Dear Archons and Friends of the Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate,
During our recent pilgrimage to Constantinople to mark the historic 35th Anniversary of the Election and Enthronement of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America became the first to proclaim our beloved Patriarch “Bartholomew the Great.” The title was His Eminence’s own inspiration, and he announced it in the City itself, at the Grand Banquet in honor of his 35th Anniversary, in the presence of guests from around the world, including Archons and pilgrims gathered there at the Mother Church.
The Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate are servant-leaders in the Church, with a singular devotion to the Holy Mother Church of Constantinople. It is therefore our joy and privilege to follow the lead of His Eminence in giving His All-Holiness the recognition he so richly deserves. From this day forward, the Archons will refer to His All-Holiness as Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew the Great.
I affirmed this commitment publicly on Saturday, November 7, 2026, at the Enthronement of His Eminence Metropolitan Athenagoras of New Jersey at St. John the Theologian Greek Orthodox Church in Tenafly, New Jersey, when I said: “Only a few weeks ago, our beloved Archbishop Elpidophoros led the Archons on a pilgrimage to Constantinople to mark the historic thirty-fifth anniversary of the election and enthronement of His All-Holiness. During that pilgrimage, His Eminence became the first to proclaim His All-Holiness Bartholomew the Great, a title earned through thirty-five years of the most impactful and longest tenure in Christianity as Ecumenical Patriarch. From this day forward, whenever the Archons speak the name of our Ecumenical Patriarch, we will speak it as he deserves: Bartholomew the Great.”
In the two-thousand-year history of the Church, only one Ecumenical Patriarch has borne the title “the Great”: Saint Photios the Great, who shepherded the Church of Constantinople through a time of profound crisis and strife in both the Church and the wider world.
The same may rightly be said of His All-Holiness. Elected in 1991, he is the longest-serving Ecumenical Patriarch in the history of the Church, and his tenure has spanned extraordinarily turbulent times. Through them he has stood for the truth with surpassing courage, even under immense pressure, as when he granted autocephaly to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine in January 2019. He has raised a prophetic voice against war and the glorification of violence, and has called consistently for dialogue, mutual respect, and care for God’s creation, earning him worldwide recognition as the “Green Patriarch.”
We are blessed to witness his remarkable and ongoing global ministry, and we are grateful to His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros for giving voice to what so many of the faithful have long felt. In view of his numerous achievements and unparalleled vision, we join His Eminence in proclaiming without hesitation: Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew the Great!
Yours in the service of the Ecumenical Patriarchate,
Dr. Anthony J. Limberakis
The Archon Grand Aktouarios
National Commander
