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U.S. Department of State - January 23, 1998

Advisory Committee on Religious Freedom Abroad
Interim Report to the Secretary of State

and to the President of the United States
Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
Washington, DC, January 23, 1998

THE SECRETARY OF STATE'S
ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOM ABROAD

U.S. Department of State
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor
2201 C Street, N.W. Room 7802/DRL
Washington, D.C. 20520
www.state.gov

CHAIRMAN
Assistant Secretary of State John Shattuck, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, U.S. Department of State

MEMBERS
[...]
His Eminence Archbishop Spyridon*, Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
*Represented by Mr. Antonios Kireopoulos, Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
[...]

APPENDIX TWO

Biographical Information on the Advisory Committee Chairman,
Members, and Executive Director

[...]
His Eminence Archbishop Spyridon* as Primate of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America is spiritual leader of 1.5 million Greek Orthodox Christians in America. Born in Warren, Ohio, he is the first American-born elected and enthroned as Archbishop of America. He studied at the famed Theological School of Halki. His graduate studies in Switzerland focused on the history of Protestant Churches, and later, after receiving a scholarship from the Ecumenical Patriarchate, he studied Byzantine Literature at Bochum University in Germany. He is fluent in Greek, English, French, Italian, and German. His long and direct contacts with the Roman Catholic Church contributed to his appointment in 1984 as Executive Secretary of the Inter-Orthodox Commission for the Theological Dialogue between Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches. In 1992, he was appointed Chairman of the Inter-Orthodox Commission for the Theological Dialogue between the Orthodox Church and the Lutheran World Federation. He has also made important contributions to building Orthodox unity. Archbishop Spyridon of America is recognized for his dedication to the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and for his effectiveness in addressing the needs and problems of the Orthodox Diaspora.

*His Eminence Archbishop Spyridon is represented by:
Mr. Antonios Kireopoulos, Special Assistant to the Archbishop. In this capacity, he represents the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America in its non-governmental organization office at the United Nations and on the America's Promise project. Mr. Kireopoulos also coordinates the legislative council of the Archdiocese, and is involved in communications and inter-religious affairs. Previously, he was Associate Director of the Leadership 100 Endowment Fund, as well as representative to the Faith and Order Commission of the National Council of Churches. A lay theologian, Mr. Kireopoulos is in the final stages of doctoral work.

APPENDIX THREE
Committee Federal Register Notices

Federal Register
December 19, 1996 / Volume 61, Number 245 / Notices / Page 67090
Public Notice No. 2489

Advisory Committee on Religious Freedom Abroad Established

[...]
Members of the Committee have been appointed by Secretary of State Warren Christopher. Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, John Shattuck, will chair the Advisory Committee. The Committee members are: Dr. Don Argue, National Association of Evangelicals; Rev. Joan Brown Campbell, National Council of the Churches of Christ; Dr. Diana L. Eck, Harvard University; Dr. Wilma M. Ellis, Continental Board of Counsellors, Baha'is of the Americas; Rabbi Irving Greenberg, National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership; Dr. James B. Henry, Pastor of the First Baptist Church, Orlando, Florida; Bishop Frederick Calhoun James, African Methodist Episcopal Church; The Very Rev. Leonid Kishkovsky, Orthodox Church of America; Rev. Samuel Billy Kyles, Memorial Baptist Church, Memphis, Tennessee; Dr. Deborah E. Lipstadt, Emory University; Dr. David Little, U.S. Institute of Peace; Dr. Laila Al-Marayati, Muslim Women's League; The Most Rev. Theodore E. McCarrick, Archbishop of Newark; Imam Wallace Deen Mohammed, Society of Muslim Americans; Dr. Russell Marion Nelson, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints; The Most Rev. Ricardo Ramirez, Bishop of Las Cruces, New Mexico; Dr. Barnett Richard Rubin, Council on Foreign Relations; Ms. Nina Shea, Puebla Project of Freedom House; Dr. Elliot Sperling, Indiana University; His Eminence Archbishop Spyridon of America, Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.
[...]

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