The ecclesiology of Father Alexander Schmemann

The ecclesiology of Father Alexander Schmemann is the subject of this article devoted to the theological thought of one of the major representatives of twentieth-century Orthodox theology. The study examines the conception of the Church developed by Schmemann, a Russian-American theologian and liturgist whose work has profoundly shaped Orthodox theology in the West. The approach adopted is that of a systematic theological analysis aimed at identifying the foundations and articulations of this ecclesiology. The central idea lies in the indissoluble link that Schmemann establishes between Church, Eucharist, and eschatology, making the liturgy the constitutive locus of ecclesial identity. On the theological level, the article highlights Schmemann's original contribution to contemporary Orthodox reflection on the nature of the Church, in dialogue with the Western theological currents of the twentieth century.