Emeritus

Drake G. Behrakis of the Taxiarchae Church in Watertown, MA, was invested as Archon in 2011 and conferred with the offikion Maestor.

Archon Behrakis has served as a Trustee of the Endowment Fund of the Taxiarchae Cathedral, as a member of the Metropolis Council and as a supporter of the Faith and Heritage Center. He has also been a Trustee of Hellenic College - Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology (1998 – 2000) and an active member of Leadership 100.

Theofanis V. Economides of St. Nicholas Church in San Jose, CA was invested as Archon of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in 1996 and conferred with the offikion Ekdikos. He is the regional Commander of the Archons of the Metropolis of San Francisco, and since 2006 he is also a member of the National Council of the Order of Saint Andrew the Apostle. In November of 2006 with the blessing of His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, he served as one of the two main ushers during the visit of Pope Benedict XVI at the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople (Istanbul), Turkey. From 2008 - 2013, he was assigned by the Order of Saint Andrew the Apostle to represent the Ecumenical Patriarchate and defend its Religious and Human Rights at the annual meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) comprised of 54 European nations, the US, Canada and 15 other nations around the world in Warsaw, Poland. In November of 2009 he presented the problems facing the Ecumenical Patriarchate at the annual meeting of the European Parliament in Venice, Italy.

Archon Economides is a member of Leadership 100 and a member of the Executive Committee of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. He has also been a member of the Metropolitan Council of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of San Francisco for over thirty years, where he has been serving as Vice President since 1996, and a member of the Board and Managing Director of St. Nicholas Ranch and Retreat Center in Squaw Valley, CA.

Archon Economides graduated from the Greek Military Cadet Academy (Scholi Evelpidon) in 1958 and served as an artillery officer of the Greek Army until 1968. He subsequently earned a BS in Computer Science from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), an MS in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University and pursued postgraduate studies at Stanford in Management Systems. He has lectured occasionally at Stanford and authored several publications in the computer field. From 1971 to 1982 Economidis served at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), where he was a key contributor to the Space Shuttle and several other programs of national importance. In 1986 he joined TRW Inc. (now known as Northrop-Grumman) in Sunnyvale, California where he served as an executive specializing in national security electronic systems. He retired from TRW in 2001.

Archon Economidis is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and past Chairman of the Computer Society of Northern California. He has also served as President of the United Hellenic Societies Federation of Northern California, as Founding member and Chairman of the Board of the Elios Society since its inception for sixteen years, and as President of the Board of the Hellenic Journal, the only Greek American newspaper west of Chicago.

Archon Economidis is the recipient of numerous citations and awards for church and community contributions including: the Cross of Axum (Patriarchate of Ethiopia) for leading the effort to raise funds (over $75,000) and personally delivering this aid to the starving people of Ethiopia in 1985 and for arranging, during the famine, the delivery of 4,500 metric tons of food supplies to the Church of Ethiopia; the Pope Paul VI and Metropolitan Meliton Medallion for his efforts to promote and protect the rights of the Ecumenical Patriarchate to function as a free institution; two citations by the Senate of the State of California for his exemplary record of civic leadership; and many distinctions from local and national Greek American organizations for his philanthropic accomplishments and commitment to Hellenic ideals including the AXION Award from the Hellenic American Professional Society in 1985. He is the 1999 recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor Award and has also been featured in Public Broadcasting Corporations (PBS) 1999 documentary "The Greek Americans II, Passing the Torch." In December of 2006 he was elected to serve as the General Chairman of the "International Convention of Hellenes Abroad (SAE)" in Thessaloniki, Greece, and in the same year he received the highest honor by the Organization of the Retired Greek Artillery General Officers in Athens, Greece. In March 2013, he was honored with the inaugural Theofanis Economidis Award by the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of San Francisco for his extraordinary leadership at a Gala event attended by Governor Jerry Brown, Congresswoman and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, and San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee. In July 2015, the Order of AHEPA, during its Supreme Convention in San Francisco and in the presence of His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios, Geron of America, bestowed upon Archon Economidis the Aristotle Award for his leadership and work for the preservation of our faith and perpetuation of Hellenism.

In 1968 Archon Economides married Cynthia (Efstathia) Bagles from Sheboygan, Wisconsin and they enjoyed 46 years of marriage until her passing in 2014. Cynthia had a prestigious 34-year tenure of service at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee where she was a professor in The Helen Bader School of Social Welfare. They have one daughter, Roberta (Hariklia), who is a prominent attorney in San Francisco.

Prof. Dr. Aristotle Papanikolaou of Sts. Constantine and Helen in Andover, MA, and in Chicago, IL, was invested as Archon in 2010 and conferred with the offikion Prostatis ton Grammaton. He coordinated the award by Fordham University of its highest honor, the Honorary Doctorate of Laws, to His All-Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in 2009.

Archon Papanikolaou has served for many years as protopsalti and Sunday School teacher at both churches. He has been a member of the Youth Commission of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, a Board Member of Pappas Patristic Institute, and a member of the Social and Moral Issues Commission of SCOBA.

Archon Papanikolaou earned his BA from Fordham University (1988), his MDiv from Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology (1991), and his PhD from the University of Chicago (1997). He is a Professor of Theology and the Archbishop Demetrios Chair in Orthodox Theology and Culture at Fordham University. He is Co-Director of the Orthodox Christian Studies Center at the same University, and Senior Fellow at the Emory University Center for the Study of Law and Religion. His areas of expertise are contemporary Eastern Orthodox theology (19th and 20th centuries), Trinitarian theology, and political theology. He is also developing an expertise on the relation between theological anthropology, violence and virtue ethics. He is a prolific author of many articles and academic presentations on Orthodoxy.

Archon Papanikolaou and his wife, Constantia, were married in married in 1994.

Christopher Stratakis of the Archdiocesan Cathedral of Holy Trinity in Manhattan, NY, was invested as Archon in 1998 and conferred with the offikion Notarios. He is the longtime legal advisor of the Order of St Andrew, and a member of the National Council Executive Committee.

Archon Stratakis has served on the parish council and as president of the Transfiguration of Christ Church in Corona, NY. He guided fundraising efforts to build the School of the Transfiguration Church, and served as school board president for 11 years. He was also the fundraising co-chairman for the Hellenic Cultural and Educational Center of St. Nicholas Church in Flushing, NY. He and his wife Maro are members of Leadership 100.

Archon Stratakis, a graduate of Drexel University and of NYU School of Law, is a senior partner of Poles, Tublin, Stratakis & Gonzalez, LLP, a law firm founded in 1957. He has practiced admiralty, commercial real estate, and corporate law, and advises clients in connection with their personal legal matters.

Archon Stratakis acted as the legal adviser to Panchiaki “Korais” Society for over 50 years, and also advised the office of the Greek Consular Harbor Master of New York and the New York Shipping Corporation Committee. He served as the advisory board chairman of the Center for Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies in Queens College. He is a member of the Board of Governors (emeritus) of Drexel University, where he and his wife endowed the Christopher and Mary Stratakis Chair in Corporate Governance and Accountability at Drexel's LeBow College of Business.

Archon Stratakis has received numerous awards, including the St. Paul's Award and Layman's Award from the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America; the Medal of Merit for Greek Diaspora from the Hellenic Government; the Ellis Island Medal of Honor; and several awards from Drexel University. He is also a member of the Holy Sepulchre of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

Archon Stratakis and his wife Maro have been married for 55 years and reside in Manhattan, NY. They are parents of Sophia married to Seraphim Huling, of John married to Corina Gerontis, and of Erene married to Nathan Allen, and have three grandchildren: Christopher, Henry George, and Anastasia.

Dr. Manuel Nick Tissura was invested as Archon in 1989 conferred with Offikion Ekdikos. Appointed State Commander of Georgia and currently serves as Regional Commander of Atlanta and is the liaison to Metropolitan Alexios for the Metropolis Archons. He wrote the proposed rules on Archon Protocols and Etiquette which awaits approval from the Hierarchs.

Born in Savannah, Georgia, he served in the U.S. Navy, graduated from the University of Georgia with a B.S. degree. He received his D.D.S. degree from Emory University School of Dentistry and his Endodontic degree from the University of Iowa Graduate School of Dentistry. In addition to his private practice in Endodontics, he served as Clinical Instructor and Guest Lecturer in Endodontics at Emory University School of Dentistry and Dental Study Groups.

Church Life: Parish Council President of the Annunciation Cathedral in Atlanta, Georgia for two terms, a Member of the Diocese/Metropolis and Archdiocesan Councils. Mega Archon Johnny Economy, President of the AHEPA Centennial Foundation Inc., named him Chairman of the National Tribute Weekend (1996) which celebrated the placement of a symbolic Sculpture in Atlanta's new Olympic Park honoring the Ancient Greek Olympic Games. Appointed by Mega Archon Dr. John Skandalakis to Chair Patriarch Bartholomew's visit to the M.L.K Center in Atlanta, (1997) to lay a commemorative wreath on Dr. King's grave.

He was a delegate to the International Patriarchal Clergy Laity Congress in 2000 in Constantinople, and International SAE Conferences in Thessaloniki. He is the First Vice President of the Saint Photios Greek Orthodox National Shrine in Saint Augustine, Florida and Chairman of its Annual Anniversary Dedication. Additionally, a member of the Annunciation Cathedral Endowment Foundation and the By-Laws Committee. He was bestowed the Medal of Saint Paul in 2012, by His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios.