New Haven, CT – On April 25th, Archon Districts 1 and 2 of New York co-sponsored a symposium, titled Christian Populations in the Middle East Since the Arab Spring, which was held at Yale University. The panel discussion featured three professors: Stephen Davis of Yale University, Ellen Lust of Yale University and Christine M. Philliou of Columbia University. The event was moderated and principally organized by George Symiris, Associate Chair of the Hellenic Studies Program at Yale University, together with Archon Gregory Stamos.

Approximately 70 people participated at the event, at which the panelists described the deteriorating conditions for Christian populations in the Middle East, including in Egypt, Syria, and Turkey, since the revolutionary wave of demonstrations and protests that came to be known as the Arab Spring began in 2011. A question-and-answer session followed the presentations by each of the panelists, with much of the discussion focusing on religious freedom issues in Turkey, especially those affecting the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

The event was co-sponsored with the Order of AHEPA, the Hellenic Bar Association of Connecticut and several Yale studies programs and departments.