Вестник Свято-Филаретовского института (Nov 2021)
The Theological Heritage of Fr. Alexander Schmemann
Abstract
September 2021 marks 100 years since the birth of Fr. Alexander Schmemann. This interview focusses on the main significance of his work for Christian theology in the fields of liturgical revival and Eucharistic Theology. Fr. Georgy Kochetkov notes the role of Fr. Alexander’s works and ecclesial activity in spreading ideas that facilitate liturgical renewal both in the Russian and American Orthodox Churches. At the same time, he believes that the further development of an Orthodox theology of the Holy Mysteries (sacraments) may involve a more thorough discernment of the sacramental and mystical levels within spiritual experience. Paul Meyendorff takes the view that the liturgical renewal within the Orthodox Church, that began at the end of the 19th century, at first had a very individualistic character and presumed only that individual believers would receive communion more frequently; but thanks to the theological works of Fr. Alexander, which were based on careful study of earlychurch sources, the Eucharist came to be understood as an affair of the entire ecclesial gathering, rather than as an affair for individual piety. Professor Meyendorff and Viktor Aleksandrov also underscore the contribution of various religious teachers, and in particular of Fr. Nicholas Afanasiev, in the development of an historical description of the liturgy. Victoria De Haan recalls the particular roll of Fr. Alexander Schmemann in revealing the theology of the liturgy; Schmemann sees thanksgiving as the Eucharistic calling of the human person, as he brings his whole life as an offering to God, and also sees the liturgy as an affair which integrates three separate realities — of the world, the Church, and the Kingdom of God — into a single whole. Among those upon which Fr. Alexander’s liturgical theology had a particular influence, he names Benedictine monk and scholar Aidan Kavanagh, Roman Catholic theologian David Fagerberg, and Lutheran theologian Gordon Lathrop. Zoya Dashevskaya notes that Fr. Alexander raised the issue of the importance of perceiving the prayers of the clerics and the laity as a single and integral whole. A majority of researchers agree that Fr. Alexander Schmemann had a significant influence upon the liturgical practice of the Roman Catholic Church and many protestant churches.
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