33rd Annual Father Alexander Schmemann Memorial Lecture
The Reverend Dr. John Chryssavgis, archdeacon of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, presented the 33rd Annual Father Alexander Schmemann Memorial Lecture titled, “Toward the Great and Holy Council: Retrieving a Culture of Conciliarity and Consensus” to an engaged, capacity crowd. The lecture was preceded by an academic convocation at which the Seminary's Board of Trustees and faculty bestowed a Doctor of Divinity degree, honoris causa, on Fr. John, and a Doctor of Canon Law degree, honoris causa, on former Seminary Trustee and distinguished Orthodox layman Charles Richard Ajalat.
“Charles’s work for the Orthodox Church and beyond over the last decades has been extensive, hugely significant, and influential,” remarked the Very Reverend Dr. John Behr, dean of St. Vladimir’s, before bestowing the honorary degrees on the two recipients.
Father John called the evening’s guest lecturer “a truly great friend of St. Vladimir’s Seminary and the Orthodox Church in America,” stating that “we owe him a great deal for all that he has done for us.”
Days before the lecture, Fr. John Chryssavgis was present at the Synaxis of Primates of the Orthodox Autocephalous Churches in Chambésy, Geneva, where it was decided that the Council would proceed at the Orthodox Academy of Crete from June 16 to 27, 2016. “This is, in fact, the first presentation about the Council anywhere in the world after the Chambesy meeting,” noted Fr. John.
Speaking candidly with both humor and passion, Fr. John placed the Great and Holy Council in a historical context. “The forthcoming council is unprecedented,” he said. “It will mark the first ever gathering from fourteen autocephalous churches, including the ancient patriarchates, except Rome.”
Father John then went on to outline the Council’s agenda items, which he grouped into three separate categories: internal relations among the Orthodox churches; issues of a pastoral and practical nature; and relations with other Christian churches and the world.
In reflecting on the possible outcomes of the upcoming Council, Fr, John stated that “the most consequential and enduring pronouncement will be its determination on the diaspora.”
He also reflected on the relationship between conciliarity, consensus, and communion. “Conciliarity implies retrieving a process that involves relearning fresh ways of being and working together. Consensus was never a model of conciliar expression.”
“Our Church can play a major role in the world,” said Fr. John, in closing. “But for this to happen, all of the churches must be placed at the service of God, the gospel, and the body of Christ.” At the conclusion of his lecture, Fr. John received an immediate and robust standing ovation. He then offered further reflection on particular aspects of the upcoming Council, as he publicly responded to questions from seminary faculty, students, and friends.
Several noted guests attended the lecture, including His Beatitude The Most Blessed Tikhon, primate of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA) and president of the Seminary, members of the Board of Trustees, and members of the Ajalat family, including Dr. Ajalat’s son, Richard, a 2013 Master of Divinity graduate of St. Vladimir’s.
Archdeacon John Chryssavgis currently serves as a special theological advisor to the Ecumenical Patriarch on a range of matters, from environmental concerns to broader inter-Orthodox and inter-Christian relations. He studied theology and philosophy at Athens and Oxford, and taught patristics and church history in Sydney and Boston. Since 2006, Fr. John has served as a visiting professor or occasional lecturer at numerous and prestigious institutions around the world such as Princeton, Yale, Harvard, University of Chicago, and Utrecht University. Father John has published thirty-five books and numerous articles on the church fathers and Orthodox spirituality, including the two-volume Primacy in the Church, published by St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press in January 2016.
The Father Alexander Schmemann Memorial Lecture was inaugurated in 1984, one year after the repose of the Seminary’s beloved former dean. Well known scholars and ecclesiastical leaders have spoken on topics ranging from patristics and sacred art of the Orthodox Church, to personal remembrances of Father Alexander. A complete list of the lecturers may be found here.
The lecture may be heard in its entirety on the Seminary’s podcast on Ancient Faith Radio, Voices from St. Vladimir’s Seminary.
