the concept of the church

“… we must recognize that we cannot artificially separate the problem of the religious upbringing of our children from that of a renewal of the entire Orthodox community.  We cannot teach what we do not practice ourselves.  Our churches will have the schools which they deserve.  And it is obvious that the rebirth of ‘liturgical catechesis’ requires first of all a rebirth of the liturgical life of the Church, its better understanding by the faithful, a more responsible attitude to it, a more active participation in it.  As long as we have ‘private’ liturgies during Holy Week; as long as our churches remain virtually empty on the day of our most beautiful — spiritually and theologically — service, Holy Saturday; as long as priests on that day are busy blessing Easter food in private homes; as long as Baptism remains a private family celebration, and weddings a social ceremony at which the photographer is more prominent than the priest; as long as the communion of the Body and Blood of Christ remains a ‘duty’ to be fulfilled once a year; as long as all this remains true, it is difficult to teach our children to see in the liturgical services the very essence of the Church, of its teachings and its life.  We need a liturgical catechesis for adults, and in the clergy itself.  We need a rebirth of the very concept of Church, the spiritualization of the parish, the renovation of our prayer life.  All this is the basic condition for a true Christian education of our children….”

Father Alexander Schmemann