On September 22, 2025, Libra Group, a privately owned global business group owned by the Logothetis family, hosted a dinner at the Mandarin Oriental in New York City in honor of His All-Holiness Bartholomew, Archbishop of Constantinople-New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch.
The event marked the spiritual leader’s first official visit to the United States since 2021 and gathered more than 250 dignitaries, religious leaders, business and philanthropy figures, and prominent members of the Greek-American community in the US. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew is the spiritual leader of 300 million Orthodox Christians worldwide and has served as the 270th Archbishop of Constantinople and Ecumenical Patriarch since 1991.
A moving tribute to Patriarch Bartholomew by Libra’s Logothetis
Libra Group Executive Chairman George Logothetis introduced the Patriarch with a moving tribute, reflecting on themes of faith, community, and gratitude, and sharing his family’s Greek immigrant story. Logothetis described His All-Holiness as a spiritual leader “whose life-long journey of giving and loving is a beacon for our faith and humanity alike … [and] through whose veins flows a river of the richest empathy.”
He further noted, “Here we are tonight to celebrate and venerate a spiritual leader who has the deepest well of goodness and kindness of anyone that I have ever met.”
The Executive Chairman of Libra focused on the theme of contribution and selfless service, saying:
]“Towards the end of our lives, I believe we are but the sum of all we have given, not a subtraction of what we have taken. I think it’s hard to find someone who has given more and taken less in his life than His All Holiness.”
In his remarks on resilience and perspective, Logothetis stated: “It is through enduring that we can access that deeper philosophical wisdom and gratitude which resides within us all.”
“Gratitude can be a grandchild of history,” he maintained. “Because understanding where we have come from, what our people endured, what torturous and continuous suffering they braved yet survived. It breeds perspective.”
He concluded by celebrating the Patriarch’s spiritual role, saying:
“His All Holiness leads us all spiritually. He is not solely a reminder of the standards we should all aspire to hold ourselves to. He is the embodiment of those very standards. The spiritual connector of all our people and faith around the world.”
Logothetis encouraged those present by saying, “Our march to better societies is perpetual. It will never end. But, oh boy; let us look back over our shoulders and let us be grateful from whence we have come.”
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew’s address at the Libra event
Following Logothetis’ remarks, His All-Holiness offered a powerful benediction and closing address, touching upon themes of harmony, community, and the Logothetis family’s work.
The Patriarch spoke on the power of spiritual unity: “When our hearts are joined together in divine concordia, we are most able to fulfill our destiny as human beings, as loving manifestations of the kind of love that can transform the world.”
“Our fellowship is enhanced by the Concordia of hearts in this room, expressions of our shared humanity, which finds its perfection in the God man Jesus Christ,” he added.
He linked the concept of harmony to his role and the cosmos:
“As Ecumenical Patriarch we see a true balance—the ‘armonia’ (harmony)—that reflects the divine order of the Cosmos designed by our creator. Our participation in this order or, as our ancestral philosophers and Church Fathers would say, our ‘methexis,’ is as much a spiritual vocation as anything else.”
In addressing the host family and their enterprise, the Patriarch stated: “We commend your family and your enterprise, known as Libra, for representing so well the equilibrium, harmony, and justice, which the scales of balance signify.”
He also praised the family’s legacy and philanthropic efforts:
“The success and works of this family—whose name Logothetis has a special meaning in the history of the Christian Roman Empire—are indicative of its legacy of the ages passed. The Logothetes were of the highest orders in the empire, particularly concerned with resources, both public and financial. This designation is especially apt for this family…as they are masters of enterprise and at the same time initiators of many public goods, the Concordia Summit among them.”
Finally, concerning Libra Philanthropies, His All-Holiness noted: “The depth and breadth of such philanthropia (philanthropy) and its impact inspire others to take action—each in their own way.”
Libra Philanthropies, established in 2023 by the Logothetis family as an independent 501(c)(3) foundation, is dedicated to perpetuating and scaling the legacy of social responsibility initiatives carried out by its sister organization, Libra Group, over the past decade.
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