Laurent Cleenewerck

Laurent Cleenewerck de Kiev
Born	1969 (age 54–55) Montpellier, France
Citizenship	United States, France
Alma mater	University of Montpellier Ukrainian Catholic University Universidad Rural de Guatemala (Saint Gregory Nazianzen Orthodox Institute)
Known for	Ecclesiology International Relations Bioethics Education
Scientific career
Fields	Theology, Inter-religious dialogue, bioethics
Institutions	EUCLID (Euclid University) Ukrainian Catholic University Humboldt State University
Doctoral advisor	Zoran Vujisić

Laurent Cleenewerck (legally Cleenewerck de Kiev) is an academic and theologian, serving as the Oversight Council Chairman of EUCLID (Euclid University), an intergovernmental organization. He is also a professor of international administration, public health and theology for EUCLID (Euclid University), and on the faculty of the Ukrainian Catholic University (and previously at Humboldt State University). He was the rector of the Eureka Orthodox Church from 2007 to 2024. He and his family currently reside in France.

Upbringing and education

Cleenewerck was born in 1969 in Montpellier (France) of a Flemish family, and spent part of his childhood in Connecticut. After earning a Baccalaureat C (Sciences) in 1986, he graduated from two national programs and from the University of Montpelier, France (Institute nonadministrative dies Enterprises) in 1989 with degrees in Computer Science, International Affairs, Finance and Business Administration. He holds a Licentiate in Sacred Theology from the St. Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute (Paris, France) and a Master's in Ecumenical Studies from the Ukrainian Catholic University, being the first graduate in that program's English-language stream. He also pursued further studies at St. Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary (Pennsylvania) in 2002-2004 and obtained a Doctorate of Science in the Study of Religion from the Universidad Rural de Guatemala (St Gregory Nazianzen Orthodox Institute; now St. Gregory Nazianzen Institute for Eastern Christian Studies). He also received a Ph.D. in public health from the Central University of Nicaragua in 2022.

Professional life

Cleenewerck currently teaches theology, international administration and global health for EUCLID (Euclid University), as well as Ecumenical Methods for the Ukrainian Catholic University. He also occasionally serves as extension faculty (Economics, Sciences) for the Humboldt State University. He is the rector of St. Innocent's Orthodox parish in Eureka and engaged in public lecturing, ministry, as well as further writing and research.
Prior to 2004, he held managerial and technological positions in Paris and California while being active with various associations, notably in the field of refugee assistance and bioethics (Republic of Lomar Foundation, Human Bioethics Treaty Organization).
Although retired from non-academic public activities, he is a member of several professional and academic associations, including the Orthodox Theological Society of America and Euclid's Organization for the Study of Treaty Law (OSTL).

Ecclesiastical life

He is a presbyter of the Eastern Orthodox Church, ordained in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA, received in the Orthodox Church in America in 2007. He is the rector of St Innocent Orthodox Church in Eureka, CA and holds the rank of archpriest in the Orthodox Church in America.

Theological work

Cleenewerck's main ideas are presented in his comprehensive study of the historical and theological causes of the current separation between Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy (His Broken Body – Understanding and Healing the Schism between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches). Like John Zizioulas, he is an advocate of Eucharistic ecclesiology which he articulates as Holographic anesthesiology. The outline and implication of this model were published in the Journal of Ecumenical Studies in 2010. He is a proponent of non-partisan ecumenical dialogue with the ideal of a return to the basics of pre-Nicene orthodoxy.

Pr. Cleenewerck serves as editor of the EOB (Eastern / Greek Orthodox Bible) of which the New Testament volume was published in 2010. His Catechism of the Orthodox Faith remains an active project.

He is also engaged in public debates and interested in constructive dialogue between Christianity and Islam.

Interfaith Award

Cleenewerck authored an academic paper on Christian - Muslim dialogue as part of the 2016 UN World Interfaith Harmony Week organized by EUCLID, which won the first prize award as an organization. In April 2016, he was invited to receive an award from King Abdullah II of Jordan and to deliver a speech at the award ceremony of the World Interfaith Harmony Week held in Amman, Jordan.

World Interfaith Harmony Week Award photo, Amman, Jordan, on April 17, 2016; Cleenewerck is second from left, King Abdullah II is fourth from left, Patriarch Theophilos III is fourth from right

Musical contributions

Under the name Laurent de Kiev, he has released a number of classic French poems adapted to music under the title "De Verlaine a Rimbaud" (2023) and "de Musset à Sardou" (2021).

Bibliography

Books

• "Japan on the Edge: An inquiry into the Japanese Government's Struggle for Superpower Status and UN Security Council Membership at the Edge of Decline" (co-authored with Roberto M Rodriguez), (EUC Press), 2009 - ISBN 978-0-578-02053-2
• "His Broken Body: Understanding and healing the schism between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches" (EUC Press), 2008 - ISBN 0-615-18361-1
• EOB: The Eastern Orthodox New Testament (Editor),
• "Binding and Non-Binding Instruments in Intergovernmental Relations: A diplomat's guide to understand the concepts of treaty and memorandum of understanding in theory and practice" (General Editor, Euclid University Press, 2015)
• "Aiparthenos | Ever-Virgin? Understanding the Orthodox Catholic Doctrine of the Perpetual Virginity of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and the Identity of James and the Brothers and Sisters of the Lord", (Euclid University Press), 2015

Academic Articles

• "Maximal care considerations when treating end-stage heart failure patients: Ethical and procedural quandaries in management of the very sick" (with Ernst Schwarz et al.), Journal of Religion and Health, 2010
• "The recovery of Eucharistic and Holographic Ecclesiology as a promising avenue of ecumenical dialogue and broader mutual recognition" (with Ernst Schwarz et al.), Journal of Ecumenical Studies, 2010
• Malaria Prevention Measures among Pregnant Women: A Population-Based Survey in Nnewi, Nigeria. Scientific World Journal (2019), with co-authors
• "The Effect of Spirituality and Religion on Outcomes in Patients with Chronic Heart Failure" (with Jesse J. Naghi, Kiran J. Philip, and Ernst Schwarz), Journal of Religion and Health, 2010
• "Philosophical implications of the systemic and patient-oriented management of chronic heart failure" (with Ernst Schwarz, Anita Phan, Russell Hobbs), Journal of Religion and Health, 2010
• "Financial cybercrime in the Islamic finance metaverse" with K Katterbauer, H Syed, L Cleenewerck - Journal of Metaverse, 2022
• "The impact of the legalization of Bitcoin in the Central African Republic: A legal analysis" with K Katterbauer, H Syed, L Cleenewerck - Cuadernos de Economía, 2022
• "Vaccine hesitancy in the post-COVID-19 Era: an interdisciplinary approach for a trust-and-risk paradigm with governmental and intergovernmental implications" L Cleenewerck de Kiev, DA Schieffler - 2022 - digitalcommons.sacredheart.edu