Biography of Fr. Laurent Cleenewerck
Fr. Laurent Cleenewerck (legally Cleenewerck de Kiev), a dedicated presbyter of the Eastern Orthodox Church, serves as the founding priest of the Orthodox mission in Sandpoint, Idaho, ministering to the communities of Sandpoint, Ponderay, Priest River, Newport, and Athol. Born in 1969 in Montpellier, France, to a Flemish family, Fr. Laurent spent part of his childhood in Connecticut before pursuing an extensive academic and spiritual journey.
Ordained in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA (2004) and received into the Orthodox Church in America in 2007, Fr. Laurent served as rector of St. Innocent Orthodox Church in Eureka, California, from 2007 to 2024. In 2024, he moved to France and was released to the Archdiocese of Russian Orthodox Churches in Western Europe (Patriarchate of Moscow) and is currently on leave and therefore able to serve the Sandpoint mission as of July 2025. His pastoral work emphasizes catechesis, Bible-centered preaching, and fostering a vibrant Orthodox community and worship rooted in apostolic tradition.
Fr. Laurent holds a Licentiate in Sacred Theology from the St. Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute in Paris, a Master’s in Ecumenical Studies from the Ukrainian Catholic University, and a Doctorate of Science in the Study of Religion from the St. Gregory Nazianzen Institute as well as a PhD in Public Health. A widely published academic, he teaches theology, international administration, and global health at EUCLID University, Euler-Franeker Memorial University and the Ukrainian Catholic University. He is the author of His Broken Body: Understanding and Healing the Schism between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches and editor of the Eastern/Greek Orthodox New Testament.
Fr. Laurent brings to Sandpoint a deep passion for sharing the unchanging truth of Orthodoxy, offering spiritual guidance through liturgical worship, educational classes, and community outreach. He resides with his family in France when not serving in Idaho, and he invites all to join the Sandpoint Orthodox mission in growing together in faith.
