“Thicket of Idols”: Alexander Schmemann’s Critique of Orthodoxy

by John A. Jillions

Father Alexander Schmemann died in 1983, long before the resurgence of the Orthodox Churches in Eastern Europe could be realistically imagined, with what this might mean for the emergence of a powerful Orthodox voice worldwide. Today, global Orthodoxy is more free than it has been in centuries and—despite continuing divisions—has the ability to start coming together to find and speak in its own voice, as the Holy and Great Council in Crete 2016 at least haltingly demonstrated.

John A. Jillions

The Very Rev. Dr. John A. Jillions is the former chancellor of the OCA and the founding principal of the Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies in Cambridge, UK. He has taught at Saint Paul University (Ottawa), St. Vladimir’s Seminary, and Fordham University. He holds degrees from McGill University, St Vladimir’s, and Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. He has served parishes in Australia, Greece, England, Canada, and the United States. He is vice-president of the Orthodox Theological Society in America and the author of Divine Guidance: Lessons for Today from the World of Early Christianity (2020).

All articles by this author