New Book on Alexander Schmemann

The great Orthodox liturgical theologian Alexander Schmemann, on whose thought and diaries I have commented several times, will be featured in a new study: Church, World, and Kingdom: The Eucharistic Foundation of Alexander Schmemann's Pastoral Theology (Chicago, LTP, 2012). 

About this book the publisher tells us: 

In Church, World and Kingdom: The Eucharistic Foundation of Alexander Schmemann's Pastoral Theology, author William C. Mills analyzes the pastoral and Eucharistic theology of the world-renowned Eastern Orthodox priest, pastor, professor, seminary dean, theologian, and author, Alexander Schmemann. Schmemann's theological legacy has influenced all levels of Church life. His books, articles, essays, and sermons are known world-wide and translated into numerous languages and have been referenced by theologians in the East and the West. William C. Mills expertly reminds us that for Alexander Schmemann, the scriptures, doctrine, faith, teachings, practices, and prayers of the Church are expressed and fully realized in the Eucharistic gathering. Alexander Schmemann's theology was influential from the Second Vatican Council onward, not only on his own Orthodox tradition, but also on Roman Catholic and Protestant liturgical theology.

This new research has shed light on the importance of the liturgical and Eucharistic context for ministry, especially highlighting the spiritual, practical, and theological preparation of ordained clergy and the general ministry of the entire body of Christ, both clergy and laity.
This book is the only study that is primarily devoted to Schmemann's pastoral theology, and will be a welcome addition to the academic and popular understanding of ordained and lay ministry within Christendom, especially within the Orthodox and Roman Catholic sacramental tradition. This book features a comprehensive collection of Schmemann's theology, as well as previously unpublished material.

Written by the prolific priest and theologian William Mills, whom I interviewed here, this promises to be a major new study and I look forward to seeing it in print. I also hope to interview him about it soon.