A Critique of the Practices of Confession in the Diaries of Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann

Abstract

The article analyzes the critical statements about confession and spiritual guidance in the «Diaries» of Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann, one of the brightest representatives of the theological thought of the Russian emigration. Having restored the context of the era, the author of the article attempts to prove that Fr. Alexander Schmemann criticizes not the Orthodox practice of confession as such, but the deviant forms of counseling that became widespread in the Orthodox diaspora at that time. His criticism is directed, on the one hand, against the practice that goes back to the ancient tradition of «renovations», and on the other, against the introduction of elements of psychological assistance into spiritual leadership, which was characteristic of American society in the 1960s and 1970s. Taking into account these features of parish life in emigration, Schmemann’s words no longer sound revolutionary, which is confirmed in the article by comparison with the ideas of Metropolitan Anthony (Bloom), to whom he opposes himself. Although Schmemann speaks critically about the metropolitan's pastoral approaches, a more detailed analysis clearly demonstrates that in their views on clergy they can be called like-minded people rather than antagonists: both warn priests and parishioners against pseudo eldership, formalism, and the psychologization of confessional practices.