05 — The Eucharist and the Mysteries

Schmemann’s sacramental theology: The Eucharist: Sacrament of the Kingdom, written in Russian in his last years and published posthumously, which reads the Divine Liturgy as a single ascent into the Kingdom; and Of Water and the Spirit (1974) on baptism, together with the practical campaign for which he is best remembered in parishes — the restoration of frequent communion.

Tradition: Russian Orthodox (emigration)

If Section 03 states the method, this section shows it working. Schmemann’s procedure is always the same: take the rite whole, in its actual sequence, and ask what its structure is saying. Applied to the Liturgy, this yields the sequence of “sacraments” within the one sacrament — of the assembly, of the kingdom, of entrance, of the word, of the faithful, of the offering, of unity, of the anaphora, of thanksgiving, of remembrance, of the Holy Spirit, of communion — that gives The Eucharist its shape. Applied to baptism, it yields a single paschal initiation whose natural term is not chrismation but communion.

The frequent-communion campaign follows from both, and it is the point at which his theology touched ordinary Orthodox life most directly and most controversially. It is treated here with the both-sides discipline the repository requires (METHODOLOGY §4.2): the traditional-practice objections are stated by name and not adjudicated.

Contents

File Description
The Eucharist: Sacrament of the Kingdom The posthumous masterwork; the ascent into the Kingdom; Afanasiev received and modified
Of Water and the Spirit and Frequent Communion Baptism as paschal initiation; the 1972 report; the §4.2 communion dispute

See Also