KISHKOVSKY, LEONID

KISHKOVSKY, LEONID, priest, ecumenist (24 March 1943– ). Born in Warsaw, he was a displaced person in West Germany with his family (1944–51) before coming to the United States and receiving his B.A. at the University of Southern California (1965) and studied theology at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (q.v.) (1964–67). After ordination (1969) he continued previous work organizing college student conferences and college fellowships. As parish priest from 1969 to the present, he has increased his administrative role in the Orthodox Church in America, serving as assistant to the chancellor, secretary for ecumenical and external affairs, and member of the National Council of Churches Governing Board, and World Council of Churches Central Committee. He served as president of the National Council of Churches (1990–91), and was the first Orthodox churchman to lead that body as such. He has also been the editor of The Orthodox Church newspaper from 1985 and is highly regarded by his peers.