Thanksgiving, Salvation, and Eternal Joy
Summer/Fall 2014
Continued from page 9 rushing toward renewal lose their allure with time, often becoming a tiring form of activism without Christian content,” he wrote of what was happening in Russia. “…And here, in the diaries, we have the example of the life of Father Alexander: There’s no need to destroy established traditions, but only to give them meaning, to trace them to their source – to live by Christ, to be His Church personally and responsibly. To fill every moment of life with the joyous experience of the Kingdom of God that has been given to us in the Church, to put it into our culture, into our modern reality, into everything that touches man. This path is possible for everyone.” Many other Russians have found many different messages, but this one, I believe, is the key. It is very hard for us in America to imagine what the Russians have gone through in their lifetimes, to appreciate how total and wrenching was the change
they experienced. I find it very heartening, indeed wonderful, that my father’s embrace of a full, joyous Christian life is helping Russians on their difficult journey. When there, I tell them about the hippo, and the laughter, and how he could transform a summer stroll into a celebration, and how he embraced America, and about his profound love of poetry and his full involvement in the politics, debates and trials of this world. I know how important this is for them because I know how important it is for me, for all of us. [Serge Schmemann lives in Paris and is a member of the editorial board of The New York Times. His article, “Quick History,” appears weekly in The Times.]
30 Years Later
by Dr. Paul Meyendorff It has been 30 years since Fr. Alexander passed away after a long struggle with cancer. Many, possibly a majority, of the people in our parishes were not alive in 1983, much less had the opportunity to meet him in person or to hear him preach or give talks. For the rest of us, he has become a distant memory. Yet his legacy remains alive and well in our churches. And even far beyond them. Our parishes celebrate the Divine Liturgy in a language that people can understand. The so-called “secret prayers” are in many places read aloud, giving everyone the opportunity regularly to experience what is deepest in the Church’s theology. Many of the faithful receive Communion weekly, something that was not possible before, when one had to go to sacramental confession each time before receiving Communion. Communion, no longer understood as simply an act of individual, personal piety, is now experienced by many as an ecclesial act, as a common experience of the entire assembly affirming its identity as the Body of Christ. As a pastor and a teacher, Fr. Alexander exuded an infectious joy, particular through his experience of the Liturgy, and this sense has been passed on to us by his many students at the seminary who now serve as parish priests throughout America. Father Schmemann’s legacy extends far beyond our shores. Through his many books and recorded lectures, the eucharistic revival he led here is being experienced in many parts of the Orthodox world – in Russia, In Serbia, in Greece…His books have been and continue to be translated into dozens of languages. His memoirs have become a best-seller in Russia, where people are amazed to see an Orthodox priest who is open to and able to engage the contemporary world, its culture, its literature, its poetry, its politics, in a positive and non-defensive way. For he truly loved the world, despite its obvious imperfections — and to this world he always sought to bring the joy of the Gospel!
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