For the Life of the World - Classics Series, vol. 1 (St. Vladimir's Seminary Press Classics) Paperback

One of the most important books I’ve read for understanding where the church is at and where it needs to be in responding to our secular age, at least on a deep conceptual level. Profound insight into Christianity, liturgy, ecclesiology, patristics, and the “sacramental worldview”, and yes, he even defines that.

This is a classic work, one that has influenced countless Christians since it was first published in 1963. The only thing preventing me from giving it five stars is the unfortunate fact that whomever scanned it for kindle has inserted spaces within words and left headings and subheadings in the midst of sentences and even words. Surely a proofreader could have been spared to clean this up for e-reader format.

👍

This textbook is in an affordable format.

This isn't about the book, but the Kindle edition. I will update later if the kindle edition is cleaned up. But just in the first page of the main book, I found 7 typos, OCR errors or formatting problems. I have done Kindle conversions, it is tedious but not difficult work. This should not have been released yet. Hopefully the kindle edition will be updated and fixed. But right now it is not up to reasonable standards for release

In many ways, this little 151 page paperback is too big to rightly review. In a nutshell Fr. Alexander Schmemann, and Eastern Orthodox priest, writer and teacher, was gunning for secularism, which is both a Christian heresy - Christian truths that went mad (111) - and a negation of worship (118). Secularism has birthed a deep polarization, even spawning a disincarnate and dualistic spirituality (7-8). Schmemann has much to say and much to give that will help correct our myopic perspective, from and Eastern Orthodox position. Though the book was originally written in 1963, and then expanded and revised in 1973, it speaks into our moment with great clarity! Not only does Schmemann gun for secularism, he supplies us with the antidote: Christ has come "for the life of the world," both restoring and transforming nature. Now, those who believe the Gospel "live in the world seeing everything in it as a revelation of God, a sign of His presence, the joy of His coming, the call to communion with Him, the hope for fulfillment in Him" (112). Therefore a "Christian is the one who, wherever he looks, finds Christ and rejoices in Him. And this joy transforms all his human plans and programs, decisions and actions, making all his mission the sacrament of the world's return to Him who is the life of the world" (113). I loved the deliciously anti-Gnostic tenor that soaked every page of this book! The author also nudges us that to remember and recollect what Christ has done, we will be reoriented to the Christ-redeemed destiny. But if not, we will simply continue to be part of the disease and not the remedy. Or as Schmemann stated it, "Consciously or subconsciously Christians have accepted the whole ethos of our joyless and business-minded culture...But joy was given to the Church for the life of the world -- that the Church might be a witness to it and transform the world by joy" (53 and 55). In the end "For the Life of the World" has deep Gospel roots growing downward that bear lush fruit ascending upward. Though Schmemann might well cringe from his grave as I make this connection, yet I am certain the first answer in the Heidelberg Catechism dances well with his Gospel waltz. "What is your only comfort in life and in death? That I, with body and soul, both in life and in death, am not my own, but belong to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ, ...." "To be Christian, to believe in Christ, means and has always meant this: to know in a transrational and yet absolutely certain way called faith, that Christ is the Life of all life, that He is Life itself and, therefore, my life" (104). Thank you Alexander Schmemann. May you rest in peace, and rise in glory - body and soul - when our Life himself returns to right all wrongs and defeat our last enemy, death! I highly recommend this book.

In 'For the Life of the World', a contemporary Orthodox classic, Fr Alexander Schmemann sets out to "remind its readers that in Christ, life – life in all its totality – was returned to man, given again as sacrament and communion, made Eucharist. And it is to show – be it only partially and superficially – the meaning of this for our mission in the world." To put it in layman's terms, Fr Schmemann was trying to explain life and living from the perspective of Orthodox worship. For modern people who have neatly divided their lives into self-contained compartments (family, job, church, etc.), this may seem a curious endeavor. After all, how many of us have seriously considered what our corporate worship practices (whether the public reading of scripture, communion, or the altar) mean for the way we pursue our career... or relate to our spouse... or train our children? My guess is, most of us haven't given it much thought - even if we're serious about our faith. Underlying Schmemann's argument is the idea that we are, at our core, worshiping creatures. He puts it this way: "...whatever the degree of his secularism or even atheism, man remains essentially a 'worshiping being,' forever nostalgic for rites and rituals no matter how empty and artificial is the ersatz offered to him." (By the way, 'ersatz' means 'substitute.' I had to look it up too.) This is the same concept James K. A. Smith brings out in his 'Cultural Liturgies' project where he discusses the way we fill our lives with rituals that shape us without even realizing it - including the liturgy of the shopping mall, the liturgy of the baseball park, etc. We may try to paper over our 'liturgical' nature, but it will come out one way or another. And if it's true that we are inherently worshipers, then wouldn't it make sense to examine our lives in light of worship? Of course! And that's Schmemann's big idea in a nutshell. But as I've already mentioned, he isn't looking from the perspective of worship in general. He's looking at life as an Orthodox Christian who weekly experiences the Orthodox liturgy (or worship service). Listen to the way he begins talking about this... "The liturgy of the Eucharist is best understood as a journey or procession. It is the journey of the Church into the dimension of the Kingdom... The journey begins when Christians leave their homes and beds. They leave, indeed, their life in this present and concrete world, and whether they have to drive fifteen miles or walk a few blocks, a sacramental act is already taking place, an act which is the very condition of everything else that is to happen. For they are now on their way to constitute the Church, or to be more exact, to be transformed into the church of God." From there, he examines each element of the Orthodox worship service, from the opening doxology to the final prayer. But he doesn't just look at what is said or even the theology behind what is said, he examines how every word is shaping the worshiper into a particular kind of person - a person who is ready to go out into the world and to accomplish the mission God has given. In the following chapters, Schmemann looks at the Christian calendar, baptism, marriage, death/healing, and the Church's mission. And in each of those discussions, he moves past the theory to critique culture and point believers beyond it, to the Kingdom. Two of Schmemann's essays are included as appendices, one called 'Worship in a Secular Age' and another called 'Sacrament and Symbol.' In these essays, he defines secularism as "a negation of Worship" and attempts to shed important light on the whole idea of "sacraments." Both of these essays are excellent - and, in my opinion, worth the price of admission all by themselves (though, admittedly, my price of admission was rather low since I checked it out from a library). This isn't a book that I would necessarily recommend to everyone, especially if discussions about theology and worship aren't your thing. But for those who are interested in seriously thinking about what worship might say about us (or for those who'd like to learn more about Orthodoxy)... it's a must-read. I think my biggest takeaway is how impoverished our discussions about worship and worship services are. I'm afraid that, when it comes to our talk about worship, we often "tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions..." (Matthew 23:23). Maybe it's time to move past any residual worship wars to a worship revolution that takes up our whole lives and allows God to transform them.

I love the book, but the Kindle formatting is terrible.

Sheer grace. Life is all grace. Eternal is not out there but here. Our life is shot through with joy and streams of abundance. The church is the life of the risen Christ. Power, honor and glory all are shared in this world if you have the eyes to see and the willing to taste. This book did an eye-surgery. The breakfast muffin at O'Hare 'tasted' fresh after reading this book. Man is what he eats. We all need grace and it is AVAILABLE. Poetry of grace.

This is a most beautifully written book about the meaning(s) and practices (sacraments & orthodoxy) of Christianity and God's marvelous works "for the life of the world." If you're a Christian, or seeking truth, you won't be disappointed. The author's explanations are clear, simple, and most beautifully expressed. His heart is in this book--and he had a big heart. He truly loved and understood God and the teachings and meanings Holy Orthodox Christianity from "the language of the Bible, which is the language of the Church".

One of the most important books I’ve read for understanding where the church is at and where it needs to be in responding to our secular age, at least on a deep conceptual level. Profound insight into Christianity, liturgy, ecclesiology, patristics, and the “sacramental worldview”, and yes, he even defines that.

This is a classic work, one that has influenced countless Christians since it was first published in 1963. The only thing preventing me from giving it five stars is the unfortunate fact that whomever scanned it for kindle has inserted spaces within words and left headings and subheadings in the midst of sentences and even words. Surely a proofreader could have been spared to clean this up for e-reader format.

👍

This textbook is in an affordable format.

This isn't about the book, but the Kindle edition. I will update later if the kindle edition is cleaned up. But just in the first page of the main book, I found 7 typos, OCR errors or formatting problems. I have done Kindle conversions, it is tedious but not difficult work. This should not have been released yet. Hopefully the kindle edition will be updated and fixed. But right now it is not up to reasonable standards for release

In many ways, this little 151 page paperback is too big to rightly review. In a nutshell Fr. Alexander Schmemann, and Eastern Orthodox priest, writer and teacher, was gunning for secularism, which is both a Christian heresy - Christian truths that went mad (111) - and a negation of worship (118). Secularism has birthed a deep polarization, even spawning a disincarnate and dualistic spirituality (7-8). Schmemann has much to say and much to give that will help correct our myopic perspective, from and Eastern Orthodox position. Though the book was originally written in 1963, and then expanded and revised in 1973, it speaks into our moment with great clarity! Not only does Schmemann gun for secularism, he supplies us with the antidote: Christ has come "for the life of the world," both restoring and transforming nature. Now, those who believe the Gospel "live in the world seeing everything in it as a revelation of God, a sign of His presence, the joy of His coming, the call to communion with Him, the hope for fulfillment in Him" (112). Therefore a "Christian is the one who, wherever he looks, finds Christ and rejoices in Him. And this joy transforms all his human plans and programs, decisions and actions, making all his mission the sacrament of the world's return to Him who is the life of the world" (113). I loved the deliciously anti-Gnostic tenor that soaked every page of this book! The author also nudges us that to remember and recollect what Christ has done, we will be reoriented to the Christ-redeemed destiny. But if not, we will simply continue to be part of the disease and not the remedy. Or as Schmemann stated it, "Consciously or subconsciously Christians have accepted the whole ethos of our joyless and business-minded culture...But joy was given to the Church for the life of the world -- that the Church might be a witness to it and transform the world by joy" (53 and 55). In the end "For the Life of the World" has deep Gospel roots growing downward that bear lush fruit ascending upward. Though Schmemann might well cringe from his grave as I make this connection, yet I am certain the first answer in the Heidelberg Catechism dances well with his Gospel waltz. "What is your only comfort in life and in death? That I, with body and soul, both in life and in death, am not my own, but belong to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ, ...." "To be Christian, to believe in Christ, means and has always meant this: to know in a transrational and yet absolutely certain way called faith, that Christ is the Life of all life, that He is Life itself and, therefore, my life" (104). Thank you Alexander Schmemann. May you rest in peace, and rise in glory - body and soul - when our Life himself returns to right all wrongs and defeat our last enemy, death! I highly recommend this book.

In 'For the Life of the World', a contemporary Orthodox classic, Fr Alexander Schmemann sets out to "remind its readers that in Christ, life – life in all its totality – was returned to man, given again as sacrament and communion, made Eucharist. And it is to show – be it only partially and superficially – the meaning of this for our mission in the world." To put it in layman's terms, Fr Schmemann was trying to explain life and living from the perspective of Orthodox worship. For modern people who have neatly divided their lives into self-contained compartments (family, job, church, etc.), this may seem a curious endeavor. After all, how many of us have seriously considered what our corporate worship practices (whether the public reading of scripture, communion, or the altar) mean for the way we pursue our career... or relate to our spouse... or train our children? My guess is, most of us haven't given it much thought - even if we're serious about our faith. Underlying Schmemann's argument is the idea that we are, at our core, worshiping creatures. He puts it this way: "...whatever the degree of his secularism or even atheism, man remains essentially a 'worshiping being,' forever nostalgic for rites and rituals no matter how empty and artificial is the ersatz offered to him." (By the way, 'ersatz' means 'substitute.' I had to look it up too.) This is the same concept James K. A. Smith brings out in his 'Cultural Liturgies' project where he discusses the way we fill our lives with rituals that shape us without even realizing it - including the liturgy of the shopping mall, the liturgy of the baseball park, etc. We may try to paper over our 'liturgical' nature, but it will come out one way or another. And if it's true that we are inherently worshipers, then wouldn't it make sense to examine our lives in light of worship? Of course! And that's Schmemann's big idea in a nutshell. But as I've already mentioned, he isn't looking from the perspective of worship in general. He's looking at life as an Orthodox Christian who weekly experiences the Orthodox liturgy (or worship service). Listen to the way he begins talking about this... "The liturgy of the Eucharist is best understood as a journey or procession. It is the journey of the Church into the dimension of the Kingdom... The journey begins when Christians leave their homes and beds. They leave, indeed, their life in this present and concrete world, and whether they have to drive fifteen miles or walk a few blocks, a sacramental act is already taking place, an act which is the very condition of everything else that is to happen. For they are now on their way to constitute the Church, or to be more exact, to be transformed into the church of God." From there, he examines each element of the Orthodox worship service, from the opening doxology to the final prayer. But he doesn't just look at what is said or even the theology behind what is said, he examines how every word is shaping the worshiper into a particular kind of person - a person who is ready to go out into the world and to accomplish the mission God has given. In the following chapters, Schmemann looks at the Christian calendar, baptism, marriage, death/healing, and the Church's mission. And in each of those discussions, he moves past the theory to critique culture and point believers beyond it, to the Kingdom. Two of Schmemann's essays are included as appendices, one called 'Worship in a Secular Age' and another called 'Sacrament and Symbol.' In these essays, he defines secularism as "a negation of Worship" and attempts to shed important light on the whole idea of "sacraments." Both of these essays are excellent - and, in my opinion, worth the price of admission all by themselves (though, admittedly, my price of admission was rather low since I checked it out from a library). This isn't a book that I would necessarily recommend to everyone, especially if discussions about theology and worship aren't your thing. But for those who are interested in seriously thinking about what worship might say about us (or for those who'd like to learn more about Orthodoxy)... it's a must-read. I think my biggest takeaway is how impoverished our discussions about worship and worship services are. I'm afraid that, when it comes to our talk about worship, we often "tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions..." (Matthew 23:23). Maybe it's time to move past any residual worship wars to a worship revolution that takes up our whole lives and allows God to transform them.

I love the book, but the Kindle formatting is terrible.

Sheer grace. Life is all grace. Eternal is not out there but here. Our life is shot through with joy and streams of abundance. The church is the life of the risen Christ. Power, honor and glory all are shared in this world if you have the eyes to see and the willing to taste. This book did an eye-surgery. The breakfast muffin at O'Hare 'tasted' fresh after reading this book. Man is what he eats. We all need grace and it is AVAILABLE. Poetry of grace.

This is a most beautifully written book about the meaning(s) and practices (sacraments & orthodoxy) of Christianity and God's marvelous works "for the life of the world." If you're a Christian, or seeking truth, you won't be disappointed. The author's explanations are clear, simple, and most beautifully expressed. His heart is in this book--and he had a big heart. He truly loved and understood God and the teachings and meanings Holy Orthodox Christianity from "the language of the Bible, which is the language of the Church".