Understanding "For the Life of the World" in its historical context<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Understanding is a gift that is often hard fought for. Those precious few who can communicate complexity in terms accessible and understandable to others\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/2019\/05\/understanding-for-the-life-of-the-world-in-its-historical-context.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Understanding "For the Life of the World" in its historical context\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Understanding is a gift that is often hard fought for. Those precious few who can communicate complexity in terms accessible and understandable to others\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/2019\/05\/understanding-for-the-life-of-the-world-in-its-historical-context.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Orant\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-05-29T20:28:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-05-29T20:45:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/394\/2019\/05\/For-the-life-of-the-world-189x300.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Billy Kangas\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Billy Kangas\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/2019\/05\/understanding-for-the-life-of-the-world-in-its-historical-context.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/2019\/05\/understanding-for-the-life-of-the-world-in-its-historical-context.html\",\"name\":\"Understanding \\\"For the Life of the World\\\" in its historical context\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2019-05-29T20:28:37+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-05-29T20:45:58+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/#\/schema\/person\/2c17428b1556df23f5982263d9dbd58d\"},\"description\":\"Understanding is a gift that is often hard fought for. Those precious few who can communicate complexity in terms accessible and understandable to others\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/2019\/05\/understanding-for-the-life-of-the-world-in-its-historical-context.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/2019\/05\/understanding-for-the-life-of-the-world-in-its-historical-context.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/2019\/05\/understanding-for-the-life-of-the-world-in-its-historical-context.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Understanding “For the Life of the World” in its historical context\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/\",\"name\":\"The Orant\",\"description\":\"Conversations About Following Jesus\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/#\/schema\/person\/2c17428b1556df23f5982263d9dbd58d\",\"name\":\"Billy Kangas\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c62caf5013b1314de00735bfe5204a74?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c62caf5013b1314de00735bfe5204a74?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Billy Kangas\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/author\/bkanga\"}]}<\/script>\n","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Understanding \"For the Life of the World\" in its historical context","description":"Understanding is a gift that is often hard fought for. Those precious few who can communicate complexity in terms accessible and understandable to others","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/2019\/05\/understanding-for-the-life-of-the-world-in-its-historical-context.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Understanding \"For the Life of the World\" in its historical context","og_description":"Understanding is a gift that is often hard fought for. Those precious few who can communicate complexity in terms accessible and understandable to others","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/2019\/05\/understanding-for-the-life-of-the-world-in-its-historical-context.html","og_site_name":"The Orant","article_published_time":"2019-05-29T20:28:37+00:00","article_modified_time":"2019-05-29T20:45:58+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/394\/2019\/05\/For-the-life-of-the-world-189x300.jpg"}],"author":"Billy Kangas","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Billy Kangas","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/2019\/05\/understanding-for-the-life-of-the-world-in-its-historical-context.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/2019\/05\/understanding-for-the-life-of-the-world-in-its-historical-context.html","name":"Understanding \"For the Life of the World\" in its historical context","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/#website"},"datePublished":"2019-05-29T20:28:37+00:00","dateModified":"2019-05-29T20:45:58+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/#\/schema\/person\/2c17428b1556df23f5982263d9dbd58d"},"description":"Understanding is a gift that is often hard fought for. Those precious few who can communicate complexity in terms accessible and understandable to others","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/2019\/05\/understanding-for-the-life-of-the-world-in-its-historical-context.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/2019\/05\/understanding-for-the-life-of-the-world-in-its-historical-context.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/2019\/05\/understanding-for-the-life-of-the-world-in-its-historical-context.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Understanding “For the Life of the World” in its historical context"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/","name":"The Orant","description":"Conversations About Following Jesus","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/#\/schema\/person\/2c17428b1556df23f5982263d9dbd58d","name":"Billy Kangas","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c62caf5013b1314de00735bfe5204a74?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c62caf5013b1314de00735bfe5204a74?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Billy Kangas"},"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/author\/bkanga"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2994","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1678"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2994"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2994\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2994"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2994"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2994"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

{"id":2994,"date":"2019-05-29T16:28:37","date_gmt":"2019-05-29T20:28:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/?p=2994"},"modified":"2019-05-29T16:45:58","modified_gmt":"2019-05-29T20:45:58","slug":"understanding-for-the-life-of-the-world-in-its-historical-context","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billykangas\/2019\/05\/understanding-for-the-life-of-the-world-in-its-historical-context.html","title":{"rendered":"Understanding “For the Life of the World” in its historical context"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

$\"\"$ <\/a>Understanding is a gift that is often hard fought for. Those precious few who can communicate complexity in terms accessible and understandable to others offer a true gift.\u00a0Alexander Schmemann was a man who possessed this incredible gift and with it was able to communicate to a world that had hitherto before been clouded in mystery.<\/p>\n

He opened the eyes to many in the west a vision of sacramentality and its place in the work of salvation that God demonstrates in Christ.<\/p>\n

This clarity of thought and universality of application was most powerfully shown in\u00a0Schmemann\u2019s classic\u00a0For the Life of the World.\u00a0<\/em>In it, Fr. Alexander was able to clearly communicate the rich tapestry of a sacramental worldview and make it not only understandable but also relevant for those without being a part of a liturgical tradition.<\/p>\n

Today we begin our first true installment in our live blogging of Porter C. Taylor\u2019s new volume dedicated to the work of\u00a0Schmemann entitled\u00a0 We Give Our Thanks Unto Thee:\u00a0Essays in Memory of Fr. Alexander Schmemann.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

The first chapter of the volume, an essay by William C. Mills, is an older essay which was graciously republished in this volume. It was composed to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the publication of\u00a0For the Life of the World<\/em> and was originally featured in\u00a0Logos: A<\/em>
\nJournal of Eastern Christian Studies<\/em> 54.3\/4 (2013).<\/p>\n

Like many, For the Life of the World<\/em> was my introduction to Alexander Schmemann and it was an introduction that I can truly say has impacted the way I think about everything ever since. The book is truly one of the great accomplishments of theology in the 20th century.<\/p>\n

This chapter is a perfect companion to the book. It is such a joy to read. Mills transports the reader back in time, painting with vivid details the setting in which Fr. Alexander\u2019s classic treatise was presented; a conference for youth on the missionary work of the Church. This conference appears to have been an amazing experience and I wanted to be there. He also helps contextualize the work within the broader scope of Fr.\u00a0Schmemann\u2019s life and work which is very helpful.<\/p>\n

I was filled with joy for the journey which breathed a new life into the pages of a book I love, but also a sorrow for a time now gone. Mills communicates powerfully the Zeitgeist<\/em>\u00a0inhabited by Fr. Alexander at the time. It was a time filled with optimism and openness to the ecumenical potential of the church that has been sadly lost.<\/p>\n

My prayer is that we may rekindle the hope of unity and generous curiosity which invited\u00a0Schmemann to share with such clarity the sacramentality of the Gospel and it\u2019s role in the word we all participate in as we give our lives to join Christ\u00a0For the Life of the World.<\/em><\/p>\n

Stay tuned for more in our\u00a0Schmemann series<\/a>. <\/em>Next time we will move onto an essay by Paul Meyendorff which looks at the lasting legacy of Schmemann\u2019s liturgical perspective within the Orthodox Churches in the United States.<\/p>\n

If you haven\u2019t read it, consider picking up a copy of Fr. Alexander\u2019s book For the Life of the World<\/em>, and buy a copy of\u00a0We Give Our Thanks Unto Thee:\u00a0Essays in Memory of Fr. Alexander Schmemann.<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>Its\u00a0first chapter is a\u00a0must-read<\/em> for anyone serious about understanding the context of the book.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"