After his
ordination to the priesthood in the Orthodox Church in 1959, Meyendorff and his family moved to the United States. There he joined the faculty of Saint Vladimir's Seminary, first located in
New York City then in
Crestwood, Yonkers,
New York, as a professor of Church history and
patristics. Additionally, he held successive joint appointments as a
lecturer in
Byzantine theology at
Harvard University,
Dumbarton Oaks (to which he returned for a semester as acting director of studies in 1977), and as professor of Byzantine history at
Fordham University (from 1967). He also was
adjunct professor at
Columbia University and
Union Theological Seminary, both in
New York City, and lectured widely on university campuses and at church events. He held the position of dean of St. Vladimir's Seminary from March 1984 until June 1992.
Meyendorff was a major voice in the Orthodox community and worked for the reunion of the three splinter groups into which the Russian Orthodox Church broke up after the
Russian Revolution. He was instrumental in the establishment of the
Orthodox Church in America as an independent entity in 1970, and urged the various Orthodox Churches in the United States, which were ethnically based, to grow closer together in their shared faith. He frequently represented the Orthodox tradition in
ecumenical gatherings, such as the
Uppsala Assembly held in 1968 by the
World Council of Churches, during his tenure as chairman of its Commission on Faith and Order (1967-1975).[1]
Death and legacy
While on vacation at the family's summer home in
Quebec following his resignation, Meyendorff took ill and was taken to
St. Mary's Hospital in Montreal. He died there on 22 July as the result of pancreatic cancer.[2]
His son,
Paul Meyendorff (born 1950), also taught at St. Vladimir's Seminary holding the position of Professor of Liturgical Theology.
In memory of John Meyendorff, the
Fordham University instituted the Father John Meyendorff & Patterson Family Chair of Orthodox Christian Studies,[3] thanks to a contribution given by the philanthropers Solon and Marianna Patterson.[4]
Publications and courses
Meyendorff's publications include the critical text and translation of Byzantine theologian
Gregory Palamas (1959), as well as a number of books in the fields of theology and history, such as A Study of Gregory Palamas (French ed., 1959; Engl. 1964); The Orthodox Church (1963); Orthodoxy and Catholicity (1966); Christ in Eastern Christian Thought (1969); Byzantine Theology (1973); Marriage, an Orthodox Perspective (1975); Living Tradition (1978); Byzantium and the Rise of Russia (1980); The Byzantine Legacy in the Orthodox Church (1981); Catholicity and the Church (1983); and Imperial unity and Christian divisions. The Church 450–680 A.D. (1989); Rome, Constantinople, Moscow: Historical and Theological Studies (1996). His books have been published in a number of languages, including French, German, Italian, Russian, Greek, English, Finnish, Spanish, Dutch, Korean, Japanese, Serbian, Romanian, Polish, Hungarian and Chinese.
Study of Gregory Palamas
Meyendorff's doctoral dissertation on Palamas is considered to have transformed the opinion of some in the
Western Church regarding
Palamism. Before his study of Palamas, Palamite theology was considered to be a "curious and sui generis example of medieval Byzantium's intellectual decline." Meyendorff's landmark study of Palamas however, "set Palamas firmly within the context of Greek patristic thought and spirituality" with the result that Palamism is now generally understood to be "a faithful witness to the long-standing
Eastern Christian emphasis on
deification (theosis) as the purpose of the divine economy in Christ."[1]
Affiliations
A member of several professional associations, Meyendorff served during different periods as President of the Orthodox Theological Society of America, President of the American Patristic Association, and a member of the executive committee, U.S. Committee for Byzantine Studies. He was a Fellow of the
National Endowment for the Humanities (1976–77), and a
Guggenheim Fellow (1981).
During his service at the seminary, he held the positions of librarian, director of studies, and was long-time editor of St Vladimir's Theological Quarterly. His service to the church included positions as chairman of the Department of External Affairs of the
Orthodox Church in America, as advisor to the Holy Synod, and as editor of the monthly newspaper The Orthodox Church.
As a representative of the Orthodox Church, he participated in the activities of the
World Council of Churches,[5][6] having been Chairman of the Commission on Faith and Order (1967–75) and a member of the Central Committee. Committed particularly to inter-Orthodox unity and cooperation, he was one of the founders[7] and the first general secretary of Syndesmos (World Fellowship of Orthodox Youth Organizations), and served later as its president.
Awards
Meyendorff held honorary doctorates from the
University of Notre Dame and General Theological Seminary, and was a Corresponding Fellow of the
British Academy.
Meyendorff was a Senior Fellow at Dumbarton Oaks. The Diploma of Honorary Member of the
Leningrad Theological Academy was bestowed upon Fr John in May 1990. In June 1991, Fr John was awarded the Order of St Vladimir, 2nd Class, by
Aleksy II, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia.
Legacy
From 9–11 February 2012, an International Conference "The Legacy of Fr John Meyendorff, Scholar and Churchman (1926-1992)" was held at the
St. Sergius Institute in Paris, to honour the 20th anniversary of the passing away of
Protopresbyter John Meyendorff.[a]
Vizantijsko Bogoslovlje, Kragujevac, 1985; tr. of Byzantine Theology: Historical Trends and Doctrinal Themes.
Teologla bizantyjska. historia i doktiyna. Warsaw: Instytut Wydawn. Pax., 1984; tr. of Byzantine Theology: Historical Trends and Doctrinal Themes.
La Teologia Bizantina: Sviluppi storid e temi dottrinali. Casale Monfeirate: Casa Editrice Marietti, 1984; tr. of Byzantine Theology: Historical Trends and Doctrinal Themes.
Initiation a la théologie Byzantine: L'histoire et la doctrine. Paris: Cerf, 1975; tr. of Byzantine Theology: Historical Trends and Doctrinal Themes.
The Legacy of St Vladimir, ed., with Fr. John Breck and Eleana Silk. Crestwood, NY: SVS Press, 1990.
Vizantiia i Moskovskaia Rus': ocherk po istorii tserkovnykh i kul'turnykh sviazei v XIV veke. Paris: YMCA Press, 1990; tr. of Byzantium and the Rise of Russia.
Christian Spirituality: Post-Reformation and Modern, ed., with L. Dupe, Don E. Saliers, ed. New York: Crossroad, 1989.
A Legacy of Excellence, ed., with Vladimir Borichevsky and William Schneirla. Crestwood, NY: SVS Press, 1988.
Vyzantio kai Rosia: Meleton Vizantino-Rosikon Scheseon kata to 14 Aiona. Athens: Ekdoseis Domos, 1988; tr. of Byzantium and the Rise of Russia: A Study of Byzantine-Russian Relations in the Fourteenth Century.
Christian Spirituality: High Middle Ages and Reformation, ed., with J. Raitt and B. McGinn. New York: Crossroad, 1987.
Gamos: mia Orthodoxe Prooptike. Athens: Ekdose Hieras Metropoleos Thevon kai Levadeias, 1983; tr. of Marriage: An Orthodox Perspective.
Ho Hapos Gregorios ho Palamas kai he Orthodoxe Mystike paradose. Athens: Ekdoseis "Akritas," 1983; tr. of St Grégoire Palamas et la mystique orthodoxe.
Sveti Grigorije Palama i pravoslavna mistika. Beograd, 1983; tr. of St Grégoire Palamas et la mystique orthodoxe.
Ho Christos soterias semena Homilia-sychetese? Athens: Synaxe, 1985.
The Triads: Gregory Palamas, ed., with introduction. New York: Paulist Press, 1983.
Vvedenie v sviatootecheshoe bogoslovie: konspekfy lektsu. New York: Religious Books for Russia, 1982.
Syggrammata, ed., with B. Bobrinsky, P. Papaeuaggelou, and P. Christou. Thessaloniki: Endidetai syndromi tou basilieou Idrimatos, 1962.
Der Primat des Petrus in der Orthodoxen Kirche, with N. Afanassief, et al. Zurich: EVZ-Verlag, 1961; tr. of La primauté de Pierre dans l'Église Orthodoxe.
L'Église Orthodoxe, hier et aujourd'hui. Paris: Éditions du Seuil, 1960.
Die Orthodox Kirche: gestern und heute. Salzburg: Muller, 1960; tr. of L'Église Orthodoxe : hier et aujourd'hui.
"Grégoire Palamas. Défense des saints hesychastes : Introduction, texte critique, traduction, et notes." Louvain: "Spicilegium sacrum lovaniense," 1959; administration, ed. and tr., v. l, 383, v. 2, 383–767.
"Introduction a l'étude de Grégoire Palamas," Patristica Sorbonensia, v. 3. Paris: Éditions du Seuil, 1959.
"St Grégoire Palamas et la mystique orthodoxe," Maitres spirituels, n. 20. Paris: Éditions du Seuil, 1959.