I’m currently reading The Eucharist by Alexander Schmemann. Father Schmemann was a priest in the Eastern Orthodox Church. The book was finished shortly before his death in 1983. My mentor has been recommending it for a while and I’ve finally started.
It can only be summed up as a tour de force of Eucharistic Theology. My western sensibilities scream a bit as I read it (I’ve just started chapter 4). The Eastern Church hardly acknowledges an individual approach to Christ and His Church. However, the explanations of liturgy and the arc of the entire ancient service are eye opening. A modern American low church, nondenominational experience seems like a bland saltine cracker compared to the majestic cake of ancient rites and liturgy.
I anticipate having to read this a second time before I can write something sensible on it.
Soli Deo Gloria
