An ERT documentary traces the life and ministry of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, marking 35 years since his election. The film will air Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026, at 10 p.m. Greece time on ERT3, ERT Cosmos and ERTFLIX. ERT Cosmos will rebroadcast it Oct. 23 at 2 p.m. Greece time.

In conversation with journalist Pierros Tzanetakos, His All-Holiness reflects on his journey from Imbros to the Phanar. In his home village of Agioi Theodoroi, he welcomes viewers into his house and visits his father’s café and the cemetery where his parents are buried. He recalls his childhood, his earliest experiences of the Church and his love of learning, along with his spiritual father’s counsel: “Walk with your eyes fixed only on Jesus.”

The film explores his efforts to revive the island’s Greek community after the persecutions of 1964, focusing on reopened Greek schools and the young people he sees as the hope for Hellenism’s future.

At the Phanar, he discusses Church unity, dialogue among Christians, interfaith understanding and environmental protection, recalling meetings with popes and world leaders. He also addresses divisions within Orthodoxy, reaffirming the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s enduring primacy and its role in coordinating the Churches’ common work. He emphasizes synodality, with particular reference to the Holy and Great Council held in Crete in 2016.

He also describes the ties linking Constantinople’s Greek Orthodox community to the Patriarchate. At Halki, where he studied, he expresses hope that the Theological School will reopen soon.

Filmed in Imbros, Constantinople and Halki, the documentary is directed by Manolis Papanikitas and features an original score by Evanthia Reboutsika, performed by ERT’s Contemporary Music Orchestra.

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As the United States marks 250 years since the Declaration of Independence, we at Leadership 100, advancing Orthodoxy and Hellenism in America, pay proper tribute and express profound gratitude for this historic and successful experiment of a democratic constitutional republic, founded in individual liberty, economic opportunity, religious freedom, and equal justice under the law unlike any other nation that has ever existed.  

 Our American founding fathers reached for Greek words before they ever met a Greek Orthodox parish: politics, democracy, aristocracy, tyranny: the lexicon of self-government was borrowed from Athens centuries before Ellis Island ever opened its gates. Classical Greece eventually gave way to immigrant Greeks, beginning in the mid-1700s and growing rapidly in numbers in the 1800s and early 1900s, steeped in faith, family, education, and hard work as the pathway to a new and better life than the impoverishment of their homeland in those challenging times.   

The first Greek Orthodox Church in the United States was established in New Orleans in 1864. Since then, Greek Orthodox immigrants have built parishes across the country. Beyond serving for the liturgical worship of the Divine Liturgy, these parishes provided Greek-language schools, community associations, and cultural connections to life and family back in distant Greece, more than 5,000 miles away.   

Religious liberty in America provided the foundation for these early Greek Orthodox communities to thrive. Orthodoxy’s sacramental theology, liturgical traditions, and vast calendar of fasts and feasts found fertile soil in community after community, and in state after state. The durable bonds of faith and family, coupled with the educational and economic opportunities abounding in America, provided the platform for extraordinary professional success in the private sector, the arts, and in government for generation after generation of Greek Americans.   

By 1922, the establishment of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America provided institutional strength and a structural ballast to what had earlier been a loose network of Greek Orthodox parishes. Our church prospered in those early decades of the 20th century, helping the immigrants who had been arriving for decades more confidently assimilate into American society dominated by mainline Protestantism and an emerging Roman Catholic church.   

Official government acknowledgement of the growing importance of Greek Orthodox communities nationwide was manifested in 1949, when President Harry S. Truman had the newly-elected Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras, for eighteen years the Greek Orthodox Archbishop of North and South America, flown from Washington to Istanbul on the presidential aircraft. The White House was concerned that the Turkish government would not permit Patriarch Athenagoras to enter Turkey to assume his leadership position. By dispatching his presidential aircraft to transport the Patriarch into Turkey, President Truman ensured there would be no obstacles put up by Ankara against a Greek Orthodox churchman shaped by, and openly devoted to, the United States.  

In 1965, amid severe civil rights tensions in America, Archbishop Iakovos flew to Selma, Alabama to attend the memorial service of a minister beaten to death for marching with black demonstrators. The Archbishop walked side-by-side with Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., at that time far more controversial a figure than the lionized leader he is seen as today. Archbishop Iakovos was the only hierarch of his stature from any Christian confession in America willing to make that walk, despite the death threats from strangers and also from fellow Greek Orthodox in the segregated South and beyond. He responded with the reminder that the Greek Orthodox people suffered under centuries of Ottoman oppression and should understand the importance of individual sacrifice and the responsibility of the Orthodox Church founded by Christ to stand for and uphold human dignity.  

In 1984, Archbishop Iakovos founded Leadership 100, asking the Greek Orthodox faithful to each commit $100,000 (about $322,000 in 2026 dollars) over the course of ten years to a permanent endowment to support the Church’s national ministries and to advance Orthodoxy and Hellenism in America. That call to transcend the caricature of the Greek Orthodox as merely an ethnic immigrant community was carried forward by Leadership 100 in its close collaboration with Archbishop Spyridon, Archbishop Demetrios, and—since 2019—with His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America. 

At the 2026 White House Greek Independence Day celebration, Archbishop Elpidophoros noted how that historic events of 1821 bind America and Greece in a “strategic alliance beyond friendship and mutual respect,” founded upon individual liberty and equal justice under the law as our God-given and inalienable rights within this experiment in self-governance, from the world’s first democracy in Greece to the world’s greatest democracy here in the United States.  

He reminded the audience inside the White House, or watching virtually in Greece and around the world, that the first clause of the Bill of Rights’ First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution—ahead of free speech, a free press, the right to peaceably assemble or to petition the government—is the right to freely exercise one’s religion. Furthermore, he emphasized that in the Divine Liturgy of the Orthodox Church, we pray in every parish, during every service, “for our Country, the President (regardless of party), all those in public service, and our armed forces everywhere.”    

These are the Orthodox bonds that continue to connect our Greek American community from within, and also to our national celebration this 250th anniversary year of the Declaration of Independence. Leadership 100 is proud to stand tall as a uniquely American endowment, advancing the Gospel of Jesus Christ while incorporated in New York State as a 501(c)(3) federal tax-exempt organization. This has provided the sure, steady, and always transparent foundation to Leadership 100 to welcome more than 1,400 members today, building an endowment exceeding $100 million, the largest in the Greek American community, and distributing nearly $90 million in grants sustaining Orthodox education, clergy formation, and Hellenic heritage programs nationwide. 

A cornerstone of this investment is Leadership 100’s long-standing support of Hellenic College Holy Cross (HCHC), the only Greek Orthodox theological school in the United States. Through its Seminarian Scholarship Program, Leadership 100 continues to alleviate the financial burden of theological education, enabling students to fully dedicate themselves to academic and spiritual formation. In the fall 2025 semester, more than 50 seminarians received funding to cover a substantial portion of tuition and fees.   

To date, Leadership 100 has provided $29 million in scholarships for seminarians within total grants of $32 million to Holy Cross. The long-term impact is profound: a majority of Leadership 100 scholarship recipients go on to serve the Greek Orthodox Church, with many becoming ordained clergy or actively engaged in parish life and ministry. We have substantially supported the national ministries of the Archdiocese, every Metropolis, and the many pan-Orthodox organizations and humanitarian initiatives that have requested our financial support.  

Leadership 100 exemplifies Greek Orthodox lay leadership in America. We are the sons and daughters descended of families who built their first Greek Orthodox parish halls amid the hope of fresh roots and a new life in this great land of religious freedom, individual liberty, economic opportunity, and equal justice under the law.  

Today, Leadership 100 stands tall as a powerful, influential, and highly sought-after philanthropic institution, a magnificent testament to the faith, family, education, and hard work values that define the Greek American community and that deeply and firmly embed the national Greek Orthodox presence, inspired by the Gospel of Christ, in every walk of American life, culture, and society forged by the courageous Declaration of Independence 250 years ago. 

This article is published as part of the America at 250: Orthodoxy in a New Homeland media initiative co-organized by the Orthodox Observer and the Department of Inter-Orthodox, Ecumenical, and Interfaith Relations of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America to honor the contributions and experience of Orthodox Christianity in America and celebrate 250th anniversary of America’s founding.

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The Icon Museum and Study Center marked its 20th anniversary Oct. 15 with the opening of the exhibition Light from the East: Masterpieces from the Ikonen-Museum Recklinghausen and the start of a two-day symposium, Encountering the Sacred Image: Highlights from the Icon Museum and Study Center.

The only specialized museum for icons and Eastern Christian art in the U.S., the Icon Museum and Study Center opened Oct. 15, 2006, then dedicated solely to Russian iconography. In recent years, the museum has begun diversifying its collection to include Greek, Veneto-Cretan, and Ethiopian works as well.

Germany’s Ikonen-Museum Recklinghausen holds the largest and most important collection of Orthodox icons in Western Europe, and Light from the East shows pieces from the Recklinghausen in the U.S. for the first time. According to the museum, it is the first U.S. exhibition devoted to the post-Byzantine legacies of both Slavic and Greek traditions.

A tour of the exhibition

The day began with a tour led by Elliot Mackin, Associate Curator and Study Center Manager. Mackin told attendees they were the first members of the public to see the exhibition. 

“What [the exhibition] became was a story of Orthodox iconography from the fall of Constantinople in 1453 through the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917,” Mackin said, sharing the exhibition tells its story in reverse. As visitors enter the space, they first encounter an early 20th-century Old Believer icon painted just before the Russian Revolution before moving back in time. One half of the gallery follows Moscow and the rise of Imperial Russia back to medieval Novgorod; the opposite wall presents icons from the Greek-speaking world, generally from Crete.

A film premiere

Attendees also saw the U.S. premiere of the documentary Living Prayer in Christianity, directed by the late Jean-Claude Lubtchansky. The film explores Orthodox contemplative practice, focusing on St. Catherine’s Monastery at Mount Sinai, Mount Athos, and various sites in Russia. Introducing the film, Richard Temple of London’s Temple Gallery described it as both a documentary and “a work of art” that needs little introduction. 

Symposium presentations

Each speaker on the first day focused on an icon in the museum’s collection.

Eva Haustein-Bartsch of the Ikonen-Museum Recklinghausen presented a 16th-century icon the museum acquired at an Italian auction in 2023. The small panel pairs the Mother of God Tenderness with Christ, Man of Sorrows. Haustein-Bartsch said the pointed top of the panel is highly unusual for an icon in the Cretan style, and is more typical of 13th- and 14th-century Italian painting. She traced comparable Byzantine and post-Byzantine works and concluded that a Western patron likely requested the format. Traces of mountings on both sides indicate the panel was the center of a private devotional diptych. Its side panels have not been found, but, Haustein-Bartsch said, “it’s not out of the question that they may show up one day.”

Irina Shalina, head researcher at the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg, discussed the museum’s icon for the month of February, one of 12 icons that made up a calendar of saints and feasts. The set was installed in 1569 in the Dormition Cathedral of the Monastery of St. Joseph of Volokolamsk near Moscow. Inscriptions on the backs of two panels name Archbishop Lavrentiy of Kazan, a former abbot of the monastery, as donor. Shalina said an epidemic that killed dozens of the monastery’s monks around that time may also have inspired the commission. 

Justin Willson, Assistant Professor at Yale University and the museum’s former curator, presented the Mother of God, the Life-Giving Spring, donated to the museum in 2022. Removing a layer of varnish revealed the signature of Frangias Kavertzas, a Cretan painter active in Heraklion between 1615 and 1647, whose life Willson reconstructed from Venetian notarial records. Willson dated the piece to the late 1630s and said it shows the painter moving toward the experiments of the late 16th century while remaining rooted in earlier models. Kavertzas, he said, was “stable but not really rigid.”

Second day and looking ahead

The symposium continued Oct. 16 with presentations by Maria Vassilaki of the University of Thessaly, Wendy Salmond of Chapman University, Athanasios Semoglou of the University of Thessaloniki, independent scholar Natalia Komashko, Evan Freeman of Simon Fraser University, and Mackin. Attendees were also invited to explore the museum’s galleries and collections storage.

The Icon Museum’s Executive Director Simon Morsink also announced the museum will present an exhibition of post-Byzantine icons in America, opening in October 2028. The show will follow Byzantium After Byzantium at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which closes in September 2028.

“We’ll keep the fire burning,” Morsink said.

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With the blessing of His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America, the Direct Archdiocesan District hosted its 2026 Young Adult League (YAL) Conference, October 9–12, in New York City. The weekend brought together over 300 Orthodox Christian young adults from across North America for a meaningful celebration of faith, fellowship, service, and spiritual growth.

The weekend began with a welcome reception at Anassa Taverna, followed by spiritual and educational programming at the Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, with keynote speaker Dean Triantafilou, Executive Director and CEO of IOCC. Participants engaged in thought-provoking discussions on navigating relationships, careers, and the challenges of contemporary life while remaining rooted in their Orthodox Christian faith. Saturday evening concluded with the Signature YAL gala at the Edison Ballroom, bringing attendees together for an evening of fellowship and community.

On Sunday, participants gathered for the Divine Liturgy, followed by a Diakonia initiative generously supported by the Direct Archdiocesan District Philoptochos. This service-focused program emphasized the importance of putting faith into action and serving those in need.

Through the generous support of Leadership 100, the conference was made more accessible to young adults, allowing participants to experience a weekend of spiritual growth and meaningful connections. The Direct Archdiocesan District extends its heartfelt gratitude to His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros for his continued spiritual leadership and commitment to young adult ministry, as well as to the clergy, sponsors, volunteers, and organizers who made the weekend possible.

The 2026 YAL Conference served as a reminder that, amid the challenges of modern life, young adults can find strength, purpose, and lasting community by remaining anchored in Christ and His Church.

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NEW YORK — His Eminence Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop emeritus of New York, received the 2026 Athenagoras Human Rights Award from the Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate on Saturday, Oct. 17, at the organization’s annual banquet at the New York Hilton Midtown. The evening opened with a prayer for the recovery of Pope Leo XIV by His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America.

The black-tie dinner closed the annual Archon Weekend. It brought together Greek Orthodox hierarchs, Archons of the Order of St. Andrew the Apostle and leaders from government, the judiciary and the Catholic Church to honor a man Orthodox leaders have long called a friend.

Archbishop Elpidophoros entered the ballroom in procession with Cardinal Dolan. Archon National Commander Dr. Anthony J. Limberakis escorted them. After the U.S. and Greek national anthems, Archbishop Elpidophoros led the invocation.

He began by asking the guests to remember the pope “with special and heartfelt petitions.” He prayed that Pope Leo, “whose goodness and piety is manifest to all the world,” would “enjoy his speedy recovery, good health and length of days.”

He asked God to bestow “full healing and vigorous health” upon the pope, “that he may continue his worldwide ministry to the people of God.” He also prayed that all those gathered “may always serve the Great Church of Christ of Constantinople with pride and purpose.”

The prayer came four days after Pope Leo had surgery at Rome’s Gemelli hospital to remove a cancerous tumor from his right lung. The Vatican said the cancer was detected early and was localized, and canceled papal audiences through Oct. 20 while the pope recovers.

The prayer reinforced the relationship and ongoing dialogue between the Ecumenical Patriarchate and Rome, and between Archbishop Elpidophoros and the Catholic Church in New York.

“A good friend and an ecumenical partner”

Limberakis welcomed guests on behalf of the Archons. “It’s a great joy to be all together once again,” he said. He called Cardinal Dolan “the face of the Catholic Church in New York City for many years, and a good friend and an ecumenical partner to our beloved Greek Orthodox Archdiocese and Ecumenical Patriarchate.” He also cited the cardinal’s “exemplary dedication to the Catholic Church and the causes of human rights and religious freedom.”

The master of ceremonies was Archon Mike Emanuel, chief Washington correspondent for Fox News and anchor of “Fox News Live.” He recently marked 30 years with the network.

“It is a blessing and honor to be with all of you tonight as we honor a distinguished clergyman,” Emanuel said.

He recalled watching Cardinal Dolan speak on television on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks this year. “I felt like you were speaking to me and comforting all of us,” he told the cardinal.

Emanuel also gave the honoree a word of advice. “When you’re with the Greeks, Cardinal, you’re going to hear the word ‘axios’ a lot,” he said. “You are most worthy for this tonight.”

Considering “the world we live in today,” Emanuel said, it was fitting for Orthodox and Roman Catholic believers to come together.

The Apostolic Brotherhood of Saints Peter and Andrew

In presenting the award, Limberakis traced the meetings between popes and ecumenical patriarchs. They began with Athenagoras’s meeting with Pope Paul VI in Jerusalem in 1964, “the first meeting of a pope and an ecumenical patriarch in more than five centuries.” Most recently, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew met Pope Leo in Nicaea last November to mark the 1,700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council. Limberakis said he had witnessed three such moments in person.

“When a prince of the Church of Rome, a cardinal, stands beside the Church of Constantinople, the world sees the brotherly witness of Peter and Andrew alive in our troubled world,” Limberakis told Cardinal Dolan.

He praised Cardinal Dolan’s work as chairman of the U.S. bishops’ committee on religious liberty and as a member of the White House Religious Liberty Commission. “Religious freedom is not a privilege granted by governments,” Limberakis said. “It is a gift of God.”

He said the Archons have stood with the Ecumenical Patriarchate for 60 years. In Turkey, he said, the patriarchate has been denied legal personality and has had its properties confiscated. It has also endured government interference in the election of the patriarch.

He gave thanks for “the long-awaited progress toward the reopening” of the Theological School of Halki, which the Turkish state closed 55 years ago. “We will not rest until its classrooms are once again filled,” he said.

As Cardinal Dolan received the award, the guests answered with the word Emanuel had promised: “Axios!”

A Sacred Trifecta: Jerusalem, Athens and Rome

“More than any award in itself, what means a lot to me is from whom it comes,” Cardinal Dolan said. He thanked Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, “whose gracious words touch my heart this evening,” as well as Archbishop Elpidophoros and the Archons.

The cardinal spoke of his fondness for His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios, who led the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America when Cardinal Dolan arrived in New York 17 years ago.

“The joy and the honor of this evening is enhanced with the company of another man whose friendship I cherish, my beloved Archbishop Demetrios,” Cardinal Dolan said.

Cardinal Dolan reminded the audience that New Yorkers live in “a city of bridges and tunnels.” He said the bridge between the city’s Catholics and Greek Orthodox “would be one of the greatest bridges that we have around.” He noted that the pope’s Latin title, pontifex, means bridge-builder. “You all have been bridge-builders,” he told the audience.

Cardinal Dolan cited Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s “masterful address in Athens last week,” and read from it: “Here in Athens, we found the first civilization that would come to define the West.” If he had done anything to deserve the award, Cardinal Dolan said, “it’s only because I was formed by that sacred trifecta: Jerusalem, Athens and Rome.”

“Your friendship and solidarity mean the world to me,” he said.

“A bridge between the new world and the old world”

Archbishop Elpidophoros spoke after the Cardinal. He called Cardinal Dolan “a giant of the contemporary Roman Catholic Church, not only in the physical sense but also in the spiritual sense,” and “a veritable spiritual figure of New York City.”

Cardinal Dolan’s reputation had reached him at the Phanar, the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s seat in Constantinople, long before the two men met, Archbishop Elpidophoros said. “In selecting Cardinal Dolan for the Athenagoras Human Rights Award, which honors an ecumenical hero, the Archons have sent a signal about the future of Christianity in our contemporary world,” he said. Cardinal Dolan, he added, “represents the kind of bridge-builder, as he described, that is so necessary in our world today.”

Archbishop Elpidophoros praised Cardinal Dolan’s “plain-speaking manner” in communicating the Gospel. “He is as comfortable on national television as he is speaking informally with a few police or firemen,” he said. He noted that Cardinal Dolan had twice voted in a conclave to elect a pope. “In short, Cardinal Dolan is a model hierarch for anyone to behold.”

He also pointed to Cardinal Dolan’s titular church in Rome, Nostra Signora di Guadalupe a Monte Mario, which is dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe. The assignment, he said, shows that Cardinal Dolan is “a bridge between the new world and the old world, manifesting the universal love for the Virgin Mother of God that we Orthodox share with our Roman Catholic brothers and sisters.”

“I have been privileged to know you and to walk beside you,” Archbishop Elpidophoros told him. “You are indeed most worthy of this prize. Axios!”

A record of advocacy

The Archons cited Cardinal Dolan’s record of advocacy for human dignity during his 16 years as archbishop of New York. They pointed in particular to his concern for Christians and members of other faiths who face persecution for practicing their religion.

Religious freedom is the Archons’ founding cause. The order advocates for the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul, which has faced decades of restrictions under the Turkish government. These include the closure of the Theological School of Halki in 1971.

Cardinal Dolan led the Archdiocese of New York from 2009 until Pope Leo accepted his resignation in December 2025. Bishop Ronald Hicks of Joliet, Illinois, was named his successor. Pope Benedict XVI elevated Cardinal Dolan to the College of Cardinals in 2012. He served as president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops from 2010 to 2013.

His friendship with Archbishop Elpidophoros dates to Archbishop Elpidophoros’s arrival in New York. On Sept. 4, 2019, Cardinal Dolan hosted a lunch to welcome him shortly after his enthronement. Cardinal Dolan said he hoped each would attend the other’s major events and feasts. He then brought Archbishop Elpidophoros into St. Patrick’s Cathedral for prayer.

When Cardinal Dolan’s retirement was announced, Archbishop Elpidophoros called him a “steadfast friend of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and a true ecumenical partner.” In January, during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Cardinal Dolan preached at the Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity. Archbishop Elpidophoros presented him with a silver pectoral cross.

Hierarchs and dignitaries

His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios, the former Archbishop of America, attended, along with Metropolitans Savas of Pittsburgh, Apostolos of New Jersey and Gerasimos of San Francisco. Several public officials were also there: Michael J. Rigas, the deputy secretary of state for management and resources; Michael Kratsios, the director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy; Aglaia Balta, Greece’s ambassador to the United Nations; Judge Madeline Singas of the New York Court of Appeals; Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis, a senior federal judge for the Eastern District of New York; and the consul general of Cyprus in New York. Among the other guests was John Catsimatidis, a businessman and Archon.

About the award

The Archons established the Athenagoras Human Rights Award in 1986. It honors Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras, who served as archbishop of the Americas for 18 years before his election as ecumenical patriarch in 1948. As patriarch, he met Pope Paul VI in Jerusalem in 1964. In 1965 the two lifted the mutual excommunications of 1054.

The award recognizes a person or organization with a consistent record of concern for human rights and religious freedom. Recent recipients include former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (2025), Yulia Navalnaya (2024), the Prince’s Trust (2023) and Patriarch Theodore II of Alexandria (2022). Earlier honorees include Presidents Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush, Mikhail Gorbachev, Elie Wiesel and Mother Teresa.

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At the west end of Liberty Park at the World Trade Center, a bronze horse mounted by a modern soldier rears in defense of the only house of worship destroyed on September 11, 2001. The statue, engraved De Oppresso Liber, represents the U.S. Army Special Forces of Task Force Dagger—the Green Berets inserted under cover of night into Afghanistan in the opening hours of America’s response to the deadliest terrorist attack in its history.

In attendance were active-duty service members, Port Authority officers, retired veterans, and retired intelligence officers who served alongside Task Force Dagger during its initial infiltration into Afghanistan. Many took the podium and spoke in remembrance of fellow service members, including those lost during the mission.

“The Green Beret name for this statue is ‘De Opresso Liber,’ to liberate the oppressed. That is what our country, uniquely, in the history of the world has been able to do time and time again,” said Lt. Gen. John F. Mulholland Jr. (Ret.), who commanded Task Force Dagger and later served as the CIA’s Associate Director for Military Affairs. “We want this statue here so that thousands of Americans and people from the world take the five minutes to stop, examine a statue, read the story, and have in their mind the message of this statue.”

In an interview with the Orthodox Observer, Mulholland recalled the weight of command on the night his men crossed into Afghanistan. “I was a commander and these were my lads,” he said. “It was incredibly dangerous.”

The 9/11 attacks had occurred only weeks before, so intelligence about the Al-Qaeda and the Taliban was limited. The first teams went in at night, Mulholland said, “into the darkness, into the unknown.”

Those men, and the teams that followed, met that uncertainty with remarkable courage and bravery, he said. Among them were the “horse soldiers” who rode into battle beside their Afghan counterparts. In less than two months, they brought down a Taliban regime.

That victory was not without sacrifice. Six American soldiers and one CIA officer gave their lives in the campaign. On the 25th anniversary, Mulholland said, it was important to remember the men who went in that night and those who did not come home. “It wasn’t cost-free,” he said.

The statue was introduced to the public during New York City’s Veterans Day Parade on Nov. 11, 2011, and dedicated that day in a ceremony led by Vice President Joe Biden and Mulholland. It later moved to a temporary location near the base of One World Trade Center and was dedicated in Liberty Park in September 2016. Sculptor Douwe Blumberg conceived the work, and in April 2011 an anonymous group of Wall Street bankers who lost friends in the attacks commissioned the large version. A piece of steel from the World Trade Center is set into its base.

His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America opened the commemoration, held days before the 25th anniversary of Task Force Dagger’s insertion, honoring those who answered the call to fight on America’s behalf.

“Lord, in your infinite mercy and compassion, grant on this solemn anniversary of their courage and sacrifice the good news of your love — love to all who visit this sacred monument. Send healing to those whose hearts have been broken by loss and grief,” His Eminence said. “Strengthen those who defend our liberty and keep us safe from harm. Restore sanity and reason in our world, blinded by hatred and intolerance. Free those who have been traumatized by grief and injury, whether of body, mind, or soul. And grant to those who have fallen in the defense of our nation and of our sacred and universal values, that their sacrifice may always be acceptable in your presence.”

Among those gathered was Carl Hollister, an Archon of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and director of the St. Photios Greek Orthodox National Shrine, who served in Afghanistan in 2004 and 2005.

“I worked with some great people, some great heroes, and there’s a lot of heroes here today,” Hollister said.

America’s Response Monument sits directly above the site of the original St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church.

“The original location of our church, which perished on 9/11 should be ever protected and guarded by this symbol of heroism and courage is a deeply meaningful commemoration for all of us,” Archbishop Elpidophoros said.

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 NEW YORK, NEW YORK— From Oct. 7- 9, 2026, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America hosted the Fall in-person meeting of its Girl Delegate Program to the United Nations. Traveling to New York City from across the country, including Florida, Oklahoma, California, and Alaska among others, almost 20 high school girls from all over the Archdiocese participated in an engaging array of activities centered around the celebration of the International Day of the Girl (IDG). Observed every year on October 11, the International Day of the Girl presents an important opportunity to recognize the unique perspectives, challenges, and aspirations of girls in the advancement of human flourishing on an international level.   

With the blessing of His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America, and with the generous support of the Archbishop Iakovos Leadership 100 Endowment Fund and the National Philoptochos Society, the GOA Girl Delegate Program to the UN provides a platform for young women in the Archdiocese to advocate for the rights of girls around the world and to share their unique perspective as Orthodox Christians at the United Nations. 

As in past years, the fall in-person program was centered around the Girls Speak Out which was held on Friday, October 9, 2026 in the Economic and Social Council Chamber of the UN in celebration of IDG. Co-sponsored by the Permanent Missions of Canada, Peru, and Türkiye to the United Nations, with support from UNFPA, UNICEF, and UN Women, the theme for this year’s Speak Out was “Advancing Equality, Accelerating Action Building a World Where Girls Thrive.”. Despite decades of progress, millions of girls around the world continue to face discrimination, violence, poverty and conflict that deny them their rights, restrict their choices and limit their opportunities.  

 A key topic of discussion was the multi-faceted consequences of child marriage that burden girls around the world. This issue was particularly emphasized in UNICEF’s theme for this year’s IDG theme: “End child marriage and investing in girls’ rights.” According to UNICEF’s 2026 estimates, one in five girls worldwide is married before the age of 18. More than 12 million girls are married before reaching adulthood each year. Nearly one in four ever-married or partnered girls between the ages of 15 and 19 has experienced intimate partner violence. In conflict-affected settings, girls are nearly 90 percent more likely to be out of secondary school than girls living in stable contexts, further increasing their risk of child marriage. Child marriage can increase the risk of social isolation, anxiety, and emotional distress at a time when self-harm remains one of the leading causes of death among adolescent girls ages 15-19 globally. 

On Wednesday, Oct. 7, the GOA Girl Delegates began their Fall program with an orientation at the Archdiocese Headquarters that was guided by founding Director of the Girl Delegate Program, Niki Devaris-Morgulis. During the orientation, the Girl Delegates had the opportunity to meet one another, learn more about the mission and goals of the program, and prepare for the events ahead.  

Later that day, the Girl Delegates visited the Museum of the City of New York and its “Raise Your Voice: New York Activism” exhibition. Tracing more than 250 years of activism in New York, the exhibit was organized around the four main tactics utilized by social activists throughout history: demonstrations, organizing, art and media, and direct action. One portion of the exhibit invited visitors to put the advocacy skills they learned into practice through a poster-making station, a neighborhood-focused digital interactive experience, and on-site voter registration for those 18 and older. 

That evening, Girl Delegates attended “First to the Bench: A Fireside Chat with Hon. Madeline Singas, New York Court of Appeals” at Fordham Law School where Judge Singas discussed her path to law school as the daughter of Greek immigrants and journey to becoming the first Greek American judge on New York State’s highest court.  

Previously: ‘I’ll start with the Greeks’: Judge Singas on heritage, public service, and opportunity

On Thursday, Oct. 8, Girl Delegates were taken on a guided tour of the Metropolitan Museum of Art by Presvytera Maria Constantinides who encouraged the girls to explore how women have shaped history, challenged social norms, and inspired change across cultures and centuries. The tour began in the Cycladic Art section and ended in the special exhibition Costume Art. There, he delegates discovered how fashion and clothing can reflect women’s identities, experiences, and evolving roles in society. The exhibition encouraged them to think critically about the relationship between women, culture, and self-expression, while deepening their understanding of how art can tell powerful stories across generations.  

The Girl Delegates then returned to the Archdiocese where Maria led an art workshop that connected their observations and reflections with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, using their creativity to design mixed-media posters that highlighted issues they care about and the importance of advocating for meaningful change. Through this experience, they gained a greater appreciation for art as a form of expression and activism and explored how their own voices can contribute to a more equitable future.  

After their workshop, the Girl Delegates were received by His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America in the Archdiocesan Chapel of St. Paul. His Eminence praised the efforts of the Girl Delegates and encouraged them to remain strong in their faith and proudly represent the Archdiocese.  

“Men and women are equal in personhood before God, and the gifts, talents, and leadership of women are essential to the life and witness of the Church. This program puts that conviction into practice,” His Eminence stated, “We must be a Church that embraces our young people, and especially our young women.” 

Previously: At the UN, Girl Delegates will carry the witness of the Church

On Friday, Oct. 9, the Girl Delegates spent the day at the United Nations, attending Girls Speak Out 2026 in celebration of the International Day of the Girl and later toured the UN Headquarters.   

The Girls Speak Out, organized by the NGO Working Group on Girls along with Member-States and UN Agencies, provides an annual platform for girls from around the world to share their experiences, discuss the challenges faced by girls in their communities, and advocate for greater protections and opportunities. 

GOA Girl Delegate, Theofania Nacopoulos , spoke on the second panel of the Speak Out, highlighting the importance of representation in inspiring and empowering young girls to pursue leadership opportunities. She shared her own experiences in leadership, including her involvement in student government at her school, where she was selected three times by her teachers to serve as Speaker of the House, representing the entire student body. She was also elected to join other teenagers in meeting with her state’s Attorney General to provide input on legislation addressing the risks that artificial intelligence and social media pose to teenagers.  

“Slowly we will build a stronger world and we, in turn, can encourage the next group of girls to pursue greater and greater achievements, making global progress toward our Sustainable Development Goals,” she said. 

In the afternoon, the Girl Delegates went on a tour of the United Nations which was specially geared toward the history of women and women’s rights advocacy at the UN.  

 Girl Delegates Foteini Gatsia, Nicoletta Giankopoulos, and Kateryna Davenport, participated in a mission visit to the Permanent Mission of the Dominican Republic to the United Nations, facilitated by the NGO Working Group on Girls. At the same time, Girl Delegates Agathi Katechis and Maria Siskopoulos, participated in a mission visit to the Permanent Mission of Canada to the United Nations. 

The Girl Delegates concluded their time in New York having taken part in conversations on advocacy, leadership, faith, and the rights of girls around the world. From learning about the history of activism in New York City to bringing their own voices to the United Nations, the Girl Delegates truly embodied the purpose of the program: to empower young women to speak with confidence, advocate for others, and take an active role in shaping the future. 

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His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew outlined his priorities and reflected on nearly 35 years of ministry in an interview with Manolis Kostidis for the Oct. 18 Sunday edition of the Greek daily Kathimerini. He was elected Oct. 22, 1991. Reopening the Theological School of Halki remains a commitment from his enthronement address, one he hopes to fulfill soon. Founded in 1844, Halki educated generations of Orthodox clergy. Its theological program has been closed since 1971. He also wants to contribute personally to peaceful coexistence between Greeks and Turks and stable relations between their governments, ending recurring fluctuations between calm and tension.

Kostidis credited Patriarch Bartholomew’s knowledge, perseverance and personal contacts with strengthening the Patriarchate’s standing in Türkiye. He described mutual respect with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as allowing greater freedom of action, and cited Boğaziçi University’s 2013 honorary doctorate as evidence of recognition.

The Patriarch identified the Holy and Great Council in Crete in 2016 as a milestone achieved after decades of preparation, despite four Churches’ last-minute absence. He welcomed the participation of representatives of the Georgian and Bulgarian Churches, both absent from Crete, in the theological conference in Chantilly, France. Organized by the Ecumenical Patriarchate on Oct. 5–8, the gathering marked the council’s 10th anniversary.

Granting autocephaly to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine in January 2019 was among his most difficult decisions. Referring to Moscow’s fierce opposition, he emphasized the courage and determination required to proceed. Autocephaly gives a Church the right to govern its ecclesiastical affairs under its own hierarchy.

He stressed dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church. The report recalled encounters with Popes John Paul II, Benedict XVI, Francis and Leo XIV. Kathimerini described his attendance at Francis’ 2013 inauguration as the first by an Ecumenical Patriarch since the schism of 1054.

In November 2025, he and His Holiness Pope Leo XIV joined other Christian leaders in Nicaea, now İznik, marking the First Ecumenical Council’s 1,700th anniversary. The account also recognized his dialogue with representatives of Islam and Judaism and the environmental advocacy that earned him the designation “Green Patriarch.”

Kostidis described the Patriarch’s affection for Imbros, his birthplace, where returning islanders and reopened schools have renewed the Greek Orthodox community’s prospects. His All-Holiness identified those developments as changes that had altered the course of the island’s history.

The post The Ecumenical Patriarch’s unfinished work appeared first on Orthodox Observer.

A new term for the Archdiocesan Council began Friday, Oct. 16 as members were sworn in and recited the Oath of Office during the fall meeting of the Council. His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America nominated John Catsimatidis as Vice-Chairman, Elaine Allen as Treasurer, and Nicholas Karacostas as Secretary. Stephanie Clark, Vice Chair of the Archdiocesan District Council, presided over the meeting. 

Members of the Holy Eparchial Synod present were Their Eminences Metropolitan Savas of Pittsburgh, Metropolitan Gerasimos of San Francisco, Metropolitan Nathanael of Chicago, Metropolitan Constantine of Denver, and Metropolitan Athenagoras of New Jersey. 

In his opening remarks, Archbishop Elpidophoros noted the unprecedented 35th anniversary of the election and enthronement of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. Regarding the spiritual mission of the Mother Church, the Archbishop declared: “He plows ahead sowing seeds of unity, of good order, and of the unalloyed Orthodox Faith.” 

The Archbishop also congratulated the newly-elected Metropolitan Athenagoras of New Jersey, and announced the recent Translation of the Sacred Relics of Bishop Gerasimos of Abydos, saying: “For the first time, a former Bishop of our Archdiocese, the Righteous Gerasimos, Bishop of Abydos, who served both Pittsburgh and Boston, is recognized for his venerable life and the saintly person that he was.” 

Vice-Chairman John Catsimatidis, who has been involved in the Church for four decades, said, “Our Archdiocese is in better shape than it has been in the last 40 years.” He credited the Archbishop’s team of professionals and added: “There are tremendous things that are going to happen over the next 12 months.” 

The Archdiocese’s Legal Counsel George Tsougarakis gave a detailed legal report on current litigation and the Archdiocese’s whistleblower platform, which ensures complete anonymity for complaints. He also reported progress in protecting the Archdiocese’s valuable intellectual property that will now be fully registered in the institution’s name. 

Interim President of Hellenic College Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology Fr. Michael Lambakis announced that current students for both Hellenic College and Holy Cross—including online and in-person students—now number 486, noting that 114 are seminarians. Enrollment has more than doubled over the past three years, with a 13% increase in the most recent period and a record 200 applications this fall. Regarding the School’s finances, “We anticipate a surplus for our upcoming fiscal year,” Fr. Lambakis added, describing the school’s financial trajectory as moving in “a very positive direction.” 

Fr. Lambakis also announced a $1,000,000 anonymous donation—made in the name of Fr. Savas Constantinou of blessed memory—specifically for the renovation of the Pappas Gymnasium on campus. 

Manny Kratsios, a member of the Board of Trustees of St. Michael’s Home, who is supervising  the construction of St. Michael’s Home, provided a detailed update on the new 109,000-square-foot facility in Uniondale, New York, currently 80% complete, with an expected opening by end of 2027. “The question now is not whether we finish,” Kratsios said, “but how we ensure we are not in a financial bind six and a half years from now.” He updated the Council on the completion of financing with a commercial bank for a loan of up to $31.5 million to complete the construction of the home and the need to continue fundraising as a condition of the loan.  All present were encouraged to support these fundraising efforts.  

Director of National Ministries Theo Nicolakis gave a comprehensive report on the mission to “Build Up the Body of Christ,” updating the Council on the new Sunday school curriculum, a digital liturgical tool that would accommodate parishioners engagement in the services and universally update with the Church’s liturgical calendar, and a Lilly Endowment grant application to establish 23 new Greek Orthodox communities over five years. 

At Nicolakis’s recommendation a motion was passed to align the Archdiocesan Council Ministry Committees with the restructured National Ministries framework. 

Nicolakis also reviewed the Planned Giving program, reporting that more than 217 parishes have been engaged with Leadership 100 announcing a dollar-for-dollar matching seed grant of $25,000 per parish to help them  establish endowment funds. 

His Eminence Metropolitan Athenagoras of New Jersey gave his final report as Chief Secretary of the Holy Eparchial Synod since he is now the Metropolitan of New Jersey. He described the Synod’s work as reaching beyond day-to-day administration: “The decisions adopted were not limited to immediate administrative matters; they also established structures and initiatives intended to serve the Church as a unity over the longer term.” 

Treasurer of the Archdiocese Elaine Allen reported good news, as she opened the afternoon session of the Council.  “We are in a healthy financial situation,” Treasurer Allen said. She added that results of this kind don’t come easily: “When people say to me, ‘Look at these financial results,’ I say to them, ‘This does not just happen.’ It takes planning, it takes execution, it takes a talented team, and it’s a lot of work.”  

She reported that Hellenic College Holy Cross and the Archdiocese are working cooperatively on the finances of the school and the positive financial results reported early by Fr. Lambakis are a milestone she called remarkable. Commenting on the future finances of the Archdiocese, she said, “We can only be as good as the trust that our parishes and our Metropolises have in our Archdiocese.” 

Earlier in the day, Archbishop Elpidophoros presided over the affirmation of the new National Board of the Ladies Philoptochos Society, welcoming incoming National President Debbie George and the newly-appointed officers at the start of their term. 

Addressing the board, the Archbishop invoked the example of the Theotokos as the model for Philoptochos’s ministry. “You notice the needs that others overlook,” he said. “You reach out to the lonely. You comfort the grieving. You feed the hungry. You care for the sick. And you restore dignity to those who suffer.”  

The Archbishop challenged the new board to measure its work not by programs or fundraising totals alone: “The true measure of your work is not only the funds raised or the programs established, important as these are. It is found in the lives you touch, the suffering you relieve, and the hope you restore.” 

He called the board’s affirmation “more than an acceptance of office”—“a renewed promise to serve Christ, serve Him through service to His people.” He asked the women to look to the Panagia as both example and protector, and to welcome younger generations into what he called “this joyful ministry.” 

In his closing remarks, Archbishop Elpidophoros offered a challenge that reframed the day’s many reports of success—and pointed the Church toward greater achievements. 

He acknowledged the growth, the financial recovery, the institutional momentum—“but this is normal,” the Archbishop said. “Our Church is the best organized, the biggest in numbers, the biggest in wealth, the biggest in treasure and talent, Orthodox Church.” 

“It’s not enough to share the good news, because what we call good news today, actually, it’s the normal, it’s the normalcy.” 

The Archbishop’s closing words were both an affirmation of that work and a call to refuse complacency. Reinforcing the stability of the Archdiocese, His Eminence reminded the Council, is where the progress begins. 

“The presentations that all the people made here were targeted to the future and the progress and the growth of our church. Please have this in mind. Be proud of our church. Be proud of our Archdiocese.” 

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