Father Alex Karloutsos Receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom

President Joseph R. Biden bestows Presidential Medal of Freedom upon Fr. Alexander Karloutsos.

In a ceremony at the White House on Thursday, July 7, 2022, the Rev. Alexander M. Karloutsos, Protopresbyter of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from U.S. President Joseph Biden. The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the nation’s highest civilian honor.

According to a statement released by the Ecumenical Patriarchate, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew received the news of this extraordinary honor “with great joy and paternal pride.” His All-Holiness contacted Father Alex “and warmly congratulated him, as well as his blessed family, adding that this high honor reflects on the Ecumenical Patriarchate, of which Father Alexander was and is a worthy cleric, and imparting to him by Patriarchal pleasure his paternal good wishes and blessing.”

His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America stated: “I am so very happy for Father Alex, Presvytera Xanthi, and their children and grandchildren. This is such an exceptional distinction that it practically leaves me speechless. That a son of the Church, the son of a priest, born in Greece and humbly serving His Church for over fifty years is to be recognized by the highest civilian honor of the United States, is a moment in which every Greek Orthodox and every Greek American should take tremendous pride, especially in this week when we celebrate the Centennial of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. This is a unique honor for Father Alex, whose decades of ministry in our Archdiocese and the Ecumenical Patriarchate cannot be summed up with any amount of words. Rather, I know that we all send him our warmest and most heartfelt congratulations, with our acknowledgment of this profound recognition by the President of the United States. ΑΞΙΟΣ!”

Jim Logothetis, Chairman of Leadership 100, said “Leadership 100 takes great pride that Fr. Alex has received the high honor of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Fr. Alex served us as Executive Director for more than a decade. He served us with distinction, as did his wife and partner, Presvytera Xanthi. During his tenure, he worked with Archbishop Demetrios and Leadership 100 Membership Chairman Stephen G. Yeonas to build Leadership100 into national prominence. It is fitting that he and Archbishop Iakovos, our Founder, a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Honor from President Jimmy Carter, share in this great honor. On behalf of our Board of Trustees, our members, and our Executive Director and staff, I send heartfelt congratulations to him and his family.

According to the White House, the Presidential Medal of Freedom is “the Nation’s highest civilian honor, presented to individuals who have made exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States, world peace, or other significant societal, public or private endeavors.”

President Biden noted that “America can be defined by one word: possibilities,” adding that the recipients of the award “demonstrate the power of possibilities and embody the soul of the nation – hard work, perseverance, and faith. They have overcome significant obstacles to achieve impressive accomplishments in the arts and sciences, dedicated their lives to advocating for the most vulnerable among us, and acted with bravery to drive change in their communities – and across the world – while blazing trails for generations to come.”

Father Alex was among seventeen prominent figures to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom this year. Others included actor Denzel Washington, gymnast Simone Biles, soccer star Megan Rapinoe, former Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-Ariz.), Khizr Khan, and three honorees who received their medals posthumously, Apple founder Steve Jobs, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.)and AFL-CIO leader Richard Trumka.