On this Thanksgiving Day, I’m reminded of a remarkable man who was my teacher at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary: Father Alexander Schmemann. Father Schmemann of blessed memory celebrated his last Thanksgiving on November 24th, 1983. Less than three weeks later he passed on to eternity. On that Thanksgiving Day he celebrated the Liturgy at the …
Christian, Come Forth!
As the coronavirus pandemic rages on, it is easier for people to become even more alienated than usual from the worship services of the Orthodox Church. But today is Lazarus Saturday, the beginning of Holy Week - though this weekend of Palms is a kind of festal break between the end of Lent yesterday and …
Life is Eucharist
Human life is the expectation of that which is at the end, and at the end is the joy of the bridal chamber, the joy of the Resurrection. At the end are Mary and John and all the saints; at the end is the wonderful fullness of life. When I see this end, I want …
Iconostasis of Life
Father Alexander Schmemann wrote the following in his book, For the Life of the World: “…And if I make this new life mine, mine this hunger and thirst of the Kingdom, mine this expectation of Christ, mine the certitude that Christ is Life, my very death will be an act of communion with Life.” True …
Women of Freedom
I love the Gospel stories of the women who went to the tomb of Christ, especially the version in Mark's Gospel (16:1-8). There is something almost comic about the women walking to the tomb, to anoint the body of Christ, and wondering who would roll the stone away from the tomb. Clearly they won’t be able …
The Divine Child
A sermon by my beloved professor of liturgical theology, Father Alexander Schmemann of blessed memory: The Divine Child. Fr. Schmemann was a remarkable teacher, a true visionary, an advocate of genuine Orthodoxy rather than the false, pretentious versions that are on the increase, especially in North America. He worked tirelessly for ecclesiastical unity, but his …
Priests of thanksgiving
Today, November 30th, we celebrate the memory of St. Andrew the Apostle, the brother of Saint Peter. The Gospel of John tells us that Andrew was the first of the apostles to follow Jesus and it was Andrew who then brought Peter to Jesus. Thus, in the Orthodox Church St. Andrew is called the First-Called. …
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