Alexander Schmemann | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1921-09-13)13 September 1921 Tallinn, Estonia |
| Died | 13 December 1983(1983-12-13) (aged 62) Yonkers, New York, U.S. |
| Resting place | St. Tikhon Cemetery, South Canaan, Wayne County (PA), U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation(s) | Orthodox priest, theologian, and author |
| Children | Serge Schmemann |
Alexander Dmitrievich Schmemann (Russian:Алекса́ндр Дми́триевич Шме́ман,romanized: Aleksandr Dmitriyevich Shmeman; 13 September 1921 – 13 December 1983) was an influentialOrthodoxpriest,theologian, and author who spent most of his career in the United States.
Born inEstonia to émigrés from theRussian Revolution, he grew up primarily in France, where there was a large émigré community inParis. 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 atSaint Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary. 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 byRadio Liberty into the Soviet Union, where they were influential as a voice from beyond theIron Curtain.
Schmemann was among the leaders in forming theOrthodox Church in America as an autocephalous institution, which status it gained from theRussian Orthodox Church 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.
Alexander Schmemann was born as one of twin boys in 1921 inTallinn,Estonia, into a family of Russian émigrés fromSt. Petersburg. His twin brother was namedAndrei [ru].[1][2] Their grandfather Nikolai Schmemann had been a Lutheran ofBaltic German 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 otheranti-Bolshevik forces, but they were ultimately pushed into Estonia, where they disbanded.
When Schmemann was a child, his family moved toParis, 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 Frenchlycée. During this period, he served as an altar boy andsubdeacon atSaint Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, participating in the liturgy and building his life in the church.[3] In college, he studied the Orthodox church and Christian history related to the Byzantine and Roman churches more deeply. At theUniversity of Paris (1940–1945), he wrote a thesis on theocracy and theEastern Roman Empire. He began graduate studies atSt. Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute, also inParis.
In 1943 Schmemann married Juliana Osorguine (also spelled as Osorgina) (1923–2017), whose family after the Revolution had been expelled from their estate, which included the village of Sergiyevskoye (now Koltsovo) south ofMoscow. 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 inClamart near Paris, known as Saints Constantine and Helen Church.[3] 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, ArchpriestSergei Bulgakov, among others. He also was influenced by major thinkers involved in the theological revival of FrenchRoman Catholicism, such asJean Daniélou,Louis Bouyer, and several others.[3]
The couple had three children together in France: a daughter born in 1944, a sonSerge Schmemann 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 theAssociated Press (AP) andThe New York Times in the Soviet Union and, after the dissolution, in Russia for several years.[1]
On 22 October 1946 Schmemann was ordained to the presbyterate of the Orthodox Church byVladimir (Tikhonicky). From 1946–51 he taughtchurch history at St. Sergius Institute in Paris.[2] 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.[3]
Schmemann was invited by FatherGeorges Florovsky, who had briefly taught in Paris after being rescued in 1947 from Soviet-dominated Czechoslovakia, to join the faculty ofSaint Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, which had been established in 1938 in New York City.[3] He and his family immigrated to the United States in 1951.[2] 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 asSea Cliff,Glen Cove andOyster Bay.
When the seminary moved to its present campus inCrestwood, New York in 1962, Father Alexander was selected for the post of dean, which he would hold until his death. He also served as adjunct professor atColumbia University,New York University,Union Theological Seminary andGeneral Theological Seminary 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 theSecond Vatican Council of theCatholic Church, held from 1962 to 1965.[2]
Teaching generations of future clergy at St. Vladimir's, Schmemann was active in the establishment of theOrthodox Church in America. 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 grantedautocephaly by theRussian Orthodox Church. 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 originalMetropolia 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 theExarchate of Mexico.
Thousands of Schmemann's Russian-language sermons were broadcast into the Soviet Union onRadio Liberty over a period of 30 years.[2] He gained a broad following of listeners across theSoviet Union, although the government tried to block these broadcasts. Among them was the writerAleksandr Solzhenitsyn; the two men became friends after Solzhenitsyn immigrated to the West.[2]
At the time of his death, Schmemann was the dean of theSaint Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, a position he had held since 1962.[2] Schmemann died of cancer in 1983 inCrestwood, New York,[2] where the seminary was located inWestchester County just north of the city.
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 undergroundsamizdat in the Soviet Union.
The Eucharist was finished just before Schmemann's death. This and several collections of his writings were published posthumously.
Fr Schmemann was accorded the title ofprotopresbyter, the highest honor that can be bestowed on a married Orthodox priest.[2] He was awarded honorary degrees fromButler University, General Theological Seminary,Lafayette College,Iona College, andHoly Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology.
Schmemann's work, including entire courses on his theology, are taught at theology schools. In 2018 theMetropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies atSt. Michael's College inToronto offered a courseThe Liturgical Theology of Alexander Schmemann (1921-1983).
In 1984, soon after his death,CBS network produced a documentary about him and his work,The Spirit of St. Vladimir's.[4]
His books are available for free onInternet Archive andProject Gutenberg.
