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Published
by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America,
November 2, 2005
Athenagoras
Humanitarian Award to Nobel Peace Prize
Laureate Mikhail Gorbachev
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November
2, 2005
New York, NY - Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and
former President of the Soviet Union Mikhail
Gorbachev was the recipient of the Athenagoras
Humanitarian Award of the Order of St. Andrew
Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in an
emotion filled evening, Saturday, October 22, at
the New York Hilton. The Award was presented by
His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of America,
Primate of the Greek Orthodox Church in the
United States and the official representative of
His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch
Bartholomew, the spiritual head of the worlds
250 million Orthodox faithful.
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 have included Archbishop
Iakovos, President Jimmy Carter, President
George H.W. Bush, Archbishop Desmond Tutu,
Mother Teresa and Elie Wiesel.
Accompanied by his daughter Irina Virganskaya,
President Gorbachev received an enthusiastic and
warm reception as he entered a packed ballroom.
In 1987, Gorbachev called for democratization in
the Soviet Union, including multi-candidate
elections and the following year; he announced
that the Soviet Union would abandon the Brezhnev
Doctrine and allow the Eastern Bloc nations to
determine their own internal affairs, greatly
enhancing democracy and liberty in these
nations. His law on religious freedom was among
his greatest democratic contributions enabling
the citizens of Russia, the 15 affiliated
republics of the USSR and the Eastern Bloc
nations to freely practice their religion for
the first time since the Bolshevik Revolution
and the Communist Party regimes.
These, and other initiatives by President
Gorbachev, significantly contributed to the end
of the Cold War. For his historic contribution
to world peace he was awarded the Nobel Peace
Prize in 1990.
In a moving ceremony, His Eminence Archbishop
Demetrios of America invested President
Gorbachev, a baptized Orthodox Christian, as
Archon Great Orator of the Ecumenical
Patriarchate, on behalf of His All Holiness
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.
Archbishop Demetrios led a list of dignitaries
extolling the honored guest. They included,
Ambassador Andrey Denisov, Permanent Mission of
the Russian Federation to the United Nations;
Ambassador Evripides Evriviades, Ambassador of
Cyprus to the United States, Ambassador
Alexandros Mallias, Ambassador of Greece to the
United States and Dr. Anthony J. Limberakis,
National Commander of the Order of St. Andrew.
Melissa Nikitas, a 10th grade student from Saint
Basil Academy, impressed the audience with her
rendition of the American and Greek National
Anthems. Former CIA Director George Tenet,
Master of Ceremonies for the evening, warmly
introduced President Gorbachev.
Archons Theodore Demetriou and Konstantine
Velios introduced the 41 new Archons to be
installed the next morning, October 23, at the
Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, by
His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios. These
included George Tenet, Andrew Natsios, Director
of the US Agency for International Development
and Former Ambassador of the United States to
Spain George Argyros.
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