Crestwood, NY — Twenty years after his death, the legacy of Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann — church leader, theologian, and dean of St Vladimir's Seminary — remains vibrant.  December 13, 2003 marks the twentieth anniversary of Fr Schmemann's repose in 1983.  SVS will hold a memorial service at Three Hierarchs Chapel following a 9 a.m. Divine Liturgy for St Herman of Alaska.  The V. Rev. Thomas Hopko, dean emeritus, will offer the eulogy.

Dean of the seminary from 1962 until his death in 1983, Fr Schmemann worked tirelessly for the good of his students, the seminary, and Orthodoxy in America.  During his tenure, the seminary achieved wide recognition as a center for Orthodox theological studies.  In addition to teaching at the seminary, Fr Schmemann held adjunct positions at Columbia University, New York University, and Union and General theological seminaries in New York.  As the son of Russian émigrés he committed himself to the edification of believers in the former Soviet Union by broadcasting weekly sermons in Russian over Radio Liberty for over thirty years.  His published works, including For the Life of the World, Introduction to Liturgical Theology, and Church, World, Mission, still attract a broad readership. St Vladimir's Seminary Press has published several of his works posthumously, including The Eucharist, The Journals of Father Alexander Schmemann, 1973-1983, and his short exposition on the Lord's Prayer entitled Our Father.  We remember his life and death as a shining witness for Christ.

See also Fr Schmemann's faculty page, and the website www.schmemann.org.