NEW YORK – His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, in a letter sent to the Order of St. Andrew – Archons of the Patriarchate, praises the character, achievements, and the many philanthropic works of Michael Psaros recipient of ‘The Nicholas Bouras for Extraordinary Archon Stewardship’.

The Patriarchal letter follows in its entirety:

“BARTHOLOMEW

By the Mercy of God,

Archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch

To the honorable members of the Order of St. Andrew, esteemed Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate serving in America, our beloved in the Lord: May God’s grace and peace be with you and your families.

We address you as you gather in memory of a great and historic personage of the Order of Saint Andrew, the late Nicholas J. Bouras, Archon Depoutatos, who was the National Vice Commander of the Order and a great benefactor of our Ecumenical Throne. His philanthropy, piety, love for his beloved wife, Anna, his personal history of heroism in the Second World War, and success in business are known to all. You have rightly named a perpetual accolade in his honor, the Nicholas J. Bouras Award for Extraordinary Archon Stewardship, and you have also rightly chosen an extraordinary Archon to receive that prize in this year of our salvation, 2022.

In your selection of Michael G. Psaros, Archon Ostiarios of the Great Church of Christ, you have distinguished the Order once again. Through his faith, devotion, and dedication to the Mother Church, Archon Michael has shown himself to be the exemplification of the very best in filial piety, a ‘pietas’ worthy of Aeneas himself. His many benefactions to the Ecumenical Patriarchate, to the Order of Saint Andrew, to the Holy Archdiocese of America, and to the Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine, all manifest a deep love and commitment that exceeds even his extraordinary success in industry.

Archon Michael represents the very best of what it means to be an Archon – a leader among the Holy and Great Mother Church of Constantinople. Like the ever-memorable Nicholas J. Bouras, his activities in the Church are multiplied in ways that we cannot even see all the benefits to the Church. From his leadership in supporting our recent Apostolic Visit to the United States and his founding the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew Foundation, to his endowments at Georgetown University for an Orthodox Chaplaincy in the name of our Modesty, as well an endowment for ministry in his home parish of All Saints in Weirton, West Virginia, and his ongoing leadership of The Friends of St. Nicholas, the singular grouping who have brought to completion the Saint Nicholas National Shrine, together with his beloved wife Robin and children, Archon Michael G. Psaros is lighting the way to a brighter tomorrow for our Church. The effects of this generosity and providential stewardship have yet to be fully revealed, for they have been established to endure for all the generations to come.

Therefore, we bless the Order of Saint Andrew for its bestowal of the Nicholas J. Bouras Award for Extraordinary Archon Stewardship on Archon Michael G. Psaros, conferring our special benediction upon Archon Michael and his family, extolling his devotion and care for the First Throne of Orthodoxy, and congratulating him upon the attainment of this high honor.

Extending our Paternal and Patriarchal blessing and benediction to you and your loved ones, we beseech our Most Holy Triune God to keep you under the shadow of His protection, that you may in turn fulfill your high calling to defend the Mother Church of Constantinople, by His infinite mercy and unending grace.

At the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Seventh of October, 2022

Your fervent supplicant before God,

BARTHOLOMEW Archbishop of Constantinople-New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch.”