Washington, 1-5 February 2026. Participation of the IAO Secretary General to the annual International Religious Freedom (IRF) Conference

From 1 to 5 February 2026, the Secretary General of the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy (IAO), member of the Hellenic Parliament, Dr. Maximos Charakopoulos, traveled to the United States of America to participate in the annual International Religious Freedom (IRF) Conference, which took place in the American capital, Washington.

The IAO Secretary General, in his statements following the completion of the conference, stressed that “the protection of Christians in the Middle East, and especially in Syria, but also in sub-Saharan Africa, who are currently under persecution, should not leave the international community unmoved. It is the duty of all of us to help Christians remain in their homes, using every means, even sanctions. Turning a blind eye to illegal behavior, for the sake of temporary geopolitical goals, undermines the prestige of international institutions, undermines the common human values of our democracies and indirectly encourages the continuation of criminal acts against the Christian element.

As the IAO, in parallel with the effort to unite the Orthodox, we consistently highlight all these issues. We hope that the International Religious Freedom Conference, with its high-profile participation from all over the world, can contribute to making the voice heard louder for the protection of persecuted Christians, but also of their endangered monuments, as well as for the promotion of Christian values in a world in turmoil.”

The annual global forum is co-chaired by former US Ambassador for Religious Freedom, Mr. Sam Brownback, and the President of the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice, Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett, with whom the IAO head held meetings.

The Conference was attended by hundreds of representatives from more than 70 countries, including parliamentarians, former heads of state, ambassadors, representatives of the UN, the Council of Europe, the State Department and the EU, as well as representatives of Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu and Buddhist communities.

Meeting with the US Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources

On the sidelines of the Conference, the Secretary General had the opportunity to discuss with the Greek-American US Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources of the United States, Mr. Michael J. Rigas, whom he informed about the IAO initiatives for the protection of Christians and Christian monuments. In fact, he offered him the volume published by the IAO on Hagia Sophia with the aim of raising awareness among the international community about the dangers that lie ahead for the symbol of Ecumenical Orthodoxy following its conversion into a mosque in 2020.

As part of the Secretary General’s visit to Washington, a visit to Congress and a meeting with the Member of the US House of Representatives, Mr. Gus Bilirakis, was also held, whom he thanked having “consistently and vigorously defended the rights of Orthodoxy and universal Hellenism for decades. I thank him particularly for the cooperation we have had, which I am sure will become even more systematic in the future, to the benefit of our common visions”.

For his part, Mr. Bilirakis was particularly interested in the IAO activity, while he also requested information about the situation at the Holy Monastery of Saint Catherine of Sinai.

Finally, the IAO head met with the president of the American Hellenic Institute (AHI), Mr. Nick Larigakis, at the Institute’s headquarters, in the “Hellenic House”, very close to the White House. AHI is a think tank founded in 1974 and has as its fields of action Greece, Cyprus, the Eastern Mediterranean and Southern Europe, and promotes the rule of law, defense cooperation, energy development, national security and religious freedom.