GUEST SPEAKERS

Noted religion reporter Peter Smith joined CCIU to discuss the impact of the war in Ukraine on the Orthodox Church, as well as the Church’s influence on the conflict. Peter has been covering the complex history of the Orthodox Church in the context of the war in Ukraine for The Associated Press. 

Peter Smith reports on religion and politics for The Associated Press. He has covered religion for more than 25 years, previously as the religion writer for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and The Courier-Journal of Louisville, Ky. He is the immediate past president of the Religion News Association, the nation’s premier professional association for journalists who cover religion in the secular media. He was part of the Post-Gazette team that received the Pulitzer Prize in 2019 for coverage of the Tree of Life synagogue massacre, and he was a Pulitzer finalist in 2020 for coverage of sexual abuse among Amish and Mennonites. A native of Shelton, Connecticut, Peter got his start in journalism at newspapers in Shelton and Naugatuck.