Dear Brother Archons and friends of the Order of Saint Andrew the Apostle:

Χριστός Ανέστη! Ἀληθῶς Aνέστη! (Greek)

Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen! (English)

Христос воскрес! Воістину воскрес! (Ukrainian)

Хрістос воскрес! Воістину воскрес! (Carpatho-Russian)

!المسيح قام! حقا قام al-Masīḥ qām! Ḥaqqan qām! (Arabic)

After the anticipatory period of the Great Fast, the day has finally arrived: today, we Orthodox Christians rejoice as we celebrate the glorious Resurrection of our Lord and Savior. As Saint John Chrysostom says, “He that was taken by death has annihilated it! He descended into hades and took hades captive!” It is with this joyful knowledge and triumphant faith that we face the challenges ahead and continue to carry out our sacred duty to support and defend our Holy Mother Church of Constantinople.

“Christ is risen, and the demons are fallen!” We are thankful to almighty God on this Feast of Feasts for the reigns of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the longest-serving Ecumenical Patriarch in the history of the Church, and His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America. Their leadership has guided the Church in America and the world at large to a new period of vitality. As Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, we are grateful to be able to assist in the wise ministries of these holy and visionary hierarchs. We likewise express our gratitude on this holiest of days to the Holy Eparchial Synod and to our Spiritual Advisor, Father Alexander Karloutsos.

“Christ is risen, and the angels rejoice!” We look forward in the coming months to continuing and expanding the operations of the Archon Engagement Committees, whose mission is to provide meaningful opportunities for all Archons to participate in the active and ongoing defense of the Ecumenical Patriarchate across a wide range of fields. These committees are designed to encourage Archons to develop original initiatives for consideration of inclusion in the national policy of the Order; see more about these all-important committees and how you can participate in them here.

“Christ is risen, and life reigns!” We are continuing to work toward our fourth international conference on religious freedom, emphasizing democracy and human rights in the sovereign governance of nations; it will be held in Athens in May 2024. This conference will also be the momentous occasion of the very first meeting of Archons from America, Greece, Europe, Canada and Australia, in accordance with the guidance of His All-Holiness. On March 18, 2023, His All-Holiness gave his Patriarchal and Paternal blessing for this conference, which was also discussed with His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros. Preparatory meetings and discussions took place earlier this year.

Maria and our entire family joins me in wishing all Archons and their beloved families a joyous and peace-filled Pascha.

Christ is risen from the dead, by death,

He has granted life!

Yours in the Risen and Triumphant Lord,

Anthony J. Limberakis, MD

Archon Aktouarios

National Commander