Dear Brother Archons and Friends,

As the year 2022 draws to a close and we prepare once again with joy in our hearts to celebrate the Holy Nativity of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we give thanks to Him once again for all that each of you has done throughout the year to support and defend our Mother Church of Constantinople and our worldwide spiritual father, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.

Looking back on the year’s events, we see so very many ways in which our loving God has blessed us. With immense gratitude to God, we continue to benefit from the wisdom of His All-Holiness in his visionary stands with the people of Ukraine and for responsible environmental stewardship. We welcomed His Beatitude Theodore II, the Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa, to the United States for the very first time. We rejoiced as our great friend President Biden bestowed the Presidential Medal of Freedom upon our beloved Spiritual Advisor, Father Alex Karloutsos. The influence and prophetic voice of the Order of Saint Andrew the Apostle was heard defending religious freedom at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and before spiritual and political leaders in Romania, Bulgaria, and Greece.

In the coming weeks we look forward to organizing our Fourth International Religious Freedom Conference in Athens and the very first meeting of Archons from America, Greece, Europe, Canada and Australia, in accordance with the guidance of His All-Holiness. It is my fervent hope that global Archons of the Holy Mother Church will work synergistically to ensure the religious freedom and financial security of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

We thank Almighty God and His All-Holy Mother Theotokos for the vigorous and inspiring ministry of His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America, who is bringing renewal to the Archdiocese of America. And as we give thanks for each of you and your families for your tireless efforts on behalf of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, we bear in mind also that there is much more to be done. As 2023 dawns, His All-Holiness and the remaining Christians of Turkey are still in an extremely precarious position. Christians are suffering persecution around the world. We face these challenges with hope and trust in the Lord, and enter the coming year with renewed determination to do all that we can to defend and strengthen God’s Holy Church and the sacred Center of our Orthodox Faith.

As always, during this Christmas season, we remember the greatest gifts that all of us have received, the sacred ministries of:

His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew,

His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America,

The venerable Metropolitans of the Holy Eparchial Synod,

Protopresbyter Father Alexander Karloutsos,

All our beloved parish priests under the jurisdiction of the Holy Mother Church,

And our Brother Archons and their families, for their devotion to the Holy Mother Church of Constantinople.

Maria and I and our children and grandchildren once again wish our brother Archons and their beloved families the most joyous and blessed of Christmases.

Yours in defense of the Holy Mother Church,

Anthony J. Limberakis, MD

Archon Aktouarios

National Commander