Laurent Cleenewerck

Laurent Cleenewerck is an academic and theologian, serving as professor of international administration and theology for EUCLID (Euclid University), and on the faculty of the Ukrainian Catholic University and Humboldt State University. He is the rector of Eureka’s Orthodox Church. He and his family currently reside in Northern California.

Upbringing and Education

Cleenewerck was born in Montpellier, France in 1969 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 Montpellier, France (Institut d'Administration des Entreprises) in 1989 with degrees in Computer Science, International Affairs, Finance (undergraduate BTS and DPECF) 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. 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).^[1]

Professional life

Cleenewerck currently teaches theology and international administration for EUCLID (Euclid University), and as extension faculty (Economics, Sciences) for the Humboldt State University.^[2] He is the rector of St. Innocent's Orthodox parish in Eureka and engaged in public lecturing,^[3] 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 of the Study of Treaty Law.

Scientific, Diplomatic and Educational Work

After holding technical positions at IBM and Neurones in the early 1990s, he relocated to Silicon Valley, California and pursued work in applying Internet technologies to social programs. He was one of the co-founders of the Republic of Lomar Foundation, a visionary effort to renew the concept of the Nansen passport which lasted until 2002. In 2003-2004, he also served as Secretary-General of the Human Bioethics Treaty Organization, a non-governmental organization dedicated to inter-religious and non-religious bioethical reflection.
His epistemological approach heavily relies on the primacy of the scientific method of inquiry, critical thinking and dialectical confrontations. Following John Polkinghorne and William Lane Craig, Cleenewerck is convinced that the convergence between science and theology provides for new avenues of dialogue, reflection and apologetics. He considers diplomacy an essential human activity with great applicability to all aspects of human life, especially religious dialogue.
He has co-authored several articles dealing with bioethics published in the Journal of Religion and Health.

Ecclesiastical Life

He is a presbyter of the Eastern Orthodox Church, ordained in the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, received in the Orthodox Church in America in 2007.^[4] He is the rector of St Innocent Orthodox Church in Eureka, CA and holds the rank of archpriest in the Orthodox Church in America.^[5]

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 ecclesiology. 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 currently 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 has been announced for 2016. He is also engaged in public debates^[6] 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.^[7]

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

Bibliography

- A Handbook of Basic Bioethics: an HBTO Guide (Editor), 2004
- "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 Bible - New Testament (Editor), 2007-2015
- "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
- "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
- "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", (EUC Press), 2015

References

1. ↑ http://www.orthodoxtheologicalinstitute.org/faculty.html
2. ↑ http://www.humboldt.edu/olli/
3. ↑ JPR Listeners Guild - Community Calendar
4. ↑ http://files.oca.org/TOC/2007-toc-summer.pdf
5. ↑ https://oca.org/clergy/deanery/OCA-WE-PCE
6. ↑ http://www.theopologetics.com/category/laurent-cleenewerck/
7. ↑ "Winners of World Interfaith Harmony Week award honoured". Jordan Times. Retrieved 2016-04-22.