The late Father Alexander Schmemann (1921-1983) distills his principal reflections on liturgical theology in 'Introduction to Liturgical Theology.' Initially released as a 1966 translation from Russian by Asheleigh E. Moorehouse, the book entered its fourth reprint by St. Vladimir's Seminary Press in 2003. The origin for the book was the author's 1962 doctoral dissertation approved by the faculty of St. Sergius Theological Institute in Pairs.

The book brings precision to discourse as characterizes everything that the author penned. However, it also carries a scholarly tone, which can explore topics and level of inquiry better suited to it. This tone does not sacrifice the author's vigor and enthusiasm for his subject, as many academic books sacrifice. Instead, the scholarly tone helps to leave an indelible imprint on liturgical theology for generations to come.

Immense credit is due the book for several reasons. First, Schmemann engaged in an active dialogue with contemporary French theologians, who influenced liturgical reforms of the (Roman Catholic) Second Vatican Council. For example, his multiple references to prominent French theologians included Yves Congar [cf. 13,18, 101, et al.], Jean Danielou [cf. 77-9, 83, et al.], and many others. These textual references illustrate Schmemann's exercise of Orthodox theology, without ignoring important sources of information and inquiry about the 'lex orandi' of a global Communion that characterized the first Christian millennium. Moreover, the author concluded that comparative liturgics produced salient results for appreciating monastic and non-monastic historical sources of prayer [83-5].

Second, while the schema for the book follows a common chronological approach to liturgical theology, its method is novel. An equally common mistake would assign preference to older variants in the 'ordo'. However, Schmemann's method set a course toward studying the theory of the Church's worship [21 passim]. Historical comparison of the ordo's provided data for analysis, but antiquity alone should not determine the proper focus of "the theological interpretation of the rule of prayer" [21], which theory should maintain as central to liturgical theology. In summary, Schmemann concluded: "Historical liturgics establishes the structures and their development, liturgical theology discovers their meaning: such is the great methodological principle of the task" [22]. ( )