On November 6, 2025, the Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate (AEP)’s Patriarchal Properties and Legal Issues Committee (PPL) held a landmark forum on the critical need for the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Turkey to gain legal identity under Turkish law for its future preservation.

The two speakers were the Hon. Senior Judge Delissa A. Ridgway of the U.S. Court of International Trade and Archon George S. Kounoupis, Chair of the Legal Identity Subcommittee of the PPL. Judge Ridgway and Archon Kounoupis delivered a highly informative and powerful presentation which highlighted the plight of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Turkey. They also provided a well-reasoned legal analysis of why it is so important for the Ecumenical Patriarchate to have legal identity under Turkish law, and provided possible actions that might be taken by the Ecumenical Patriarchate to obtain such legal identity.

The event was held at the prestigious University Club in Washington, D.C.