Alexander Schmemann
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Alexander Dmitrievich Schmemann (russian: Алекса́ндр Дми́триевич Шме́ман, ''Aleksandr Dmitrievich Šmeman''; 13 September 1921 – 13 December 1983) was an influential
Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...
priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...
,
theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
, and author who had most of his career in the United States. Born in
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to émigrés from the
Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...
, he grew up primarily in France, where there was a large émigré community in
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
. After being educated there in both Russian and French schools and universities, from 1946 to 1951 he taught in Paris. That year he immigrated with his family to New York City to teach at
Saint Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVOTS) is an Eastern Orthodox seminary in Yonkers, New York. It is chartered under the State University of New York and accredited by the Association of Theological Schools. It is a pan-Eastern Ort ...
. In 1962 he was selected as dean of the Seminary, serving in this position until his death. For 30 years, his sermons in Russian were broadcast by
Radio Liberty Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...
into the Soviet Union, where they were influential as a voice from beyond the
Iron Curtain The Iron Curtain was the political boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. The term symbolizes the efforts by the Soviet Union (USSR) to block itself and its s ...
. Schmemann was among the leaders in forming the
Orthodox Church in America The Orthodox Church in America (OCA) is an Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian church based in North America. The OCA is partly recognized as Autocephaly, autocephalous and consists of more than 700 parishes, missions, commun ...
as an autocephalous institution, which status it gained from the
Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...
in 1970. While identifying strongly as Russian, Schmemann sought to make the OCA independent of any ethnic or national group, and open to all peoples. He believed the Orthodox Church had a mission to the West. In his teachings and writings, he explored the many ways that Christian liturgy was an expression of Christian theology.


Early life and studies

Alexander Schmemann was born as one of twin boys in 1921 in
Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...
,
Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
, into a family of Russian émigrés from
St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
. His twin brother was named Andrei. Their grandfather Nikolai Schmemann had been a Lutheran of
Baltic German Baltic Germans (german: Deutsch-Balten or , later ) were ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since their coerced resettlement in 1939, Baltic Germans have markedly declined ...
ancestry, who served as a senator and a member of the State Council in St. Petersburg, along with numerous other foreigners. After Schmemann married a Russian Orthodox woman, their children were raised in that tradition, as required by the state. His father Dmitry was studying law when interrupted by the First World War. He served as an officer of the Imperial Life-Guards, also in St. Petersburg. After the Revolution broke out, Schmemann fought with the Life-Guards and other anti-Bolshevik forces, but they were ultimately pushed into Estonia, where they disbanded. When Schmemann was a child, his family moved to Paris, France, where, like most children of the large émigré community, he was first educated in Russian-language schools. There were tens of thousands of Russians in Paris, generally gathered in St. Petersburg and Moscow-affiliated communities. But Schmemann also chose to go to a French
lycée In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 15. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for children between ...
. During this period, he served as an altar boy and subdeacon at Saint
Alexander Nevsky Cathedral Alexander Nevsky Cathedral may refer to the following (alphabetically by country, then by town): * Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Baku in Azerbaijan * Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Sofia in Bulgaria * Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Tallinn, Estonia * Al ...
, participating in the liturgy and building his life in the church. In college, he studied the Orthodox church and Christian history related to the Byzantine and Roman churches more deeply. At the
University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...
(1940–1945), he wrote a thesis on theocracy and the Eastern Roman Empire. He began graduate studies at
St. Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute The St. Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute ( French: ''Institut de théologie orthodoxe Saint-Serge'') in Paris, France, is a private university of higher education in Orthodox theology. Founded in 1925 by a group led by Metropolitan Eulogiu ...
, also in
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
. In 1943 Schmemann married Juliana Osorguine (also spelled as Osorgin) (1923–2017), whose family after the Revolution had been expelled from their estate, which included the village of Sergiyevskoye (now Koltsovo) south of
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
. Her family were also émigrés in Paris, where Russians gathered in St. Petersburg and Moscow-related communities. The Osorguines attended a small Russian Orthodox Church in
Clamart Clamart () is a commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. The town is divided into two parts, separated by a forest: ''bas Clamart'', the historical centre, and ''petit Clamart'' with urbaniz ...
near Paris, known as Saints Constantine and Helen Church. After their marriage, Schmemann completed his five-year program of theological studies in 1945 at the St. Sergius Institute. He studied with the noted Russian theologian, Father
Sergei Bulgakov Sergei Nikolaevich Bulgakov (; russian: Серге́й Никола́евич Булга́ков; – 13 July 1944) was a Russian Eastern Orthodox Church, Orthodox theologian, priest, philosopher, and economist. Biography Early life: 1871–18 ...
, among others. He also was influenced by major thinkers involved in the theological revival of French Roman Catholicism, such as
Jean Daniélou Jean-Guenolé-Marie Daniélou (; 14 May 1905 – 20 May 1974) was a French Jesuit and cardinal, an internationally well known patrologist, theologian and historian and a member of the Académie Française. Biography Early life and studies Jean ...
,
Louis Bouyer Louis Bouyer, CO (17 February 1913 – 22 October 2004), was a French Catholic priest and former Lutheran minister who was received into the Catholic Church in 1939. During his religious career he was an influential theological thinker, especia ...
, and several others. The couple had three children together in France: a daughter born in 1944, a son
Serge Schmemann Serge Schmemann (born April 12, 1945) is a writer and member of the editorial board of ''The New York Times'' who specialize in international affairs. He was editorial page editor of the Paris-based ''International Herald Tribune'', the erstwhile ...
born in 1945, and another daughter, born in 1948. All grew up speaking and identifying as Russian, although they also drew from French and American cultures. They moved to the United States in 1951. Serge Schmemann later became a journalist. His assignments included working for the
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
(AP) and ''
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'' in the Soviet Union and, after the dissolution, in Russia for several years.


Career

On 22 October 1946 Schmemann was ordained to the presbyterate of the Orthodox Church by
Vladimir (Tikhonicky) Metropolitan Vladimir (born Vyacheslav Mikhaylovich Tikhonitsky, Вячеслав Михайлович Тихони́цкий; March 22, 1873 – December 18, 1959 in Paris) was an Eastern Orthodox archbishop and metropolitan of, successively ...
. From 1946–51 he taught
church history __NOTOC__ Church history or ecclesiastical history as an academic discipline studies the history of Christianity and the way the Christian Church has developed since its inception. Henry Melvill Gwatkin defined church history as "the spiritual ...
at St. Sergius Institute in Paris. After moving to the United States (see below), he completed his doctorate at St. Sergius Institute in 1959, with Fr. Nicholas Anassieff and Fr. John Meyendorff acting as examiners. Schmemann was invited by Father
Georges Florovsky Georges Vasilievich Florovsky (Russian: Гео́ргий Васи́льевич Флоро́вский; – August 11, 1979) was a Russian Orthodox priest, theologian, and historian. Born in the Russian Empire, he spent his working life in Pari ...
, who had briefly taught in Paris after being rescued in 1947 from Soviet-dominated Czechoslovakia, to join the faculty of
Saint Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVOTS) is an Eastern Orthodox seminary in Yonkers, New York. It is chartered under the State University of New York and accredited by the Association of Theological Schools. It is a pan-Eastern Ort ...
, which had been established in 1938 in New York City. He and his family immigrated to the United States in 1951. This postwar period was one of considerable immigration of Russian émigrés to the US. Many settled in and around New York, including in towns on Long Island, such as Sea Cliff, Glen Cove and Oyster Bay. When the seminary moved to its present campus in
Crestwood, New York Crestwood is a neighborhood in Yonkers, New York. Located in northeastern Yonkers, Crestwood is separated by the Bronx River from the village of Tuckahoe. Because the majority of Crestwood is served by the Tuckahoe post office, many residents ide ...
in 1962, Father Alexander was selected for the post of dean, which he would hold until his death. He also served as adjunct professor at
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
,
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...
, Union Theological Seminary and
General Theological Seminary The General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church (GTS) is an Episcopal seminary in New York City. Founded in 1817, GTS is the oldest seminary of the Episcopal Church and the longest continuously operating Seminary in the Anglican Communi ...
in New York, extending the connections of the Orthodox Church in America. Much of his focus at St Vladimir's was on liturgical theology, which emphasizes the liturgical tradition of the Church as a major sign and expression of the Christian faith. He was invited as an Orthodox observer to the
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of the
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, held from 1962 to 1965. Teaching generations of future clergy at St. Vladimir's, Schmemann was active in the establishment of the
Orthodox Church in America The Orthodox Church in America (OCA) is an Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian church based in North America. The OCA is partly recognized as Autocephaly, autocephalous and consists of more than 700 parishes, missions, commun ...
. From beginnings related to colonial Russian missionaries in Alaska, it had expanded through the 20th century to incorporate new immigrant Orthodox populations from Greece and southeastern Europe. By the mid-20th century, it was known as the Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Orthodox Church, reflecting these congregations. In 1970 the OCA was granted
autocephaly Autocephaly (; from el, αὐτοκεφαλία, meaning "property of being self-headed") is the status of a hierarchical Christian church whose head bishop does not report to any higher-ranking bishop. The term is primarily used in Eastern O ...
by the
Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...
. The Churches of Constantinople, Antioch and most of the remaining Orthodox churches remained in communion with the OCA, but did not recognize it as autocephalous, saying it was not a unified church. Since 1970 the OCA has become largely an American church: Metropolitan Theodosius was the first American-born primate of the church, serving from 1974 to his retirement in 2002. By that time, the church had 900,000 members in 725 parishes, and in many churches, the services are in English. The original Metropolia had ten dioceses, and there were also dioceses for Bulgarian, Romanian, and Albanian congregations. There are also several parishes in Mexico, organized as what is known as the Exarchate of Mexico. Thousands of Schmemann's Russian-language sermons were broadcast into the Soviet Union on ''
Radio Liberty Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...
'' over a period of 30 years. He gained a broad following of listeners across the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
, although the government tried to block these broadcasts. Among them was the writer
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn. (11 December 1918 – 3 August 2008) was a Russian novelist. One of the most famous Soviet dissidents, Solzhenitsyn was an outspoken critic of communism and helped to raise global awareness of political repress ...
; the two men became friends after Solzhenitsyn immigrated to the West. At the time of his death, Schmemann was the dean of the
Saint Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVOTS) is an Eastern Orthodox seminary in Yonkers, New York. It is chartered under the State University of New York and accredited by the Association of Theological Schools. It is a pan-Eastern Ort ...
, a position he had held since 1962. Schmemann died of cancer in 1983 in
Crestwood, New York Crestwood is a neighborhood in Yonkers, New York. Located in northeastern Yonkers, Crestwood is separated by the Bronx River from the village of Tuckahoe. Because the majority of Crestwood is served by the Tuckahoe post office, many residents ide ...
, where the seminary was located in
Westchester County Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population o ...
just north of the city.


Works

Fr Schmemann published many books and articles, some directed at general readers. ''For the Life of the World'', a popular volume on Christian faith as reflected in liturgy, has been translated into eleven languages. Originally prepared as study guide for the National Student Christian Federation in 1963, it was published anonymously by the underground ''
samizdat Samizdat (russian: самиздат, lit=self-publishing, links=no) was a form of dissident activity across the Eastern Bloc in which individuals reproduced censored and underground makeshift publications, often by hand, and passed the document ...
'' in the Soviet Union. ''The Eucharist'' was finished just before Schmemann's death. This and several collections of his writings were published posthumously. * ''Introduction to Liturgical Theology'' (1961) * ''The Historical Road of Eastern Orthodoxy'' (1963) * ''Great Lent: Journey to Pascha'' (1969; revised ed. 1974) * ''For the Life of the World: Sacraments and Orthodoxy'' (1970) * ''Liturgy and Life: Christian Development Through Liturgical Experience'' (1974) * ''Of Water and the Spirit: A Liturgical Study of Baptism'' (1974) * ''Ultimate Questions: An Anthology of Modern Russian Religious Thought'' (1977) * ''Church, World, Mission: Reflections on Orthodoxy in the West'' (1979) * ''The Eucharist: Sacrament of the Kingdom'' (1988) * ''Celebration of Faith: I Believe...'' (1991) * ''Celebration of Faith: The Church Year'' (1994) * ''Celebration of Faith: The Virgin Mary'' (1995) * ''The Journals of Father Alexander Schmemann 1973–1983'' (2000) * ''Our Father'' Translated by Alexis Vinogradov (2001) * ''Liturgy and Tradition Theological Reflections of Alexander Schmemann'' Edited by Thomas Fisch (2003) * ''O Death, Where Is Thy Sting'' Translated by Alexis Vinogradov (2003) * ''The Liturgy of Death'' Edited by Alexis Vinogradov (2017) *''A Voice For Our Time: Radio Liberty Talks, Volume 1'' Translated by Alexis Vinogradov and Nathan Williams (2021)


Legacy

Fr Schmemann was accorded the title of ''protopresbyter'', the highest honor that can be bestowed on a married Orthodox priest. He was awarded honorary degrees from
Butler University Butler University is a private university in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in 1855 and named after founder Ovid Butler, the university has over 60 major academic fields of study in six colleges: the Lacy School of Business, College of Communic ...
, General Theological Seminary,
Lafayette College Lafayette College is a private liberal arts college in Easton, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter and other citizens in Easton, the college first held classes in 1832. The founders voted to name the college after General Laf ...
,
Iona College Iona University is a private Roman Catholic university with a main campus in New Rochelle, New York. It was founded in 1940 by the Congregation of Christian Brothers and occupies a campus of in New Rochelle and a campus of in Bronxville, ...
, and
Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...
. Schmemann's work, including entire courses on his theology, are taught at theology schools. In 2018 the
Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies The Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies (MASI) is an autonomous unit of the Faculty of Theology at the University of St. Michael's College in the University of Toronto, Canada. It specializes in Eastern Christian ...
at St. Michael's College in
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offered a course
The Liturgical Theology of Alexander Schmemann (1921-1983)
'. In 1984, soon after his death,
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
network produced a documentary about him and his work, ''The Spirit of St. Vladimir's.'' His books are available for free on
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and
Project Gutenberg Project Gutenberg (PG) is a Virtual volunteering, volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks." It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the ...
.


Further reading

* Brian A. Butcher, Andrew Louth, ''Liturgical Theology after Schmemann: An Orthodox Reading of Paul Ricoeur'' (New York: Fordham, 2018) * Paul Garrett, "Fr Alexander Schmemann: A Chronological Bibliography", in ''SVTQ''; 28 (1984), pp. 11–26 * Archpriest John W. Morris, ''The Historic Church: An Orthodox View of Christian History,'' Author House, 2011 (self-published), p. 539 *
Serge Schmemann Serge Schmemann (born April 12, 1945) is a writer and member of the editorial board of ''The New York Times'' who specialize in international affairs. He was editorial page editor of the Paris-based ''International Herald Tribune'', the erstwhile ...
, ''Echoes of a Native Land'' (New York: Vintage Books, 1999), paperback


See also


References


External links

* *
Protopresbyter Alexander SchmemannSt. Vladimir's Seminary Library: The Fr. Alexander Schmemann Papers
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schmemann, Alexander 1921 births 1983 deaths People from Tallinn Estonian people of Russian descent Russian Eastern Orthodox priests 20th-century Eastern Orthodox priests Eastern Orthodox Christians from Estonia Eastern Orthodox theologians Eastern Orthodox writers Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States Columbia University faculty General Theological Seminary faculty New York University faculty Liturgists 20th-century non-fiction writers White Russian emigrants to the United States