Teresa and Elie
Wiesel.
Known chiefly for his contribution to tearing down
of the Iron Curtain, Mikhail Gorbachev was born in
1931 and ascended to power in Soviet Russia’s
Communist Party throughout the 1960’s and
70’s. Following the death of Konstantin
Chernenko in 1985, Gorbachev was appointed General
Secretary despite being the youngest member of the
politburo. He embarked on a comprehensive program
of political, economic and social liberalization
under the slogans of glasnost (openness) and
perestroika (restructuring). The resulting shift
in international affairs and thinking contributed
to a fundamental change in the international
environment, to the ending the Cold War and to
eradicating the threat of a nuclear war.
In recognition of his outstanding services as a
great reformer and world political leader, Mikhail
Gorbachev was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on
October 15, 1990. He continues to contribute to
international affairs through the Gorbachev
Foundation, the first independent think-tank in
post-Soviet Russia which he created in 1992.
Dr. Anthony Limberakis, National Commander of the
Order of St. Andrew, has announced that President
Mikhail Gorbachev, a baptized Russian Orthodox
Christian, who was instrumental in the adoption of
legislation guaranteeing religious liberty in the
former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, will
be invested Saturday evening as Archon Great
Orator of the Ecumenical Patriarchate by
Archbishop Demetrios on behalf of His All Holiness
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.
Former Director of the CIA George Tenet will serve
as Master of Ceremonies of the banquet, and
invited guests will include the Ambassadors of
Greece and Cyprus, the Consul General of Russia,
and Archons, religious and government leaders and
Orthodox faithful from throughout the country.
Frances Fragos Townsend, Assistant to the
President for Homeland Security and
Counterterrorism, will address the Order of St.
Andrew Ladies’ Tea reception at 1:30 p.m. on
Saturday afternoon at the New York Hilton.
INVESTITURE OF 41 NEW ARCHONS SUNDAY OCTOBER 23
His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios will preside at
the Investiture of 41 new Archons from throughout
the United States following the Divine Liturgy on
Sunday, October 23 at the Archdiocesan Cathedral
of the Holy Trinity.
Among those to be invested are George Tenet,
Potomac, MD; Andrew Natsios, Director of the US
Agency for International Development, Silver
Springs, MD and Former Ambassador of the United
States to Spain George Argyros, Newport Beach, CA.
Those who will be invested as new Archons are the
following:
Archdiocesan District
Thomas E. Constance, Sands Point, NY; John
Emmanuel Couloucoundis, Darien, CT; Nicholas
Gavalas, Astoria, NY; Renos Georgiou, Bayside, NY;
William Kallinikos, Oceanside, NY; Andreas Konnari,
New York, NY; C. Dean Metropoulos, Greenwich, CT;
Dennis Mehiel, Valhalla, NY; George Peter Zimmar,
Briarcliff, NY.
Metropolis of Atlanta
Nicholas J. Furris, Jacksonville,FL; Sam N. Kleto,
Spiro C. Hondros, George J. Miller and Constantine
Vrettos, Charlotte, NC; Steve George Pappas, Palm
City, FL; George Chris Psetas, Port Richey, FL and
Stephen James Yallourakis, Kinsport, TN.
Metropolis of Boston
Spyros A. Gavris, Wellesley, MA; Christos S.
Gregoriades, Canton, MA; Emmanuel Mihailides, East
Greenwich, RI.
Metropolis of Chicago
John Balourdos, Chicago, IL; Dimitris Bousis,
Northbrook, IL; Nicholas Karakas, Ladue, MO;
Theodore Sepsis, Elmhurst, IL; Theodore J.
Theophilos, Hinsdale, IL.
Metropolis of Denver
Timothy John Joannides, Cheyenne, WY.
Metropolis of New Jersey
Nicholas Andrew Carras, Myersville, MD; Vassos
Chysanthou, Toms River, NJ; Nicholas Ioannou
Karamatsoukas, Gladwyn, PA; George G. Makris,
Alpine, NJ; Jerrry Nicholas Renesis, Norvolk, VA.
Metropolis of Pittsburgh
John Basil Conomos, Pittsburgh, PA; John N.
Economou, Akron, OH; John Michael Manos, Lakewood,
OH.
Metropolis of San Francisco
George Nicholas Flessas, Palm Desert, CA; John
Gigounas, Tuburon, CA; Gary M. Vrionis, Danville,
CA.
UKRAINIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH
George Sviatoslave Lychk, River Forest, IL
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