His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America and National Commander Dr. Anthony J. Limberakis present Yulia Navalnaya with the Athenagoras Human Rights Award. (Photos by J. Mindala and J. Angelillo)
His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America, Exarch of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, together with Dr. Anthony J. Limberakis, National Commander of the Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate (AEP), on Saturday, October 19, 2024 presented the Athenagoras Human Rights Award to Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of martyred Russian hero Alexei Navalny and now herself the leader of the Russian opposition. The Award was presented at the AEP’s annual Athenagoras Human Rights Award Banquet, a black-tie event at the New York Hilton Midtown Hotel in New York City, with well over 600 Archons and guests in attendance.
His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, in a message commemorating the occasion, called Ms. Navalnaya “a remarkable woman of courage, dignity, and unyielding commitment to the cause of human rights, and her late husband, Alexei Navalny. In bestowing the Athenagoras Human Rights Award upon her, you give voice to those who cannot speak for themselves, you stand in solidarity with all who suffer for the sake of truth and freedom, and you reaffirm the sacred duty we all share in upholding the sanctity of every human person.”
In his own message before the Award Banquet His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros stated that “in honoring Yulia Navalnaya and her late husband, Alexei Navalny, the Order of Saint Andrew is remembering ‘the way of truth and love.’” Dr. Limberakis observed in a written tribute to Ms. Navalnaya that “with a prophetic voice, she has called upon the oikoumene to show its unyielding commitment to freedom, peace and the sanctity of human life, as she herself and her martyred husband Alexei have shown the world.”
At the Award Banquet, Archon Michael G. Psaros revealed that the Banquet had raised $700,000 for the cause of human rights and religious freedom, and thanked those who contributed for their faith and φιλανθρωπία. After Archon Psaros introduced the dais guests, His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros offered the Invocation; then Constantine Pappas sang the Hellenic and American National Anthems.
The Hon. B. Theodore Bozonelis, National Vice Commander of the AEP, acting as Master of Ceremonies, welcomed the attendees and noted that Yulia Navalnaya has become a worldwide symbol for peace, freedom, and human rights. She represents, he said, the right to live in freedom and human dignity without oppression.
Serge Schmemann, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist for the New York Times and the son of the renowned Orthodox priest Fr. Alexander Schmemann of blessed memory, announced that a book by Ms. Navalnaya would soon be published, and that it was certain to be a classic in the literature of the quest for freedom. He spoke to Ms. Navalnaya in Russian, saying that for an American of Russian roots, it was a great privilege for him to have the opportunity to honor her and her husband. The great struggle she was waging, said Mr. Schemann, was the struggle of good against evil. He spoke of his father’s hopes that someday a free Russia would emerge from the Soviet yoke, but added that no one who nurtured such hopes thought that Russia would return to a regime of tyranny and lies.
Mr. Schmemann stated that what was especially tragic about Russia’s war against Ukraine was Moscow Patriarch Kirill’s role in supporting Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. He said that after the Russian Orthodox Church was brutally repressed under Communism, it was painful to see its clergy embracing a new tyranny. “How could any spiritual leader,” Mr. Schmemann asked, “claim this is a just and righteous pursuit?”
Ukraine, said Mr. Schmemann, will prevail and take its rightful place in the free world. He expressed doubt, however, about whether Russia would do so. He recalled that Ms. Navalnaya had told her countrymen, “I urge you not to be afraid.” Mr. Schmemann declared: “Your lead today will carry the flame of decency and hope and finally lead Russia back to sanity.”
After a musical interlude from the String Quartet of the Greek Youth Symphony Orchestra and dinner, Archon Constantine Caras, a National Council member and chair of the Nominating Committee for New Archons, presented the “28 worthy gentlemen” of the Archon Class of 2024.
Dr. Limberakis then offered a moving tribute to Ms. Navalnaya, stating: “Outstanding courage arises as a response to outrageous evil. In that sense, Yulia and Alexei, together forever, will be remembered for risking everything to make the largest country in the world, Russia, a free nation, with open and democratic elections and a government that is devoid of corruption and authoritarianism. What a tragedy it is that mighty Russia, unlike our own Patrida Greece, the birthplace of democracy and Western Civilization, had been led by the likes of Ivan the Terrible, Joseph Stalin and now Vladimir Putin. Putin will be remembered not only for his unprovoked imperialistic war on Ukraine but also for his murderous and sadistic methodology in forever silencing dissent in his own country.”
Alexei Navalny, said Dr. Limberakis, “became Russia’s foremost defender of human rights and individual freedom, side by side with Yulia.”
Dr. Limberakis also said that when Putin poisoned Alexei Navalny, Alexei was taken to Germany for treatment. “Once he recovered sufficiently, they could have gone anywhere in the world, as far away from Vladimir Putin’s evil reach as possible. They could have remained silent about the corruption and inhumanity of Russia’s government. Instead, he and Yulia took a fateful step: they returned to Russia and took up the fight again, where Alexei was immediately arrested and imprisoned, in what was to be his terminal imprisonment.” Alexei Navalny even said that if Putin succeeded in murdering him, the Russian people must not give up, for evil triumphed if good men did nothing.
“And the Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate take that identical position,” Dr. Limberakis added, “as the Government of Turkey continues to deny basic institutional human rights to the Ecumenical Patriarchate….and The Archons will work relentlessly until the Bells of Freedom will ring from the Patriarchal Cathedral of St. George at the Phanar!”
Now, Dr. Limberakis said that Yulia Navalnaya, “at tremendous personal risk, under an active arrest warrant in Russia has become the leader of the Russian opposition against Vladimir Putin, and something greater than that as well: she is nothing less than the conscience of the international community. With a prophetic voice, she has called upon the oikoumene to show its commitment to freedom, democratic ideals and human rights and take decisive action against the criminal police state in Moscow.” For this reason and many others, he said, the Archons were honored to present the 2024 Athenagoras Human Rights Award to Yulia Navalnaya.
His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros and Dr. Limberakis then presented the Athenagoras Human Rights Award to Ms. Navalnaya. There followed a moving video tribute to Alexei Navalny, showing his extraordinary heroism under crushing pressure.
In her own remarks, Ms. Navalnaya thanked the AEP for the great honor it had bestowed upon her, and added: “I will do everything in my power to be worthy of this trust.” At several recent award ceremonies, she said that she had wished that Alexei had been there in her place.
Ms. Navalnaya added that her husband’s faith and moral principles influenced every decision he made. His opposition to Vladimir Putin wasn’t just political, she said; it was ethical. Alexei Navalny saw Putin’s Russian as deeply immoral: “if the Kremlin tells you to steal, you steal. If the Kremlin tells you to lie, you lie.” Alexei, by contrast, according to Ms. Navalnaya, insisted that one cannot call black white. He upheld traditional moral principles: do not kill, do not lie, do not steal. This was why, said Ms. Navalnaya, the Russian regime hated him all the more.
Ms. Navalnaya recounted that at one point while he was imprisoned, Alexei Navalny went on a hunger strike. He was suffering under unimaginably inhumane conditions: he was either in solitary confinement or, if he was in the general prison population, the other prisoners were forbidden to speak with him or even look at him. Nevertheless, on the eighth day of Alexei’s hunger strike, one of the other prisoners broke the rule and handed him a small icon, saying: “This will give you strength.”
This incident illustrated, Ms. Navalnaya said, that tyrannical regimes were not as strong as they appeared. Putin wanted to give the impression that the whole country supported him, but that was just part of his empire of lies. Alexei Navalny, stated Ms. Navalnaya, was fascinated by questions of the role of morality in public life, and how morality and trust in the Orthodox Church could be restored to Russian public life. Since Putin murdered Alexei, she continued, it was up to us to seek answers to such questions. Russia, she said, deserves a government that is not built upon lies and violence.
His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros, in his Archepiscopal Exhortation, said that he was deeply moved by her speech. So often at award ceremonies, he added, we hear how honored the recipient of the award is to receive it, but in this case, Yulia Navalnaya honored us by accepting the Athenagoras Human Rights Award. “You honor us,” His Eminence said to Ms. Navalnaya, “by your unquenchable thirst for righteousness,” as well as her commitment to democracy, justice, and the rule of law.
His Eminence spoke critically of the Russian hierarchs who approved of the senseless war against Ukraine, and quoted Gandhi saying that all through history, the way of truth and love has always won. “We must do what they fear,” said His Eminence. “They fear the truth,” so we must continue tell the truth and hold fast to the invincible trophy that is the Holy Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. He assured Ms. Navalnaya of his prayers and reminded the attendees that “the One who is with us will always be greater than those who are of this world.”
His Eminence then called upon His Eminence Metropolitan Gerasimos of San Francisco to offer the Benediction.
Established in 1986, the Athenagoras Human Rights Award is given in honor of Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras, who served as Archbishop of the Americas for 18 years before being elected Ecumenical Patriarch in 1948. He was universally acknowledged as a visionary leader and worked for peace among Churches and people throughout his life. Previous recipients include His Beatitude Theodore II, Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa; His Beatitude Epiphaniy, Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine; President Joseph Biden (when he was vice president); former President Jimmy Carter; former President George H. W. Bush and First Lady Barbara Bush; Nobel Laureate and former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev; Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel; Mother Theresa of Calcutta; and the scientists who developed COVID vaccines and treatments. View a list of previous recipients.
