Rev. Protopresbyter Nicolas Kazarian, PhD, was born in France, where he pursued his undergraduate degree at the Saint Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute in Paris (France), graduating with a BA and a MA. He continued his studies at the University of Cyprus, in Nicosia (Cyprus), and Thessaloniki (Greece), before moving to Switzerland to start an MA in Orthodox Theology at the Orthodox Theological Institute of Chambésy. He completed his Ph.D. in Geopolitics at the Sorbonne (Paris, France). He later attended the 2017 KAICIID International Fellows Program (Vienna, Austria) on interfaith dialogue and was also a visiting fellow at the Orthodox Christian Studies Center of Fordham University.

He has authored two books and over 60 articles about the Orthodox Church, ecumenical dialogue, interfaith relations, and geopolitics in various languages. He has also taught Ecumenical Relations at the Catholic University of Paris and at the Saint Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute. He was recently elected to the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches.

He serves as Ecumenical Officer and Director of the Department on Inter-Orthodox, Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.

He is the parish priest of St. Eleftherios Greek Orthodox Church in Manhattan.

A Chicago native, Nicholas Anton serves as the Director of Operations for the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the USA. Prior to his current appointment, he held the positions of Ecumenical Officer and Director of the Department of Inter-Orthodox, Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America (GOA) from 2018-2020 and Coordinator of UN Programs for the GOA from 2014-2018.

While at the UN, he specialized in human trafficking and the human right to water and sanitation. Additionally, he was the Secretary of the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s 2018 Green Attica Symposium. He earned an M.Div. from Holy Cross GOST, an MA from Boston College, and a Graduate Certificate in Leadership of Nonprofit Organizations from Southern New Hampshire University. He specializes in negotiation, diplomacy, peacemaking, and change leadership. Nicholas also continues to serve the GOA as a Special Advisor on Inter-Orthodox and Social Issues.