Executive Committee
National Commander
Anthony J. Limberakis, M.D.
Megas Aktouarios
March 08, 1987
Anthony J. Limberakis, MD, an Archon of the Ecumenical Patriarchate since 1987 and a member of the Archon National Council, the governing board of the Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate since 1988, has served as National Commander of the Order of Saint Andrew the Apostle, Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate since 1998. A 1975 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania (BA, MA) and 1978 graduate of Duke University School of Medicine, he is a practicing radiologist in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and a member of the radiology faculty of the Thomas Jefferson University Sidney Kimmel Medical College.
To be invested as an Archon of the Ecumenical Patriarchate is the highest honor a layman may achieve in the Orthodox Christian Church. Dr. Limberakis was invested as an Archon on March 8, 1987 and conferred with the offikion Aktouarios. Then on Sunday, September 3, 2023 at the Holy Church of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker of Myra, the Metropolitan Church in Pyrgos, Greece, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew elevated Dr. Limberakis to the offikion Archon Megas (Grand) Aktouarios. In his patriarchal letter to Dr. Limberakis, His All-Holiness explained that this honor was bestowed in view of the National Commander’s “twenty-five years of service and devotion to the Great Church of Christ.”
The Archon of the Ecumenical Patriarchate is an organization comprised of the leading Orthodox churchmen in the United States whose mission is to defend and support the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, the spiritual center of the world's 300 million Orthodox Christians located in Istanbul, Turkey. The Ecumenical Patriarchate traces its origin to the first called Apostle of Jesus Christ, St. Andrew, who was the brother of St. Peter. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew is the 269th successor of St. Andrew and the First Among Equals (Primus Inter Pares) of all Orthodox Patriarchs; Pope Francis, the head of the Roman Catholic Church, is the 266th successor of St. Peter.
With the blessings of Archbishop Elpidophoros of America, the Exarch (or representative) of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in the United States, Dr. Limberakis has led the Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in a major domestic and international religious freedom initiative for the Ecumenical Patriarchate, which is under heavy religious oppression by the government of Turkey. The Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate have held three International Conferences on Religious Freedom; these extraordinary, historic and watershed events were held in Brussels, Belgium in 2010; Berlin, Germany in 2013; and Washington, D.C. in 201, and featured speakers and panelists consisting of scholars, journalists, human rights advocates, diplomats, and politicians. A fourth International Conferences on Religious Freedom and Global Summit of Archons is planned for May 26-29, 2024 in Athens, Greece.
The Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Spiritual Center of worldwide Orthodoxy, is not able to exercise fundamental institutional human rights and religious freedom due to the restrictive policies of the government of the Republic of Turkey. It is in this milieu of state-sponsored religious repression that poses an existential threat to the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Under the leadership of Dr. Limberakis, the Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in the United States has initiated an assertive, multifaceted religious freedom project working with the federal government of the United States, the state legislative bodies of each of the 50 states of the United States, The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) the European Union, the European Court of Human Rights and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to convey the urgent message to the Turkish government to cease and desist the policies that constrict religious freedom, not only for the Ecumenical Patriarchate, but for all religious minorities, including the Jewish, Roman Catholic, Protestant and Alevi Muslim communities of Turkey. The Archons support Turkey's candidacy to the European Union so long as it embraces the religious freedom standards of the EU and the Copenhagen Criteria.
Also under the leadership of Dr. Limberakis, the Archons have established eleven Archon Engagement Committees, which afford hundreds of Archons the opportunity to indicate the special area in which he wishes to devote his time, talent, and treasure. These include the Academia Symposia Committee; the Communications Committee; the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew Foundation; the Editorial Publication Committee; the Federal and State Governmental Affairs Committee; the International Archons Committee; the Metropolis and Parish Education Committee; the Patriarchal Green Initiatives Committee; the Patriarchal Properties and Legal Issues Committee; Women In Orthodoxy; and the Youth Participation Activities Committee.
In addition to his many other responsibilities, Dr. Limberakis serves as chair of the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew Foundation, which is dedicated to providing financial independence for the Ecumenical Patriarchate, so that it can fulfill its global mission in perpetuity. As of this writing, the EPBF has received $22.715 million in pledges.
In November 2009, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and then-Archbishop Demetrios presented the Athenagoras Human Rights Award, the highest distinction of the Orthodox Church in America, to Dr. Limberakis in New York City for his leadership in fighting for religious freedom for the Mother Church, the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. In June 2009 His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem named him the Commander Cross-bearer (Stavrophoros) of the Order of the All-Holy Sepulcher Cross-bearers.
Dr. Limberakis is a current member of the Archdiocesan Council of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, and past member of the Board of Trustees of Hellenic College/Holy Cross School of Theology and has served on the governing board of several Greek Orthodox churches in the Philadelphia area. In May 2002, Dr. Limberakis received an Honorary Doctorate Degree in Humanities from Hellenic College, Brookline, Massachusetts, for his professional and community leadership. In May 2000. he received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in recognition of his contributions to the Greek American community.
Active at the Duke University Medical Center, Dr. Limberakis has served on its Board of Visitors and was past president of the Duke Medical Alumni Association and its major gift organization, the Davison Club. In addition, he has served as a member of the Medical Alumni Council and as chairman of its Strategic Planning Committee, which provided the blueprint for the reorganization and revitalization of the Medical Alumni Association. He has been awarded the Charles A. Dukes Award, Duke's highest recognition for volunteer service to the University and is a member of the Founder's Society and the Century Club. In November 1999, Dr. Limberakis was the recipient of the Duke Medical Center Distinguished Service Award that is given periodically to an alumnus who has demonstrated exemplary service to the Medical Center and School of Medicine.
In March 2015, Dr. Limberakis was conferred the position of Distinguished Fellow of the Oxford Centre for the Study of Law and Public Policy at Harris Manchester College of the University of Oxford.
Dr. Limberakis was born in 1952 in Fresno, California and is the son of the late Rev. John A. Limberakis and Elizabeth Constantine Limberakis. He served as a page in the United States Senate while in high school, and earned both his bachelor's and master's degrees in political science at the University of Pennsylvania in 1975. After graduating medical school from Duke in 1978, he completed his medical internship at the Graduate Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and his residency in diagnostic radiology at the Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in 1983. He is married to Dr. Maria A. (Borden) Limberakis, a family practitioner, and together have three adult children, John (Danielle), Anthony (Kathryn) and Elizabeth (Praneet) and four grandchildren, Dakota and Anthony (John), Evangeline and Anthony (Anthony).
To be invested as an Archon of the Ecumenical Patriarchate is the highest honor a layman may achieve in the Orthodox Christian Church. Dr. Limberakis was invested as an Archon on March 8, 1987 and conferred with the offikion Aktouarios. Then on Sunday, September 3, 2023 at the Holy Church of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker of Myra, the Metropolitan Church in Pyrgos, Greece, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew elevated Dr. Limberakis to the offikion Archon Megas (Grand) Aktouarios. In his patriarchal letter to Dr. Limberakis, His All-Holiness explained that this honor was bestowed in view of the National Commander’s “twenty-five years of service and devotion to the Great Church of Christ.”
The Archon of the Ecumenical Patriarchate is an organization comprised of the leading Orthodox churchmen in the United States whose mission is to defend and support the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, the spiritual center of the world's 300 million Orthodox Christians located in Istanbul, Turkey. The Ecumenical Patriarchate traces its origin to the first called Apostle of Jesus Christ, St. Andrew, who was the brother of St. Peter. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew is the 269th successor of St. Andrew and the First Among Equals (Primus Inter Pares) of all Orthodox Patriarchs; Pope Francis, the head of the Roman Catholic Church, is the 266th successor of St. Peter.
With the blessings of Archbishop Elpidophoros of America, the Exarch (or representative) of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in the United States, Dr. Limberakis has led the Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in a major domestic and international religious freedom initiative for the Ecumenical Patriarchate, which is under heavy religious oppression by the government of Turkey. The Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate have held three International Conferences on Religious Freedom; these extraordinary, historic and watershed events were held in Brussels, Belgium in 2010; Berlin, Germany in 2013; and Washington, D.C. in 201, and featured speakers and panelists consisting of scholars, journalists, human rights advocates, diplomats, and politicians. A fourth International Conferences on Religious Freedom and Global Summit of Archons is planned for May 26-29, 2024 in Athens, Greece.
The Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Spiritual Center of worldwide Orthodoxy, is not able to exercise fundamental institutional human rights and religious freedom due to the restrictive policies of the government of the Republic of Turkey. It is in this milieu of state-sponsored religious repression that poses an existential threat to the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Under the leadership of Dr. Limberakis, the Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in the United States has initiated an assertive, multifaceted religious freedom project working with the federal government of the United States, the state legislative bodies of each of the 50 states of the United States, The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) the European Union, the European Court of Human Rights and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to convey the urgent message to the Turkish government to cease and desist the policies that constrict religious freedom, not only for the Ecumenical Patriarchate, but for all religious minorities, including the Jewish, Roman Catholic, Protestant and Alevi Muslim communities of Turkey. The Archons support Turkey's candidacy to the European Union so long as it embraces the religious freedom standards of the EU and the Copenhagen Criteria.
Also under the leadership of Dr. Limberakis, the Archons have established eleven Archon Engagement Committees, which afford hundreds of Archons the opportunity to indicate the special area in which he wishes to devote his time, talent, and treasure. These include the Academia Symposia Committee; the Communications Committee; the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew Foundation; the Editorial Publication Committee; the Federal and State Governmental Affairs Committee; the International Archons Committee; the Metropolis and Parish Education Committee; the Patriarchal Green Initiatives Committee; the Patriarchal Properties and Legal Issues Committee; Women In Orthodoxy; and the Youth Participation Activities Committee.
In addition to his many other responsibilities, Dr. Limberakis serves as chair of the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew Foundation, which is dedicated to providing financial independence for the Ecumenical Patriarchate, so that it can fulfill its global mission in perpetuity. As of this writing, the EPBF has received $22.715 million in pledges.
In November 2009, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and then-Archbishop Demetrios presented the Athenagoras Human Rights Award, the highest distinction of the Orthodox Church in America, to Dr. Limberakis in New York City for his leadership in fighting for religious freedom for the Mother Church, the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. In June 2009 His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem named him the Commander Cross-bearer (Stavrophoros) of the Order of the All-Holy Sepulcher Cross-bearers.
Dr. Limberakis is a current member of the Archdiocesan Council of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, and past member of the Board of Trustees of Hellenic College/Holy Cross School of Theology and has served on the governing board of several Greek Orthodox churches in the Philadelphia area. In May 2002, Dr. Limberakis received an Honorary Doctorate Degree in Humanities from Hellenic College, Brookline, Massachusetts, for his professional and community leadership. In May 2000. he received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in recognition of his contributions to the Greek American community.
Active at the Duke University Medical Center, Dr. Limberakis has served on its Board of Visitors and was past president of the Duke Medical Alumni Association and its major gift organization, the Davison Club. In addition, he has served as a member of the Medical Alumni Council and as chairman of its Strategic Planning Committee, which provided the blueprint for the reorganization and revitalization of the Medical Alumni Association. He has been awarded the Charles A. Dukes Award, Duke's highest recognition for volunteer service to the University and is a member of the Founder's Society and the Century Club. In November 1999, Dr. Limberakis was the recipient of the Duke Medical Center Distinguished Service Award that is given periodically to an alumnus who has demonstrated exemplary service to the Medical Center and School of Medicine.
In March 2015, Dr. Limberakis was conferred the position of Distinguished Fellow of the Oxford Centre for the Study of Law and Public Policy at Harris Manchester College of the University of Oxford.
Dr. Limberakis was born in 1952 in Fresno, California and is the son of the late Rev. John A. Limberakis and Elizabeth Constantine Limberakis. He served as a page in the United States Senate while in high school, and earned both his bachelor's and master's degrees in political science at the University of Pennsylvania in 1975. After graduating medical school from Duke in 1978, he completed his medical internship at the Graduate Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and his residency in diagnostic radiology at the Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in 1983. He is married to Dr. Maria A. (Borden) Limberakis, a family practitioner, and together have three adult children, John (Danielle), Anthony (Kathryn) and Elizabeth (Praneet) and four grandchildren, Dakota and Anthony (John), Evangeline and Anthony (Anthony).
National Vice Commander
The Hon. B. Theodore Bozonelis
Ekdikos
New Jersey
October 28, 2007
Archon Bozonelis is National Vice Commander and Executive Committee member of the Order of St. Andrew the Apostle, Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. He served as vice chairman of the Order's Legal Committee and is Chairman of the Order's Patriarchal Properties and Minority Concerns Committee, which assists the Ecumenical Patriarchate on legal issues for the return of confiscated properties and developing a legal status and standing for the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Turkey.
He received his bachelor's degree from Rutgers University and his J.D, Cum Laude, from George Washington University. He was nominated by the Governor of New Jersey and confirmed by the State Senate as a judge of the Superior Court of New Jersey in 1990. He served all divisions of the state judiciary until 2011. He was presiding judge in the Criminal Court, Equity and Family Divisions. In 2003, he was appointed as the assignment (chief) judge for Northern New Jersey Counties, where he oversaw the administration of the state courts and 56 municipal courts. In that capacity, Judge Bozonelis also served as a chairman and member of the State Judicial Council, which supervises the overall state judiciary.
He has served as a judicial master and instructor for Inns of Court, Institutes for Continuing Legal Education, and Judicial College retreats. Prior to his appointment as a state judge, he served as chairman of a State District Ethics Committee, a law clerk of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, Washington, D.C., and as an assistant U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey. He also served as of counsel to the law firm of Graham Curtin in New Jersey, providing services in mediation, arbitration and special master matters. He was appointed to the New Jersey Governor's Judicial Advisory Panel and serves as a trustee of The Nicholas J. and Anna K. Bouras Foundation.
He is married to Helen (Koutras) Bozonelis, an editor and author. They have two adult children, Justin and Lia.
He received his bachelor's degree from Rutgers University and his J.D, Cum Laude, from George Washington University. He was nominated by the Governor of New Jersey and confirmed by the State Senate as a judge of the Superior Court of New Jersey in 1990. He served all divisions of the state judiciary until 2011. He was presiding judge in the Criminal Court, Equity and Family Divisions. In 2003, he was appointed as the assignment (chief) judge for Northern New Jersey Counties, where he oversaw the administration of the state courts and 56 municipal courts. In that capacity, Judge Bozonelis also served as a chairman and member of the State Judicial Council, which supervises the overall state judiciary.
He has served as a judicial master and instructor for Inns of Court, Institutes for Continuing Legal Education, and Judicial College retreats. Prior to his appointment as a state judge, he served as chairman of a State District Ethics Committee, a law clerk of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, Washington, D.C., and as an assistant U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey. He also served as of counsel to the law firm of Graham Curtin in New Jersey, providing services in mediation, arbitration and special master matters. He was appointed to the New Jersey Governor's Judicial Advisory Panel and serves as a trustee of The Nicholas J. and Anna K. Bouras Foundation.
He is married to Helen (Koutras) Bozonelis, an editor and author. They have two adult children, Justin and Lia.
National Treasurer
Peter J. Skeadas
Hieromnimon
Direct Archdiocesan District
October 10, 2004
Peter J. Skeadas of Greenwich, CT was invested as Archon of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in 2004 and conferred with the offikion Hieromnimon.
Archon Skeadas was elected National Treasurer of the Order of Saint Andrew the Apostle in January, 2018. He also serves as Chair of the Order's Spirituality Committee and the annual Archon Lenten Retreat. Prior to his being elected Treasurer, he served on the Order's National Council as well as the Order's Regional Commander for the Archdiocesan District. He is a member of the Archdiocesan Council serving on the National Finance Committee and the Archdiocesan District Finance Committee. Together with his wife Aphrodite, he has participated on several Archon Pilgrimages to the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople and to Jerusalem, amongst others. He and his wife are members of Leadership 100. They are stewards of the Church of Our Saviour where Archon Peter has served on the Board and on several Church committees in administrative positions. He and his wife are also stewards of Saint Catherine's Church in West Palm Beach and the Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine at the World Trade Center. He is a graduate of the Columbia University School of Engineering and Applied Science. He with his wife, while under the employ of an American oil company, lived for two years in Cape Town, South Africa where he attended the Saint George Greek Orthodox Church of Cape Town.
Archon Skeadas was elected National Treasurer of the Order of Saint Andrew the Apostle in January, 2018. He also serves as Chair of the Order's Spirituality Committee and the annual Archon Lenten Retreat. Prior to his being elected Treasurer, he served on the Order's National Council as well as the Order's Regional Commander for the Archdiocesan District. He is a member of the Archdiocesan Council serving on the National Finance Committee and the Archdiocesan District Finance Committee. Together with his wife Aphrodite, he has participated on several Archon Pilgrimages to the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople and to Jerusalem, amongst others. He and his wife are members of Leadership 100. They are stewards of the Church of Our Saviour where Archon Peter has served on the Board and on several Church committees in administrative positions. He and his wife are also stewards of Saint Catherine's Church in West Palm Beach and the Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine at the World Trade Center. He is a graduate of the Columbia University School of Engineering and Applied Science. He with his wife, while under the employ of an American oil company, lived for two years in Cape Town, South Africa where he attended the Saint George Greek Orthodox Church of Cape Town.
National Secretary
Gus M. Pablecas
Ostiarios
Chicago
October 22, 2006
Gus M. Pablecas, (baptized as Kosmas), is National Secretary of the Order of Saint Andrew the Apostle. He is a Steward of St. Nectarios in Palatine, IL, was invested as Archon in 2006 and conferred with the offikion Ostiarios.
He has served the Church in a variety of positions for over 30 years, including as the Metropolis of Chicago Council’s First Vice President, six term Parish Council President; Parish Council First Vice President; Chairman of Finance, Ways and Means, Budget, Metropolis Task Force Chairman, Ad Hoc Committees, Chairman of Metropolis Clergy Laity and Real Estate Committees, member of the Archdiocesan Council and currently a member of the Metropolis of Chicago Building, Planning and Architectural Committee.
He served on the original Planning and Development Committee as a Board Member for the purchase of the St. Iakovos Retreat Center and currently serves on the Advisory Board for the PanHellenic Foundation.
He is currently the President/CEO of a company active in real estate acquisitions and asset management. As a former FBI Special Agent, he currently serves as a Director for the Chicago Chapter of the Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI.
He has served the Church in a variety of positions for over 30 years, including as the Metropolis of Chicago Council’s First Vice President, six term Parish Council President; Parish Council First Vice President; Chairman of Finance, Ways and Means, Budget, Metropolis Task Force Chairman, Ad Hoc Committees, Chairman of Metropolis Clergy Laity and Real Estate Committees, member of the Archdiocesan Council and currently a member of the Metropolis of Chicago Building, Planning and Architectural Committee.
He served on the original Planning and Development Committee as a Board Member for the purchase of the St. Iakovos Retreat Center and currently serves on the Advisory Board for the PanHellenic Foundation.
He is currently the President/CEO of a company active in real estate acquisitions and asset management. As a former FBI Special Agent, he currently serves as a Director for the Chicago Chapter of the Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI.
