NEW YORK, NY – His Beatitude Theodore II, Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa, will be the recipient of the 2022 Athenagoras Human Rights Award, the Order of Saint Andrew the Apostle, Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate announced today.
According to the press announcement, His Beatitude has been a tireless defender of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and a determined advocate for religious freedom.
The award will be presented on Saturday, October 8, 2022 at the Order’s annual Athenagoras Human Rights Award banquet at the New York Hilton Hotel in New York City.
In recognizing Patriarch Theodore’s long record of defense of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, Dr. Anthony J. Limberakis, National Commander of the Order of Saint Andrew the Apostle, stated: “His Beatitude Patriarch Theodore has a profound understanding of the canonical position of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in the Church, and immense respect and love for His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew himself. Accordingly, at tremendous cost and amid considerable risk, His Beatitude has stood consistently with His All-Holiness in defense of the traditional ecclesiastical and canonical prerogatives of the Ecumenical Patriarchate”.
The Athenagoras Human Rights Award was established in 1986 by the National Council of the Order of St. Andrew the Apostle. The Award was named after the late Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Athenagoras I and is presented every year to a person or organization that has consistently exemplified by action, purpose and dedication, concern for the basic rights and religious freedom of all people.
Previous recipients include His Eminence Demetrios, former Archbishop of America; His Eminence Iakovos, former Archbishop of North and South America; 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; New York Governor Andrew Cuomo; Nobel Laureate and former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev; Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel; and Mother Theresa of Calcutta.
