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Order of St. Andrew Mourns President Carter, an Honorary Archon and Recipient of the Athenagoras Human Rights Award

Photos: ARCHIVES/ ARCHONS OF THE ECUMENICAL PATRIARCHATE

NEW YORK, NY –

The Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate mourn Jimmy Carter, the 39th President of the United States [1977 – 81] and the recipient of the 1987 Athenagoras Human Rights Award who passed away at his home in Plains, Georgia on Sunday, December 29, 2024 at the age of 100.

Renowned for his profound compassion, deep Christian commitment, and consistent dedication to human rights for all people around the globe, President Carter was presented the Athenagoras Human Rights Award by His Eminence Archbishop Iakovos of North and South America and Dr. Anthony G. Borden, National Commander of the Order of Saint Andrew the Apostle, Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, on February 21, 1987. In addition to receiving the Athenagoras Human Rights Award, as notes the press announcement release by the Order, President Carter was at the same time made an honorary Archon of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

President Carter had a longstanding love and respect for the Greek Orthodox Church and the Ecumenical Patriarchate. In 1978, when Pope John Paul I died, President Carter asked His Eminence Archbishop Iakovos to be a member of the U.S. Presidential delegation at the pope’s funeral; two years later, President Carter awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Archbishop Iakovos.

GOA/ ARCHIVES

In 1985, President Carter traveled to Constantinople to visit His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Demetrios and His Eminence Metropolitan Bartholomew of Philadelphia, who later succeeded Patriarch Demetrios as Ecumenical Patriarch. At the Phanar, Metropolitan Bartholomew showed President Carter the burnt-out structure of the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s main building, which had burned down in 1941. Carter promised to speak with Turkish Prime Minister Turgut Özal in order to urge him to grant permission for its reconstruction. Carter gave his chief of staff, George Schira, the responsibility of working with the Turks until permission was granted; the former president also worked with Archon Arthur Cheokas of blessed memory to gain permission from Turkish authorities to reconstruct. The new headquarters was finally constructed and dedicated in 1989.

President Carter was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 “for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development”.

ARCHONS/ ARCHIVES

Upon President Carter’s passing, Dr. Anthony J. Limberakis, National Commander of the Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, stated that “Jimmy Carter was one of the moral heroes of our age. As president of the United States, he dared to conduct international affairs with a fundamental belief in human decency and the dignity of every human person — qualities that are all too often lacking in world leaders. His openness and humility regarding his Christian commitment were exemplary for us all, and his efforts to bring that decency into the political arena will be remembered with gratitude for centuries to come. By God’s grace, may we all strive to emulate his deep regard for human rights for all people, wherever they may be and whatever their station in life. May his memory be eternal!”