Archon Hon. Steven Counelis, Regional Commander for Southern California for the Order of Saint Andrew the Apostle, Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, has been named the recipient of the 2023 American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association (AHEPA) District 20 Periclean Award. Judge Counelis will receive the award at the 91st El Camino Real District 20 Convention, which will be hosted by Anaheim’s AHEPA Chapter 411 on Friday and Saturday, June 2-3, 2023.
The Periclean award is given annually to a Greek Orthodox Christian of sterling character, whose life and work manifests consistent and profound devotion to our Holy Orthodox Faith and indefatigable support of Hellenic values.
Dr. Anthony J. Limberakis, National Commander of the Order of Saint Andrew the Apostle, remarked: “I am utterly delighted to see Archon Judge Counelis honored in this way. Anaheim’s AHEPA chapter could not have found a more deserving recipient of the Periclean Award, or a more dedicated Orthodox Christian and ardent Hellene. Axios!”
“This is an immense honor,” Judge Counelis stated, “and it is much more than simply an award. I see this as a responsibility, a spur for me to labor all the more in the vineyards of the Lord for His Church and the Omogeneia, and I am grateful to AHEPA for the confidence it has shown in me.”
Hon. Steven Counelis is Judge of the Superior Court of the State of California in the County of Riverside. He graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Government, and with his Juris Doctor degree, from the University of San Francisco. As a college student, he served at the United States Supreme Court, in the Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Chief Justice. He and his wife Stacia have served as the Conference Advisors to the Young Adult League (YAL) Conference Ministry of the Metropolis of San Francisco since its renaissance in 2018, and continue to guide in the execution and planning of the annual Conference. Hon. Steven Counelis was invested as an Archon by His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew on October 31, 2021 and conferred with the offikion Nomophylax.
The convention will be held at the Hilton DoubleTree in Santa Ana, California. Registration will begin at 11:00 am on Friday, June 2. The awards ceremony will be held Saturday evening at the Grand Banquet. The Convention registration fee is $225 and includes registration, Scholarship Foundation lunch and the Grand Banquet. For more information, please contact Bill Lambropoulos, president of AHEPA Chapter 411, at 714-747-9600, or Ted Glavas at 714-473-8014.
