Schmemann on the Church

GIn the world in which we live and I would say also in the Church we are faced with two fundamental reductions of Christianity, alterations, deviations, lies.

The one consists in subordinating Christianity to the needs of the world. Christianity, the Church and of course Christ himself are understood very often as first of all those who solve our human, historical, national, social, cultural or any other problems. And when the Church does not oblige she is proclaimed to be irrelevant.

There is the other reduction, the other lie, about Christianity. And this one I would define it just the opposite way: it is this request addressed to the Church that it must help. It is a therapeutic reduction. It is something which must solve this time not social, political and cultural, but my personal problems.

Those two falsifications of religion: it is Christianity without the cross. The world has rejected Christ and said, “Let him die. Let him be out we don't want him as part of our life.” Everything in this world says, “Worship me.” Everything in this world says to me, “Be happy.” And I don't want a demonic happiness and I cannot worship anything in this world. What is really, horribly difficult is when he says, “Son, give me your heart.”

What am I imposing on myself? It is first of all a constant choosing again and again of that narrow way, of that narrow treasure. It is the moment we decide to choose that way of the cross in our own life. When I demythologize the world as selfishness and idolatry, when i demythologize myself as the man with a pursuit of happiness. I understood that this is the crucifixion of the flesh and of the body and of the soul and of the reason, that difficult, high existence. The real crucifixion is because we want to be small and God has created us to be great.