The Liturgy of Death: Four Previously Unpublished Talks

by Alexander Schmemann

In these previously unpublished talks, Fr Alexander Schmemann critiques contemporary culture’s distorted understanding of death. He then examines the Church’s rites for burial and her prayers for the dead. Though they are often misunderstood, at the heart of the services Fr Alexander finds the paschal proclamation: “Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life.”

“For the Orthodox Church, the time has arrived not to reform the liturgy of death, nor to modernize it (God forbid!), but simply to rediscover it. To rediscover it in its truth and glory means in its connection with the faith of the Church, with the meaning—for the dead, for us, for the whole world and the entire creation—of Christ’s deathless death, and in connection with baptism and Eucharist, with Lent and Pascha, with the whole life of the Church and each one of us, her members. This rediscovery is needed first of all by the Church, but also by our secular culture, for which, whether we know it or not, we are responsible. How are we to rediscover it?”
– Alexander Schmemann, The Liturgy of Death

Contents
Introduction by Alexis Vinogradov
Chapter 1 The Development of Christian Funeral Rites
Chapter 2 The Funeral Rites and Practices
Chapter 3 Prayers for the Dead
Chapter 4 The Liturgy of Death and Contemporary Culture
Appendix
The Order for the Burial of the Dead

Father Alexander Schmemann was a prolific writer, brilliant lecturer and dedicated pastor. Former dean and professor of liturgical theology at St Vladimir’s Orthodox Seminary, he passed away in 1983 at the age of sixty-two. Father Alexander Schmemann’s insight into contemporary culture, church life, and liturgical celebration left an indelible mark on the Chrisitian community worldwide.

Genres: Christian, Death, Theology, Christianity, Church

235 pages, Paperback

Published February 17, 2017

About the author

Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann was a prominent Eastern Orthodox theologian and priest of the Orthodox Church in America.

Reviews

[Luke · Rating 3 out of 5]

In my current “journey” of trying to study Eastern Orthodoxy, Schmemann’s Liturgy of the Dead caught my eye because of the title alone. Never mind the content, when you have a death/black metal loving dude who comes across a title like that, it’s a must have. So how did it hold up to my expectations? Its aight. It’s four continuous lectures published into one book, with a full transcript of a liturgy performed at a funeral at the end. The first lecture is a bit to get through, as much of it is “laying the foundation” for the lectures to come. The second and third had my attention the most, as the content stemmed from the ritualistic practices, the origin of the hymnological liturgies, and the need to redefine death from a Christian (Eastern Orthodox) frame of mind. The last lecture was a bit of a slog to get through, as it continues with the theme of redefining death and the perception of death, but from an eschatological standpoint, very much of “it doesn’t matter if you’re fighting for social justices on this earth bc we’ve got paradise waiting for us” type of content towards the end which, isn’t surprising but not entirely what I was looking for in this book. The few pages after the final lecture is a lengthy liturgy, along with categorizations, which priest says what line and which line does the congregation praise which is cool and was sort of the thing I was looking for with this book.

I think lectures 2, 3, and the liturgy at the end are the best parts of this (some might find the liturgy tiring bc it’s so long), with 3 sounding like something my old pastor would ramble on but with an Eastern Orthodox twist. Anyways, it’s aight. Title’s cool as fuck, and I mostly got what I expected out of it 👍🏼

[Kyle Rapinchuk · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Liturgy of Death is a collection of four presentations Schmemann gave on death that were posthumously published in this book. In this work Schmemann thoughtfully explores how both the secular culture and Orthodox Christianity (though other Christian traditions are also guilty) have lost sight of the true meaning of death in Scripture. Schmemann argues that death is a tragedy, a thing not created by God, yet simultaneously through the "deathless death" of Christ can be viewed as victory and hope. Because Christ died and was raised, those who are united to him do not in their death experience separation from him, thus it can be seen as victory and hope in light of our future resurrection. This is an excellent work and a word we still need to hear today, perhaps even more than the day he delivered these lectures nearly forty years ago.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

The basic premise of the book is rather straightforward if you’re familiar with Schmemann’s work. That said, it is a lovely reminder of the overwhelming victory of Christ over Death. Schmemann is unapologetic in his criticism of the Orthodox Church’s slide into secular paradigms of death that are subtle and pervasive, shaping even our contemporary liturgical services.

[Victoria Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

The truth has been told: we are dead beings.... but people don't wanna listen. If the birth is the beginning, then, logically, there's an end, which is in our case - death. And yes, Death is a tragedy, but also hope.

Enjoyed reading it. Not for everybody, because focuses on orthodox liturgy (mostly). The author is a priest/

[Ted · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vintage Schmemann. I always enjoy reading him, but still feel he left us a gap - he points out where the received tradition fails but doesn't exactly give us a solid idea as to what he thought the received tradition could be replaced with or improved by. But we Orthodox don't show a great ability to talk about these things.

[FrDrStel Muksuris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fr. Alexander Schmemann of blessed memory, in both his teaching and writing, was something of a modern-day prophet. In these four essays that reflect upon death and funerary rites in the Orthodox Church, Schmemann challenges the conceptualizations of death and dying according to the secular world and criticizes the Church, especially in the West, for assimilating to the forms and thought patterns of secular society, thereby undermining the Orthodox Faith's unique grasp of death, suffering, and resurrection. The author speaks convincingly and provocatively, bringing the reader to rethink how death is a real tragedy not to be denied or ignored, but at the same time meaningful because of its intimate association with the death of Christ, thus rendering it meaningful and triumphant. This book is required reading for any Eastern courses on funeral rites.