Alexander Schmemann, The basic defect of modern Orthodox theology

I know that too many “power-structures” have a vested interest in not allowing any question, any search, any encounter with Truth. The forces of inertia, pseudo-conservatism, and plain cynicism are formidable. But the same was true of the time of St. Athanasius the Great, St. John Chrysostom and St. Maximus the Confessor.

As for the issues we face today, they are not lesser than those they had to deal with. And it depends on us to choose between the pleasant prestige attached to mere academic scholarship and the responses to the Will of God.

From Al. Schmemann, The Task of Orthodox Theology in America Today, St Vladimir’s Seminary Quarterly, 1966, Vol. 10, No. 4, pp. 180-188, excerpts selected by Ellopos.