Fr. Leonid Kishkovsky elected moderator of religions for peace
NEW YORK, NY—The Very Rev. Leonid Kishkovsky, director of external affairs of the Orthodox Church in America, has been elected moderator of Religions for Peace, the largest multi-religious coalition of faith organizations working together to build peace through common action. Among his extensive international posts, Father Leonid has served as moderator of Action by Churches Together, a Geneva-based ecumenical alliance of Christian relief organizations. He is currently a president of Christian Churches Together in the USA.
The 61-member World Council, the seniormost governing body of Religions for Peace, elected a moderator as part of its mandate following the Religions for Peace Eighth World Assembly in Kyoto, Japan, in August 2006. At that time, more than 800 senior religious leaders from 100 countries unanimously elected HRH Prince El Hassan Bin Talal of Jordan as president emeritus of Religions for Peace.
The World Council elected two vice moderators to serve alongside Father Leonid: H.E. Dr. Mohamed Ahmed al-Sharif, an eminent scholar of philosophy who has served as the secretary general of the International Islamic Call Society in Libya for 27 years, and Dr. Vinu Aram, director of Shanti Ashram in India, an organization inspired by the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi that promotes the well-being of rural women and children.
“The entire Religions for Peace family is honored to be so ably served by the leadership of these eminent religious leaders,” said Dr. William F. Vendley, secretary general of Religions for Peace. “Our religions have been hijacked by religious extremists, unscrupulous politicians, and the sensationalist media. It is the wise leadership of these religious leaders who will help guide all of us in our work to rescue religion from the hijackers and build peace in some of the world’s most troubled areas.”
Founded in 1970 as an interfaith response to the Cold War, Religions for Peace is now the world’s largest non-sectarian organization that advances multi-religious cooperation for peace. Through its global network of 70 inter-religious councils—as well as four regional inter-religious councils in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America—Religions for Peace innovatively harnesses religious communities to build peace. These councils are served by the organization’s seniormost governing body, the World Council, which has 61 senior religious leaders from the world’s diverse faith traditions—Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, Indigenous, Sikh, Jain, and Zoroastrian.
Religions for Peace has most powerfully affected positive change by building, equipping, and networking its global network of “inter-religious councils.” Religions for Peace believes that building peace takes many forms, including conflict transformation, poverty and disease alleviation, and building harmonious and just societies. Current areas of focus include Iraq, the Middle East, Somalia, Sudan, and Sri Lanka.