Modern Ukrainian academic theology actively develops and systematizes its structure and interdisciplinary relations, forms a theoretical and methodological base of research and defines fundamental concepts and categories. Theological works and teachings of religious leaders have always attracted research interest among scholars and united them in scientific research, despite the fact that religious studies and theology differ significantly in their structure and subject area. This research will provide analysis and reconstruction of the theological system of one of the most prominent and significant Orthodox theologians of the twentieth century, Fr Alexander Schmemann (1921-1983), the founder of the liturgical theology as an academic discipline and one of the key figures for Orthodoxy in the West. Schmemann's ideas also significantly influenced the opinions of believers and clerics in the post-Soviet space. In the times of the USSR, some books by A.Schmemann were published in Russian in Paris and New York, were smuggled through the borders, then distributed in typing, and after the collapse of the USSR began to appear in large circles in Russia and Ukraine. Without a doubt, Schmemann is one of the most striking contemporary Orthodox thinkers, whose ideas continue to influence Christians of different denominations until present.
Given the popularity of A. Schmemann's works in Ukraine and worldwide, his theological heritage remains inadequately investigated and requires a more thorough study. In particular, there were still no comprehensive study of his theological views in Ukrainian theology. Therefore, this work is an attempt to investigate and generalize the system of theological views of A. Schmemann, which center is the comprehension of the phenomenon of the liturgy as the main event of the church and the core of all religious life. The Eucharist is the reference point for the whole Schmemann’s theology. The worldview of A. Schmemann as a Christian, a shepherd, and a theologian is based on the constant experience of the reality of the kingdom of God that is present here and now, but is mainly experienced by believers during the Eucharistic gatherings. Systematic religious studies and theological analysis of the intellectual heritage of A. Schmemann contributes to the in-depth study of his theology.
The urgency of the research topic also arises from the significance of the church institute for Ukrainian society, which challenges the theologians to scientifically comprehend the concept of the church, i.e. ecclesiology. In his views on the nature and structure of the Church, A. Schmeman developed the views of his senior counterpart Nicholas Afanassiev (1893-1966), who made the greatest breakthrough in the development of the Orthodox ecclesiology in the twentieth century. Afanassiev proposed the concept of Eucharistic ecclesiology. For Orthodox theology until the beginning of the twentieth century it was common to consider the Church exclusively in the categories of universality. Universal ecclesiology saw the fullness of the Church in its universal structure, that is, in the aggregate of all the local churches; The church was considered in the categories of parts (local churches) and the whole (the universal church). In contrast, in Eucharistic ecclesiology, which was developed by Afanassiev in the middle of the twentieth century, the fullness of the Church is present in every Eucharistic community headed by the bishop; the local church is the same Church as the universal Church.
The views of A. Schmemann on the structure of the church, on the canons and the role of the Ecumenical Patriarch, in particular, are highly relevant to the division of Ukrainian Orthodoxy and to the search for the ways of reconciliation. The works of A. Schmemann are equally relevant to the context of the ecumenical dialogue that continues between Christian denominations, in which Schmemann also participated. The systematization of A. Schmemann's views and the study of their development and influence on the further theological thought in the twentieth and twenty first centuries contributes to the further development of theology and the search for application of knowledge for the practical experience of inter-church dialogue.
The purpose of the research is to reconstruct the theological system of A. Schmemann and to analyze its reception and influence on the modern Christian theological thought in the context of liturgical realism.
