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John Meyendorff (February 17, 1926 - July 22,
1992) was a modern Orthodox
scholar, writer, and teacher. He was born into the Russian
nobility as Ivan Feofilovich Baron von
Meyendorff (Иван Феофилович барон фон Мейендорф),
but was known as Jean Meyendorff during his life in
France.
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 (b. 1950), is currently Fr. Alexander
Schmemann Professor of Liturgical Theology at St. Vladimir's
Seminary.
Education
Born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, 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 / 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, and
Polish.
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
(1967-1976) 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.
See also
Resource
Bibliography
- Unité de l'Empire et divisions des chrétiens, Paris:
Editions 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.
- Christian Spirituality: High Middle Ages and
Reformation, ed., with J. Raitt and B. McGinn. New York:
Crossroad, 1987.
- Vision of Unity. Crestwood, NY: SVS Press, 1987.
- Witness to the World. Crestwood, NY: SVS Press,
1987.
- Le Mariage dans la Perspective Orthodoxe. Paris: YMCA
Press, 1986; tr. of Marriage, an Orthodox
Perspective.
- "Christian Spirituality: Origins to the Twelfth Century," ed.,
with Bernard McGinn, World Spirituality, v. 16. New York:
Crossroad, 1985.
- Vvedenie v sviatootecheskoe bogoslovie: konspekty
lektsii. New York: Religious Books for Russia, 1985. 2nd
ed.
- Vizantijsko Bogoslovje, Kragujevac, 1985; tr. of
Byzantine Theology: Historical Trends and Doctrinal
Themes.
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Crestwood, NY: SVS Press, 1984.
- La Teologia Bizantina: Sviluppi storid e temi
dottrinali. Casale Monfeirate: Casa Editrice Marietti, 1984;
tr. of Byzantine Theology: Historical Trends and Doctrinal
Themes.
- Byzantine Theology: Historical Trends and Doctrinal
Themes. New York: Fordham, 1983. 2nd ed., 2nd printing with
revisions.
- Catholicity and the Church. Crestwood, NY: SVS Press,
1983.
- 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 ipravoslavna mistika. Beograd,
1983; tr. of St Grégoire Palamas et la mystique
orthodoxe.
- Ho Christos soterias semena Homilia-sychetese? Athens:
Synaxe, 1985.
- Teologla bizantyjska. historia i doktiyna. Warsaw:
Instytut Wydawn. Pax., 1984; tr. of Byzantine Theology:
Historical Trends and Doctrinal Themes.
- The Triads: Gregory Palamas, ed., with introduction.
New York: Paulist Press, 1983.
- Catholicity and the Church, 1983.
- The Byzantine Legacy in the Orthodox Church.
Crestwood, NY: SVS Press, 1982.
- Vvedenie v sviatootecheshoe bogoslovie: konspekfy
lektsu. New York: Religious Books for Russia, 1982.
- Byzantium and the Rise of Russia: A Study of
Byzantino-Russian Relations in the Fourteenth Century.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1981.
- The Orthodox Church. Crestwood, NY: SVS Press, 1981;
3rd rev. ed.
- The Byzantine Legacy in the Orthodox Church,
1981.
- Pravoslavie v sovremennom mire, added title page:
"Orthodoxy in the Contemporary World." New York: Chalidze
Publications, 1981.
- Byzantium and the Rise of Russia. A Study of
Byzantino-Russian Relations in the Fourteenth Century.
Crestwood, NY: SVS Press, 1989; reprint of Cambridge ed. of
1980.
- Byzantine Theology: Historical Trends and Doctrinal
Themes. New York: Fordham University Press, 1979; 2nd ed.
- Living Tradition. Crestwood, NY: St Vladimir's
Seminary Press, 1978.
- The Sacrament of Holy Matrimony. New York: Dept. of
Religious Education, Orthodox Church in America, 1978; reprint of
1975 ed.
- Trinitarian Theology East and West: St Thomas Aquinas-St
Gregory Palamas, with Michael Fahey. Brookline, MA: Holy Cross
Orthodox Press, 1977.
- S. Gregorio Palamas e la mistica ortodossa. Torino:
Piero Gribaudi Editore, 1976; tr. of St Grégoire Palamas et la
mystique orthodoxe.
- St Grégoire Palamas et la mystique orthodoxe. Paris:
Editions du Seuil, 1976.
- Byzantine Theology: Historical Trends and Doctrinal
Themes. London: Mowbrays, 1975.
- Christ in Eastern Christian Thought. Crestwood, NY:
SVS Press, 1975; tr. of Le Christ dans la theologie
Byzantine.
- Initiation a la theologie Byzantine: Htistoire et la
doctrine. Paris: Cerf, 1975; tr. of Byzantine Theology:
Historical Trends and Doctrinal Themes.
- Marriage, an Orthodox Perspective. Crestwood, NY: SVS
Press, 1975; 2nd expanded ed.
- Byzantine Hesychasm: Historical, Theological and Social
Problems: Collected Studies. London: Variorum Reprints,
1974.
- Byzantine Theology: Historical Trends and Doctrinal
Themes. New York: Fordham University Press/London: Mowbrays,
1974.
- Cristologia Ortodossa. Roma: An. Veritas Editrice,
1974; tr. of Christ in Eastern Christian Thought
- St Gregory Palamas and Orthodox Spirituality.
Crestwood, NY: SVS Press & Bedfordshire: Faith Press,
1974.
- A Study of Gregory Palamas, 2nd ed. Bedfordshire:
Faith Press & Crestwood, NY: SVS Press, 1974.
- Defense des saints hesychastes, 2nd ed. Louvain:
Spicilegium sacrum lovaniense, 1973. 2 v.
- The New Man: An Orthodox and Reformed Dialogue, ed.,
with Joseph McLelland. New Brunswick: Agora Books, 1973.
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Bedfordshire: Faith Press, 1973; tr. of La primauté de Pierre
dans l'Eglise Orthodoxe
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Press, 1970.
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oeumenique, 2. Serie orthodoxe. Paris: Editions du Cerf,
1969.
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Corpus Books, 1969; tr. of Le Christ dans la theologie
Byzantine.
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Brouwer, 1969; tr. of: L'Eglise Orthodoxe: hier et
aujourd'hui.
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of St Grégoire Palamas et la mystique orthodoxe.
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Originally published: New York: Paulist Press, 1966.
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1966; tr. of Orthodoxie et Catholicité.
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1965.
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Darton-Longman, 1964.
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Zonan Vitgevers, 1964; tr. of L'Eglise Orthodoxe, hier et
aujourd'hui.
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tr. of Introduction a l'etude de Grégoire Palamas.
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Muller Verlag, 1963; tr. of L'Eglise Orthodoxe, hier et
aujourd'hui.
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London: Faith Press, 1963; tr. of La primauté de Pierre dans
l'Eglise Orthodoxe.
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Morcelliana, 1962; tr. of L'Eglise Orthodoxe, hier et
aujourd'hui.
- The Orthodox Church: its Past and its Role in the World
Today. London: Darton, Longman & Todd/New York: Pantheon
Books, 1962; tr. of L'Eglise Orthodoxe: hier et
aujourd'hui.
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and P. Christou. Thessaloniki: Endidetai syndromi tou basilieou
Idrimatos, 1962.
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N. Afanassief, et al. Zurich: EVZ-Verlag, 1961; tr. of La
primaute de Pierre dans l'Eglise Orthodoxe.
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Editions du Seuil, 1960.
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Muller, 1960; tr. of L'Eglise Orthodoxe: hier et
aujourd'hui.
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Introduction, text critique, traduction, et notes." Louvain:
"Spicilegium sacrum lovaniense," 1959; administration, ed. and tr.,
v. l, 383, v. 2, 383-767.
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Sorbonensia, v. 3. Paris: Editions du Seuil, 1959.
- "St Grégoire Palamas et la mystique orthodoxe," Maitres
spirituels, n. 20. Paris: Editions du Seuil, 1959.
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