--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Our modern theology, which in many ways…" description: "\"“Our modern theology, which in many ways has ceased to be personal, i.e. centered on the Christian experience of \"person,\" nevertheless - and maybe as ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ea/alexander-schmemann-18392_identity_our-modern-theology-which-in-many-ways-h_892503.jpg" --- # Our modern theology, which in many ways has ceased to be… ![“Our modern theology, which in many ways has ceased to be personal, i.e. centered on the Christian experience of "person," nevertheless - and maybe as a result of this - has become utterly individualistic. It views everything in the Church - sacraments, rites, and even the Church herself - as…” quote by Alexander Schmemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ea/alexander-schmemann-18392_identity_our-modern-theology-which-in-many-ways-h_892503.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ea/alexander-schmemann-18392_identity_our-modern-theology-which-in-many-ways-h_892503.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ea/alexander-schmemann-18392_identity_our-modern-theology-which-in-many-ways-h_892503.jpg) > ““Our modern theology, which in many ways has ceased to be personal, i.e. centered on the Christian experience of "person," nevertheless - and maybe as a result of this - has become utterly individualistic. It views everything in the Church - sacraments, rites, and even the Church herself - as primarily, if not exclusively, individual "means of grace," aimed at the individual, at his individual sanctification. It has lost the very categories by which to express the Church and her life as that new reality which precisely overcomes and transcends all "individualism," transforms individuals into persons, and in which me are persons only because and inasmuch as they are united to God, and, in Him, to one another and to the whole of life.”” [Alexander Schmemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-schmemann/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Modern theology often reduces the Church to a collection of individual benefits, losing its communal, relational essence. **In simple terms:** The Church is seen as personal benefits, not a shared life. Key Takeaway Remember the Church's communal purpose. Themes theology community individualism personhood Mood reflective hopeful Type theological explanatory When to use this quote - parish life - ecumenical dialogue - spiritual formation - pastoral counseling Key Concepts Ecclesiology anthropology sacramentality Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance personal faith with communal identity? - What practices foster true unity? A Different Perspective May overlook personal spiritual needs within communal worship. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Individualism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individualism/) [Individualistic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individualistic/) [Orthodoxy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/orthodoxy/) [Sacraments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sacraments/) [Theology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theology/) ## Related quotes > [“A marriage which does not constantly crucify its own selfishness and self-sufficiency, which does not ‘die to itself’ that it may point beyond itself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-schmemann/a-marriage-which-does-not-constantly-crucify-its-own-selfishness-and/) [Alexander Schmemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-schmemann/) > [“Thus the whole death is not the biological phenomenon of death but the spiritual reality whose "sting... is sin" (1 Cor. 15:56) - the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-schmemann/thus-the-whole-death-is-not-the-biological-phenomenon-of-death-but/) [Alexander Schmemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-schmemann/) > [I was always interested in science, truth, goodness and fairness. 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