SACRAMENTS AND ORTHODOXY
Alexander Schmemann
St Vladimir’s Seminary Press Classics Series
Vol. I
saint vladimir’s seminary press
yonkers, new york 10707
2018
The publication of this book was made possible by a generous donation from a trustee of St Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Shmeman, Aleksandr, 1921–1983, author.
Title: For the life of the world : Sacraments and Orthodoxy / Alexander Schmemann.
Description: Yonkers, NY : St Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2018. | Series: St Vladimir’s Seminary Press Classics Series ; number 1
Identifiers: LCCN 2017057762 (print) | LCCN 2017060465 (ebook) | ISBN 9780881416183 | ISBN 9780881416176 (alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Orthodox Eastern Church—Liturgy. | Sacraments—Orthodox Eastern Church.
Classification: LCC BX350 (ebook) | LCC BX350 .S36 2018 (print) | DDC 264/.019—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017057762
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isbn 978-0-88141-617-6 (paper)
isbn 978-0-88141-625-1 (hardcover)
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St Vladimir’s Seminary Press
Classics Series
I
For half a century, St Vladimir’s Seminary Press has offered the world the riches of the Orthodox Church’s theology, history, liturgy, and spirituality. In the St Vladimir’s Seminary Press Classics Series, readers will discover their most beloved texts anew in updated editions, with new forewords and additional material to help them delve deeper into these seminal works of contemporary Orthodox thought.
6. Trampling Down Death by Death
7. And Ye Are Witnesses of These Things
Appendix 1: Worship in a Secular Age
Appendix 2. Sacrament and Symbol
There are some books that make an indelible imprint upon one’s life. Fr Alexander Schmemann’s For the Life of the World: Sacraments and Orthodoxy is a notable example. I first read this book thirteen years or so before my chrismation into Orthodoxy, even though some well-meaning controversialist noticed me reading it on a train and (seemingly afraid that Schmemann would lure me into “non-Orthodox ecumenicism”) attempted to dissuade me from my delighted quest. He need not have worried. Coupled with the Vesperal services and Divine Liturgies that I attended, Fr Schmemann’s golden words instead gently but firmly corrected me regarding my Protestant misunderstandings of the Church, the world, and salvation. And they created in me a longing to understand the creation for what it was, while (more importantly) they inculcated a hunger and thirst for the Lord of creation, rather than merely knowledge about Him. As Fr Schmemann insists, the human being is hungry, and hungry for God: this dictum awoke in me a yearning that could only be satisfied ...
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About For the Life of the World: Sacraments and OrthodoxyOf what life do we speak, what life do we preach, proclaim, and announce when, as Christians, we confess that Christ died for the life of the world? In For the Life of the World Alexander Schmemann suggests an approach to the world and life within it, which stems from the liturgical experience of the Orthodox Church. He understands issues such as secularism and Christian culture from the perspective of the unbroken experience of the Church, as revealed and communicated in her worship, in her liturgy—the sacrament of the world, the sacrament of the Kingdom. For over half a century For the Life of the World has challenged, illumined, and inspired readers from many backgrounds. For some it is an introduction to the Orthodox Church, while for others it is a call to plunge more deeply into the life of the Kingdom, both manifested and anticipated here and now in the liturgy of the Church. This updated edition of Schmemann’s classic text includes a new foreword by Dr. Edith M. Humphrey, along with new explanatory notes and an index. |
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