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I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed such a widespread public backlash for a seminary lecture as the one the @SVOTS is receiving for inviting Rod Dreher to offer the Schmemann lecture (which is the seminary’s premier annual event). Here’s a summary of what seems to be going on:
Let me be clear. I think it is good for academic institutions (seminaries included) to invite speakers who represent diverse demographics and whose ideas challenge and provoke students and faculty to think in new ways or to ask new questions.
For those who are not following this and might be surprised that there would be so much criticism (including from some former Schmemann lecturers), I’ve observed three different kinds of criticisms for this decision.
(1) Unlike past lecturers, Dreher is neither an Orthodox cleric nor an academic. He publicly claims to have no training in theology or Christian history. Given the lack of credentials, people are asking why a political commentator would be invited to give the Schmemann lecture?
(2) Several critics have noted that Dreher’s writing reflects an anti-Schmemann ideology, turning this year’s lecture into a critique of not only Fr. Schmemann but the entire legacy of what he, and Frs. Meyendorff, Hopko, etc. built at @stvlads.
On this point, I’ll observe that it is true that Fr. Schmemann was critical of secularism. But he never disavowed the inherent goodness of the world, nor did he advocate withdrawing from public engagement with those with whom Christians disagree.
Indeed, Fr. Schmemann affirmed the complete sacramentality of the world, which is the antithesis of Dreher’s point of view.
(3) Given #1 and #2, many critics are suggesting that this invitation has nothing to do with promoting Schmemann’s legacy or advancing Orthodox education.
Rather, they see it as a political statement, one that represents a steep decline in the once-high standards for a seminary with a genuine intellectual legacy.
