Religious freedom to be discussed at Fourth Archon Conference in Athens

Archons of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Photo: Foundation for Strategic Culture

In Athens, from May 26th to 28th, a conference of archons (the honorary title of archon is bestowed by the Patriarch of Constantinople on Greek laymen who are well-known and respected leaders of the Orthodox Christian religious community, in recognition of their outstanding services to the Orthodox Church of Constantinople) of the Patriarchate of Constantinople will take place, reports Orthodox Times.

Archons from America, Greece, Canada, Australia and throughout Europe will convene in Athens, Greece for the Fourth Archon International Conference on Religious Freedom: Protecting Religious Freedom, Democracy and Human Rights.

According to the publication, featured speakers at the Athens conference will include Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis of the Hellenic Republic; former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo; Archbishop Gintaras Grušas, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Vilnius, Lithuania, and President of the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences (CCEE); Dr. Despina Chatzivassiliou-Tsovilis, Secretary General of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe; and other notable and distinguished defenders of religious freedom.

"These efforts come at a time of a global crisis of religious freedom, particularly for Christians, but also for people of all faiths. According to Open Doors, World Watch List, and Aid to the Church in Need, 360 million Christians are persecuted worldwide – a number more than the current U.S. population. By doing so, these efforts have now expanded to defend religious freedom for all faiths. We invite all people of good will in support of human rights and religious freedom to join us in this noble initiative," the publication says.

As reported earlier, a fund named after Patriarch Bartholomew was established in the USA to support the Phanar.

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