|
|
The World as "The First Sacrament". Concept of the World in the Liturgical Theology of Alexander Schmemann
Macháčková, Ivana ; Noble, Ivana (advisor) ; Hošek, Pavel (referee)
Alexander Schmemann, one of the greatest orthodox theologians of the twentieth century, understands world in his liturgical theology as a gift of God ́s love to man. Man was created as a priest of creation and he should accept creation as a gift and bring it in thanksgiving back to God. But man diverted from God, he lives in a self-centred way and he separated divine and profane. Salvation is seen by Schmemann in Jesus Christ, who renewed relation of man to God, renewed the continuity between the world and himself. The central place in Schmemann ́s liturgical theology has liturgy. The eucharist is described by Schmemann as the entrance of the Church into the joy of her Lord. It has cosmic, all- embracing character and it transforms everything. This liturgy takes place in separation from the world, but for the world. In the offering we bring to God the whole world and it becomes in the liturgy what it always should have been, but was not. The Church is the gift of reconciliation and forgiveness. She represents the whole creation before God. Schmemann strongly emphasises the role of community. He criticises attempts of unity from "below" and he also does not accept the activities of the Church in the social and political sphere. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)
|
guest ::
RSS feed.