The Archons of the Orthodox Church meeting in Athens have announced they will honor Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Russian opposition hero Alexei Navalny with the 2024 Athenagoras Human Rights Award.
The Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate is a devoted group of passionate leaders, relentlessly focused on protecting religious freedom for all and ensuring the future of the Ecumenical Patriarchate – the historical spiritual center of the world’s 300+ million Orthodox Christians.
The Award will be presented on Saturday, October 19, 2024 at the AEP’s annual Athenagoras Human Rights Award black-tie banquet at the New York Hilton Midtown Hotel in New York City.
Recognizing Navalnaya’s tireless efforts to rally the opposition to Vladimir Putin’s tyrannical rule in the face of furious and violent repression, Dr. Anthony J. Limberakis, National Commander of the Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, stated:
“Yulia Navalnaya is one of the most courageous individuals on the planet. Her painful personal experience of losing her husband, because he stood up to a tyrant, is a vivid illustration of the human cost of authoritarian rule and the denial of basic freedoms.
“Yet at tremendous cost and amid considerable personal risk, Ms. Navalnaya has persevered, becoming the conscience of the international community. With a prophetic voice, she has called upon it to show its commitment to freedom and take decisive action against what she has not hesitated to call the criminal regime in Moscow.”
With the vital assistance of Ambassador Eleni Kounalakis, Lieutenant Governor of California and longtime friend of the Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Archons were able to reach out to Ms. Navalnaya overseas and extend the invitation to her to receive the Award.
The Athenagoras Human Rights Award
Established in 1986, the Athenagoras Human Rights Award is given in honor of Ecumenical 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 and worked for peace among Churches and people throughout his life.
Previous recipients include the Prince’s Trust (now the King’s Trust), an international youth charity founded by King Charles III while he was Prince of Wales; His Beatitude Theodore II, Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa; His Beatitude Epiphaniy, Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine; President Joseph Biden (when he was vice president); former President Jimmy Carter; former President George H. W. Bush and First Lady Barbara Bush; Nobel Laureate and former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev; Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel; Mother Theresa of Calcutta; and the scientists who developed COVID vaccines and treatments.
The Archons’ International Conference and Summit opened in Athens on Sunday with the central theme “Protecting Religious Freedom, Democracy & Human Rights.”
An Archon is an honoree by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew for his outstanding service to the Church, and a well-known distinguished, and well-respected leader of the Orthodox Christian community.
It is the sworn oath of the Archon to defend and promote the Orthodox Christian faith and tradition. This honor extended by the Ecumenical Patriarchate carries with it grave responsibilities, deep commitments, and sincere dedication.
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew speaks to the Archons
Orthodoxy is called upon today to work as a positive challenge in the modern world and to place at the top of its priorities the sacredness of the human being and the integrity of creation, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew said on Monday, in a video screened at the 4th Archon International Conference in Athens.
The spiritual leader of the Eastern Orthodox Christians thanked the organizers and noted that the confluence of the Orthodox Church with human rights is an area that reveals its right relationship with politics.
“While the Church is not involved in politics in the strict meaning of the term, its role as witness is fundamentally and timelessly political: it struggles against the falsification of humanity in its various forms, it stigmatizes racism, discriminations, the modern forms of slavery, it resists the powers and trends that undermine social cohesion and peace, it promotes the culture of solidarity and dialog, convergence and collaboration,” Bartholomew said.