Alexander Schmemann: biography and photos

In modern Orthodox Christianity, there is no better known scientist, theologian, missionary than Father Alexander Schmemann, who dedicated his life to serving the high Christian ideals. His literary and theological heritage turned the notion of many people about religion and Christianity. He enjoys deserved authority not only among the Orthodox, but also among Catholics.

Relatives

Shmemann Alexander Dmitrievich came from a noble family, who was forced to leave the Russian empire after the revolution.

• Grandfather Nikolai Eduardovich Shmemann (1850-1928) was a member of the State Duma.
• Father Dmitry Nikolaevich Shmemann (1893-1958) was an officer of the tsarist army.
• Mother Anna Tikhonovna Shishkova (1895-1981) came from a noble family.

Alexander Schmemann was not the only child in the family. Twin brother Andrei Dmitrievich (1921-2008) was the head of the church in honor of the image of the Mother of God "The Sign". In addition, he headed the society of Russian cadets in exile. Worked in the metropolis of the West-East Exarchate of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, acting as secretary of the diocese and referent representative of the Patriarchate of Constantinople.

Sister Elena Dmitrievna (1919-1926) died in early childhood, without experiencing the various difficulties of the emigrant's life.

Life Path: Paris

Alexander Schmemann was born on September 13, 1921 in Estonia in the city of Revel. In 1928 the family moved to Belgrade, and in 1929, like many emigrants, settled in Paris.

In 1938 he became a graduate of the Russian Cadet Corps, located in Verasle. A year later he graduated from the Lyceum of Carnot. In 1943, while a student at the St. Sergius Theological Institute in Paris, Alexander married a relative of the archpriest Mikhail Osorgin. His wife Ulyana Tkachuk became a faithful companion for many years of life. In 1945, Alexander Schmemann graduated from the St. Sergius Theological Institute. His teacher and curator of the dissertation research was A. Kartashev. Therefore it is not surprising that the young scientist was carried away by the history of the church, following his mentor. His thesis was written on a high professional level, following his defense, he was asked to remain a teacher at an educational institution.

In addition to the above-mentioned educational institutions, he graduated from the Sorbonne University. In 1946, Alexander Schmemann was ordained first to deacons, and then to presbyters. The period of his stay in Paris was quite fruitful, except for fulfilling the duties of priest and pedagogical activity, Father Alexander was the editor-in-chief of the diocesan journal "Church Herald".
Even during his student life, he took an active part in the work of the Russian Christian movement among young people and students. At one time he even served as its leader and chairman of the youth meetings.

Life Path: New York

In 1951, Father Alexander moved with his family to America.
In the period from 1962 to 1983 he headed the St. Vladimir theological seminary. In 1953, the priest Alexander Schmemann was elevated to the rank of archpriest.
In 1959, in Paris, he defended his doctoral dissertation on the subject "Liturgical Theology." In 1970 he was awarded the ordination of a protopresbyter, the highest rank in the Church for the white (married) clergy. Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann played a significant role in obtaining ecclesiastical independence (autocephaly) of the American Orthodox Church. He died on December 13, 1983 in New York.

Teaching Activities

In the period from 1945 to 1951 Alexander served as a teacher of church history at the St. Sergius Theological Institute. Since 1951, after an invitation that he received from the St. Vladimir theological seminary, he moved to the United States. In this educational institution he was offered a vacancy for a teacher. In addition to teaching in the seminary, Schmemann led an elective at Columbia University, dedicated to the history of Eastern Christianity. For thirty years he conducted a radio program dedicated to the position of the Church in America.

The main works

• "Church and church structure";
• "The Sacrament of Baptism";
• "The historical path of Orthodoxy";
• "Introduction to liturgical theology";
• "For the Life of the World";
• "Introduction to theology: A course of lectures on dogmatic theology";
• "Sacraments and Orthodoxy";
• "Eucharist: Sacrament of the Kingdom";
• "Church, world, mission: Thoughts on Orthodoxy in the West";
• "Great Lent."

Literary heritage

The heritage of this scholar attracts not only domestic readers, but also is an interesting source for Western man, because he acquaints the latter with the eastern ascetic tradition, which has its roots in the desert and goes back to the ancient anchorites.

Undoubtedly, the Western branch of Christianity, Catholicism, and after him Protestantism, lost this connection, yielding to various secular tendencies, lost the connecting thread between the mystical life of the church and everyday realities. This was also said by Alexander Schmemann.

The books he worked on are mostly devoted to liturgical questions, because it is in the Liturgy and the Eucharist that the greatest contact of man with God occurs, and therefore this is what attracts the Christian and becomes the center of his worldview.

In his works, Alexander Dmitrievich understands the evolution of the Christian cult. From imitation of the liturgical formulas of the Essenes and the therapists to the unification of liturgical life in the VIII century lies a whole gulf of various attempts to form uniformity and verified dogmatic formulas in the sacrament. He considers the structure of Christianity in his books Alexander Schmemann. The "Great Post" - an essay devoted solely to the mystical rethinking of the Christian life, caused many different opinions in the learned community.

Just this historical process is one of the main points of Schmemann's scientific activity. An analysis of the liturgical monuments can help current Christians understand modern worship and imbue with the mystical meaning of this action.

Publication of diaries

In 1973, the first recording was made in a large notebook. Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann did it after reading Fyodor Dostoyevsky's essay. The Brothers Karamazov. In his diaries, he not only describes his experiences with various incidents in his personal life, but also tells about the events taking place in the church life of that difficult period. Undoubtedly, many church leaders found their place in his records. In addition to all this, the published works contain reflections on the events that the Schmemann family experienced after emigrating from Russia. The publication of his diaries took place in 2002 in English, and only in 2005 his entries were translated into Russian.

Negative attitude

It is indisputable that the position of Alexander Schmemann in relation to the Soviet Union was quite unfriendly. In his reports and broadcasts, he repeatedly accused the country's leaders of a negative attitude towards the Russian Orthodox Church. It should be noted that the situation between the ROC and the ZRPTs was rather shaky.
Therefore, the author's works could not get into the USSR.

The situation did not change after the collapse of the Soviet Union. A number of bishops of the Orthodox Church, belonging to the most conservative party, consider Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann a heretic and forbid reading his scientific writings.

The most striking example is the ban on reading his works at the Ekaterinburg Theological School. The ruling bishop Nikon betrayed Alexander Schmemann anathema and forbade students to read his writings. The reason, which served to adopt such a decision, is still unknown. Despite everything, Alexander Schmemann, whose biography remains a model of the pastoral ministry, is the standard of the life of a clergyman.