Dear Brother Archons and Friends of the Order of Saint Andrew the Apostle,

On Thanksgiving Day, we join in the beautiful American tradition of pausing to give thanks to Almighty God for the abundant blessings He has showered upon us, and this year, we have a great deal for which to give thanks and praise to our Lord and Savior and His all-holy Mother, the Theotokos.

Archon Weekend 2022 was a triumphant celebration of our Holy Orthodox Faith and our sacred mission to support and defend our Holy Mother Church of Constantinople. We were privileged with the first-ever visit to the U.S. of the Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa, His Beatitude Theodore II, who was the recipient of this year’s Athenagoras Human Rights Award. We raised over $350,000 for the Missions of the Patriarchate of Alexandria, and His Beatitude even had the opportunity to meet with President Joe Biden!

The year was filled with other blessings as well. Our cherished and renowned spiritual advisor, Father Alex Karloutsos, was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. An Archon delegation undertook an extraordinarily successful Religious Freedom Mission to Romania, Bulgaria, and Greece. The philanthropic activities of various Archons enhanced in numerous ways the endeavors of the Church, the business community, academia, the charitable sector, and a great deal more. We stood with His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in his profound and prophetic opposition to Russia’s unjust and destructive war in Ukraine. We welcomed 36 dedicated and devoted new Archons to the Order as they joined us to fight for the religious freedom of our Ecumenical Patriarchate.

Meanwhile, we continue to be thankful for the religious freedom that we enjoy in the United States, and remain in prayer for the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Christians of Turkey, as well as for Christians everywhere who endure persecution today.

We offer Thanksgiving to our Heavenly Father for the unprecedented 31-year Patriarchal Ministry of His All-Holiness Bartholomew who granted religious freedom to the Ukrainian people, continues to safeguard the environment, and unceasingly promotes peace and reconciliation for all children of Abraham.

As always, we acknowledge how deeply our souls and minds have been enriched by the sacred ministry of His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America, as well as by that of Their Eminences the Metropolitans of the Eparchial Synod, and of Father Alex Karloutsos. We are immensely grateful to our God who loves humanity for our tireless parish priests and their presvyteres who continue to bring the Holy Orthodox Faith to the American people.

Maria joins me in wishing you and your beloved families a joyful, peaceful, and richly blessed Thanksgiving Day, as well as a joyous Feastday of Saint Andrew the First-Called Apostle, for whom our Order is named, on November 30.

In the service of our Holy Mother Church,

Anthony J. Limberakis, MD

Archon Aktouarios

National Commander