Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs
Number above is the telephone for Saint Andrew Church.
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The Ecumenical and Interreligious Officer serves the Archbishop and the offices of the Archdiocese as a resource in ecumenical and interreligious matters. The Officer represents the Archdiocese to the various Christian and non-Christian communities in the greater Los Angeles area and coordinates official dialogues.
Resources:
Ecumenism | Interreligious Dialogue | Ecumenical Resources | Interreligious Resources
Archdiocesan Covenant | Official Dialogues | Parish & Lay Opportunities
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity | The Bishop and Christian Unity
Ecumenical & Interreligious Events | Ecumenical & Interreligious Programs
About Rt. Rev. Alexei Smith
Rt. Rev. Alexei Smith, a Greek Catholic priest, has served as Ecumenical and Interreligious Officer of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles since November 2000. As such he directs the Catholic Church’s relations with all other Faiths in Los Angeles.
Nationally, Father Alexei is a member of the Muslim-Catholic Dialogue, the Hindu-Catholic Dialogue, and the Sikh-Catholic Dialogue, all sponsored by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Locally, Father Alexei served for many years as President of the Interreligious Council of Southern California, now ICSocal, and currently serves as its Vice President. In 2011, he was elected President of the Southern California Ecumenical Council, now the Southern California Christian Forum, a post he still holds. Father Alexei also serves on the Boards of the Academy of Judaic, Christian, and Islamic Studies, as well as the South Coast Interfaith Council and the Huffington Ecumenical Institute. He also represents the Archdioces on the Los Angeles Council of Religious Leaders. He has been invested as a Knight Commander of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, and has led several pilgrimaes to the Holy Land.
He is the recipient of numerous commendations and awards. In 2019, he received Loyola Marymount University’s President’s Award, the highest non-degree honor given by LMU.
Father Alexei is currently teaching a Certification Course entitled “Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations: A Catholic Ministry”. Previously, he co-taught an Interfaith course at Loyola Marymount University entitled “Literature and Faith in the Holy Land,” offered by the Jewish Studies Program at LMU. He also taught a course entitled “Interfaith Dialogue Since Vatican II” at Mount Saint Mary’s University, as well as a course entitled “Current Trends in Ecumenical and Interreligious Thought” as part of the International Institute of Tribunal Studies in Los Angeles.
Father Alexei is a frequent speaker at local and national ecumenical and interreligious events as well as religious education conferereces, including the Lenten Univeristy Series and the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress.
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