John Meyendorff

John Meyendorff (February 17, 1926 – July 22, 1992) was a modern Orthodox scholar, writer and teacher. He was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France into the Russian nobility as Ivan Feofilovich Baron von Meyendorff (Иван Феофилович барон фон Мейендорф; known as Jean Meyendorff during his life in France), and he died in Montreal, Canada.

Fr John Meyendorff retired as Dean of St Vladimir's Seminary on June 30, 1992. On July 22, 1992, he died from pancreatic cancer.

His son, Paul Meyendorff (born 1950), is currently Professor of Liturgical Theology at St. Vladimir's Seminary.

Education

Meyendorff completed his secondary education in France and his theological education at the Orthodox Theological Institute in Paris in 1949. In 1948, he also received a licence-ès-lettres at the Sorbonne, and later earned a Diplôme d'études supérieures (1949), a Diplôme de l'école pratique des Hautes Etudes (1954), and a Doctorate in literature (1958).

Professional and academic life

In France, he was an Assistant Professor of Church History at the Orthodox Theological Institute, and a Fellow at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique.

Having been ordained to the priesthood in the Orthodox Church, he became Professor of Church History and Patristics at Saint Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary (1959), holding also successive joint appointments as 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 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.

Publications and courses

Fr 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 AD (1989). His books have been published in a number of languages, including French, German, Italian, Russian, Greek, English, Finnish, Spanish, Dutch, Japanese, Serbian, Romanian and Polish.

Study of Gregory Palamas

Meyendorff's doctoral dissertation on Palamas is considered to have transformed the opinion of the Western Church regarding Palamism. Before his study of Palamas, Palamism 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."

Affiliations

A member of several professional associations, Fr 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, having been Chairman of the Commission on Faith and Order (1967–76) and a member of the Central Committee. Committed particularly to inter-Orthodox unity and cooperation, he was one of the founders and the first general secretary of Syndesmos (World Fellowship of Orthodox Youth Organizations), and served later as its president.

Awards

Fr Meyendorff held honorary doctorates from the University of Notre Dame and General Theological Seminary, and was a Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy.

He 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 His Holiness Aleksy II, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia.

International Conference honoring Legacy of John Meyendorff

From 9-11 February 2012, St. Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute in Paris will hold an International Conference to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the falling asleep in the Lord of Protopresbyter John Meyendorff. For a complete description of the international conference, including the detailed program and registration form, visit the Conference blog and the Website of St. Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute.

See also

• Hesychasm
• Essence-Energies distinction
• Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite
• Neoplatonism
• Apotheosis
• Theophany
• Michael Pomazansky
• John S. Romanides
• Vladimir Lossky

• sobornost
• Philokalia
• Phronema
• Uniatism
• Olivier Clement
• Archimandrite Sophrony
• Symeon the New Theologian
• Dumitru Stăniloae
• Hilarion Alfeyev

Resource

• Orthodoxwiki Article on Father Meyendorff as source

Bibliography

• Unité de l'Empire et divisions des chrétiens, Paris: Éditions du Cerf, 1992; tr. of Imperial Unity and Christian Divisions.
• The Primacy of Peter: Essays in Ecclesiology and the Early Church, rev. ed. Crestwood, NY: SVS Press, 1992.
• 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.
• Chrystus Zwyciezyl: Wokol Chryta Rusi Kijowsidej. Warsaw: Verbinum, 1989.
• Imperial Unity and Christian Divisions: The Church 450–680 AD. Crestwood, NY: SVS Press, 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.
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