On January 18 and 19, 2025, Archons Steve Trakas and Dr. Terry Sarantou gave presentations on the Ecumenical Patriarchate at the Hellenic Dance Festival (HDF) in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. They were invited to participate by the organizers of the festival, Reverend Father Sampson N. Kasapakis and Reverend Father Kyriakos Hambos.
On January 18, Archons Trakas and Sarantou presented two one-hour lectures/breakout sessions entitled: “The Ecumenical Patriarchate: History, Tradition and Legacy.” They included in their presentation a video on what it means to be an Archon, as well as a video regarding the Pilgrimage of Discovery. Informational cards on the Ecumenical Patriarchate, developed by Archon Rocky Sisson, were provided to the attendees of the workshops.
The workshops were well received. The attendees were mainly high school students, and they reported that before the workshops, they had not been aware of the hardships that His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and the Ecumenical Patriarchate are facing. Some of their parents met with Archons Sarantou and Trakas in the hotel later that evening, and reported that their children had expressed concern and emotion regarding the difficulties of the Ecumenical Patriarch; the parents thanked the Archons for enlightening their children. Archons Sarantou and Trakas noted that they were very pleased with the positive feedback they received.
That evening, Archons Jim Tasios and Gus Kazakos from Winston-Salem, North Carolina graciously hosted Their Eminences Metropolitan Alexios and Metropolitan Sevastianos of Atlanta, along with Archons Trakas and Sarantou, for dinner.

Archons Sarantou and Trakas were also honored to offer a presentation at the Hellenic Dance Festival’s Closing Ceremony on Sunday evening, January 19. All 3000 attendees, including dancers, parents and clergy, were in attendance, and the event was also live streamed. The presentation included video from the 2024 Archon Religious Freedom Symposium in Athens, the Five Issues of Concern upon which Archons focus, the newly initiated Sprout Program, and a video highlighting the Pilgrimage of Discovery. Archons Trakas and Sarantou expressed gratitude to Archon John Mindala for all his assistance with these elements of their presentation.
Archons Trakas and Sarantou stated: “We were very excited about this opportunity and honored to educate and inspire so many Orthodox Christians, young and old.”
The Hellenic Dance Festival is based on the vision of His Eminence Metropolitan Alexios of Atlanta. It began in the year 2000 and is held annually on the weekend of Martin Luther King Day. This year, approximately 3000 dancers, parents and clergy were in attendance, and portions of the event were also live streamed. The dancers represented parishes from the Metropolis of Atlanta, as well as parishes throughout the United States.