Archons to reward former US Secretary of State for supporting Phanar
Serhiy Dumenko and Mike Pompeo in Kyiv. Photo: OCU press service
Former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who has supported the OCU, will receive an award from the Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate for his contribution to the protection of human rights. This was reported by the press service of the organization.
“With the blessings of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and the approval of His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America, the Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate (AEP) is pleased to announce that the 2025 Athenagoras Human Rights Award will be presented to the Hon. Michael R. Pompeo, the 70th Secretary of State of the United States of America,” the statement reads.
The award will be presented on October 18, 2025, at the annual Archons banquet at the New York Hilton Midtown Hotel in New York City.
Dr. Anthony J. Limberakis, National Commander of the AEP, stated: “Secretary Pompeo has consistently demonstrated a heartfelt and deeply informed concern for the rights of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and all of the religious minorities in Turkey."
The Archons particularly emphasized that Pompeo praised Patriarch Bartholomew for establishing the OCU at the 4th International Conference of Archons on Religious Freedom, stating that “this gave Ukrainians the ability to exercise their true faith.”
The Athenagoras Human Rights Award was established in 1986 in honor of Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras, who served as Archbishop of America for 18 years before being elected Ecumenical Patriarch in 1948.
Among the recent nominees is Patriarch Theodore of Alexandria, who was awarded in 2022 for “supporting the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s decision to grant Autocephaly to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, and thus, to restore millions of Ukrainians to the Canonical Church.”
In 2019, the award was received by Epifaniy Dumenko.
Earlier, the UOJ reported that, according to lawyer of the UOC Robert Amsterdam, the OCU was established through the efforts of Petro Poroshenko and Mike Pompeo.
Read also
U.S. House of Representatives passes ban on sex-change surgeries for minors
The lower house of Congress supported an initiative limiting medical interventions that could have irreversible consequences for the health of minors.
Armenian Church to appeal to international bodies over government pressure
The decision was made by the Supreme Spiritual Council in Etchmiadzin against the backdrop of criminal cases, pressure on the clergy, and the state's attempts to interfere in church life.
Pashinyan's supporters attempt to storm Etchmiadzin Cathedral in Armenia
The confrontation around the Armenian Apostolic Church intensified after rebellious hierarchs called for the Catholicos's resignation and attempted to exert forceful pressure in Etchmiadzin.
Persecuted community of Maliatyntsi celebrates first patronal feast after seizure
In Bukovyna, the faithful of the St. Nicholas community in the village of Maliatyntsi celebrated the Feast Day of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker of Myra in Lycia for the first time after the church seizure.
European authorities downplay scale of Christian persecution, report says
Human rights defenders reported an increase in attacks on believers in the EU and pointed out that official statistics do not reflect the real level of anti-Christian hostility.
Mukachevo Eparchy bishops congratulate orphaned children on St Nicholas Day
Metropolitan Theodore and Bishop Hilarion visited the “New Family” children’s shelter in Uzhhorod.