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 18, 2025 presented the Athenagoras Human Rights Award to the Hon. Michael R. Pompeo, the 70th Secretary of State of the United States of America. 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, observed that Secretary Pompeo is “recognized for his consistent advocacy for religious freedom and his steadfast support of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and other religious minorities during his distinguished public service.”
His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros also praised Secretary Pompeo’s dedication to religious freedom, stating that he “has been a leader in the struggle for human rights and guarantees of religious liberty across the globe, and he has a special love and concern for the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.” His Eminence added that “in honoring Secretary Pompeo, the Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate continues its longstanding tradition of recognizing the best and the brightest among the world’s leaders, choosing persons who offer the world honorable and exemplary service for the betterment of the human family.”
Dr. Limberakis likewise paid tribute to Secretary Pompeo, stating: “Every so often in the public arena, there arises a man who embodies what it means to be a true servant-leader, giving voice to the voiceless and in this case, a forum to address egregious international human rights and religious freedom violations. This evening’s honoree, the honorable Michael R. Pompeo, is such a man. Throughout his long and ongoing distinguished career in Washington, Mike Pompeo has consistently labored selflessly to improve the lives of Americans and people all over the world. He has demonstrated a heartfelt and deeply informed concern for the plight of people who have suffered for simply exercising their God-given freedom of conscience, and in particular, for the rights of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Turkey and persecuted religious minorities all over the world.”
Dr. Limberakis also noted that in his book, Never Give an Inch: Fighting for the America I Love, “the Secretary explains that he not only met with Prime Ministers and Foreign Ministers, the typical portfolio of a Secretary of State, but made it ‘a priority to visit with religious leaders, encouraging them in their own fights against persecution.’ In November 2020, the Secretary visited Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew at the Phanar, the first sitting Republican Secretary of State to do so, intentionally bypassing any meeting with government officials in Ankara: the point: America stands by the Ecumenical Patriarchate and His All-Holiness calling for its unfettered religious freedom and God-given institutional human rights, in a country where such is denied.”
His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros and Dr. Limberakis then presented the Athenagoras Human Rights Award to Secretary Pompeo.
In his own remarks, Secretary Pompeo thanked the AEP for the “incredible honor” it had bestowed upon him, and added that “the work done by the Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate at home and abroad to protect both the ability of your 300 million Orthodox Christians to practice their faith freely, and for all peoples to enjoy religious freedom, is truly an inspiration.” He emphasized that “My relationship with the Archons and with the Orthodox Church holds a special place in my heart, and I’ve had the privilege of collaborating with you on so many important initiatives to advance religious freedom and human rights, both during my time as Secretary of State and out of office.”
Secretary Pompeo also pointed out that “protecting religious freedom around the world is one of America’s oldest foreign policy traditions, dating back to the 1800s, when the US government denounced the persecution of Orthodox Christians and other religious minorities living under the Ottoman Empire.” He spoke about his efforts as Secretary of State to highlight “issues that previous administrations had soft pedaled, such as the ongoing persecution of the Ecumenical Patriarchate by the Turkish government.”
The Secretary declared unequivocally that “from the forced closure of the Halki seminary to the refusal to grant the Church legal identity, to the profound disrespect shown to the Ecumenical Patriarch and his role as leader of the world’s 300 million Orthodox Christians, the Turkish government’s treatment of the Orthodox Church is textbook religious persecution.” He put this conviction into action as Secretary of State: “So when I had the opportunity to meet Patriarch Bartholomew in Istanbul in 2020, I declined to also meet with Turkish officials in order to convey a simple message: This Church must remain independent of the state and free to worship.”
Secretary Pompeo went on to applaud the courageous decision of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to grant autocephaly to the Orthodox Church in Ukraine in January 2019, saying: “The wisdom of Patriarch Bartholomew’s decision was unfortunately made even clearer by the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, as the Kremlin has continued to use the Russian Orthodox Church as a spy network within Ukraine, and has cynically enlisted Patriarch Kirill to justify Putin’s war of aggression as a holy enterprise.”
Concluding his remarks, Secretary Pompeo revealed that “one of my proudest moments as Secretary of State was when we secured the release of three men named Kim Dong-chul, Kim Hak-song, and Tony Kim from captivity in North Korea. As we descended the stairs of the plane at Joint Base Andrews after the long flight home from North Korea, they slipped me a note. It was Psalm 126: ‘The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.’ I keep that little card framed in my office today. It reminds me of the importance of maintaining our Christian witness in the face of all that the world might throw at us.” Secretary Pompeo then stated: “I thank the Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate for upholding that witness in this fallen world, and I pray that America always remains a country dedicated to protecting religious liberty at home and around the world. May God bless His All-Holiness Bartholomew, Archbishop Elpidophoros, the Archons and all of you here tonight, and God bless the United States of America. Thank you.”
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 Russian dissident Yulia Navalnaya; the Prince’s Trust (now the King’s Trust), an international youth charity founded by King Charles III while he was Prince of Wales; 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 Teresa of Calcutta; and the scientists who developed COVID vaccines and treatments. View a list of previous recipients.
