Founded: 1936
Location: 538 Concord Street, El Segundo
San Pedro Region: Deanery 19

"I am the only Eastern Catholic priest in the United States serving a Roman Catholic Archdiocese or Diocese as Ecumenical and Interreligious Officer, and as such, bring a uniquely Eastern mentality to our relations with both our fellow Christians and with non-Christians."

These are appropriate and unique words from Right Reverend Alexei R. Smith, pastor of St. Andrew Russian-Greek Church and administrator of St. Paul Melkite Greek Mission, both in El Segundo. The history of the Eastern Catholic Church and Father Smith are both unusual.

Early history
The Russian liturgy reflects the doctrine introduced by St. Vladimir in 988 based on teachings of St. Basil the Great and St. John Chrysostom. In the 1930s there were some 20,000 refugees from the Soviet Union who had immigrated to California. Bishop John Cantwell in Los Angeles recognized the need to provide spiritual guidance for those belonging to Russian sects that were persecuted by the government.

With the bishop's approval, Father Michael Nedtochin (a convert from the Russian Orthodox faith) in 1936 started St. Andrew's mission, one of only two in the U.S. Bishop Cantwell dedicated this first church on Sept. 27, 1937, named for the apostle and Russia's patron saint. Always numbered among the first four apostles, St. Andrew's feast day is November 30.

In 1939 a Jesuit priest from England, Father John Ryder, came to Los Angeles and built the Russian chapel in a house at 453 South Cummings Street in Boyle Heights. Father Ryder was the first Jesuit to be ordained in the Russian Byzantine Rite in Rome (in 1933) and had previously served in a Russian parish in Estonia. For 15 years Father Ryder invigorated his pastorate with a focus on youth, Russian language classes, children's activities and forming one of the finest Russian choral ensembles in the city. He also revamped the two-story house into a full-scale Russian-style church with an exceptional iconostasis (iron screen) painted by George Alexei Ivans.

In 1954 he left Los Angeles and worked with the Russian Center (now John XXIII Center) at Fordham University, and then for 13 years as chaplain to the Byzantine Sisters of St. Basil in Astoria, New York. He died in 1979 at age 79.

Chapel in the cemetery
Jesuit Father Fionan C. Brannigan, who succeeded Father Ryder, was born in London of Irish parents and studied mining engineering before joining the Jesuits. Ordained in 1937 he volunteered for the Russian mission and studied in Rome. An acknowledged linguist, he was fluent in French, German, Russian, Italian and English.

When he came to St. Andrew on Feb. 1, 1954, he was soon challenged by the necessity to move. The two-story frame house that had served as church, rectory and social center for 20 years was in the path of the proposed new Golden State Freeway.

To continue serving the Russian congregation, Sunday Mass was celebrated in All Souls Chapel in the middle of Calvary Cemetery, in the center of the Priests' Plot, in a beautiful cut-stone English Gothic style built in 1902.

By 1957, plans were approved to move St. Andrew's to the old St. Anthony Church in El Segundo where Father Brannigan continued services for 15 years.

El Segundo church
The new site in El Segundo presented its own history. The area was part of the original Spanish land grant for the 25,000-acre Rancho Sausal Redondo (Ranch of the Round Clump of Willows) in 1822. By 1911, Standard Oil --- planning to develop an oil refinery --- chose the "clump of willows" as an ideal spot and named it El Segundo as it was the second oil refinery in California.

This became the second permanent home for St. Andrew. Father Brannigan was able to bring all the liturgical furnishings to the simple steepled structure at Concord Street and Mariposa Avenue for the parish's permanent home.

But transforming the 1900s building was daunting work. Parishioners joined the "foreman" pastor in his multiple tasks as carpenter, electrician and "jack-of-all-trades." The liturgy gradually shifted from Slavonic to English as St. Andrew's became a symbol of the universality of the Church. Sadly, in June 1972, after bringing the church through the "building years," Father Brannigan died in his sleep at age 68.

Jesuit Father Feodor Wilcock attended the funeral of his longtime colleague and served as an interim pastor. The English-born priest, also ordained in the Russian Byzantine Rite, had been assigned to missions in Shanghai, the Philippines and Brazil. He also founded the Russian Center at Fordham University. At St. Andrew's, the parishioners begged him to stay and he did --- for 13 years until his death in 1985 at age 78.

For the next two years St. Andrew's found leadership and support from Deacon Gabriel Seamore and temporary administration with Archpriest Lawrence Dominik, a Jesuit working in the Russian section of Vatican Radio sent by Rome.

In June 1987, the appointment of Father Alexei Smith as pastor ushered in a new era for the Russian Greek Church since it also incorporated St. Paul Melkite Greek church as a Mission. Father Smith, as pastor and administrator, was ordained for the Russian Byzantine Church in 1987. A native of Los Angeles, he attended Mount Carmel High School and for 15 years worked as a funeral director in both Catholic and Orthodox services.

He has served for many years as director of Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs for the archdiocese, and in 2002 was raised to the Ecclesiastical Dignity and Rank of Right Reverend Archimandrite. In his 22 years shepherding the El Segundo parish, Rt. Rev. Smith has fostered a deeper spiritual life and greater diversity in education programs and charitable outreach --- much like St. Andrew when he said to St. Peter, "Come and see."