Mr. Richard Schneider (1938–2022) fell asleep in the Lord in the evening of November 11. Professor Schneider enjoyed a long teaching career, including two decades spent at Saint Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary as Professor of Hermeneutics and Liturgical Art. He was initially invited in 1995 by Father Thomas Hopko to lecture on iconology, and, beginning a few years after that, returned every spring semester until 2019 to teach a variety of subjects including iconology, hermeneutics, church history, and writing. His courses were perennially popular, and he opened up the eyes of many Christians to begin to read the iconography, architecture, liturgy, and tradition of the church for themselves.
During his time at Saint Vladimir’s he was a vital member of the community. He lived in the dorm, ate meals with students, led trips to museums and concerts in Manhattan, and always engaged seminarians in thoughtful and provocative conversations. He was notable in his dedication to students, and could be found at almost all hours either grading assignments or meeting with students to discuss writing. He was beloved by generations of seminarians, advised dozens of theses, and encouraged many students to pursue doctoral studies.
Professor Schneider lived a rich life. He was born into a Jewish family in St. Louis, converted to Roman Catholicism as a young man, and eventually joined the Orthodox Church. He completed his undergraduate studies at Dartmouth College in 1959, and did graduate work in musicology at Princeton University (MFA 1961) and in art history at Columbia University (MPhil 1963).
In his academic career, he was primarily a professor of history and church history at York University in Toronto, having taught at other universities before York. He also established the Programme in Orthodox Theology at Trinity College, University of Toronto, where he taught until spring 2022. He represented the Archdiocese of Canada on the Metropolitan Council of the Orthodox Church in America, and served on the Canadian Council of Churches for decades, representing the OCA. He was devoted to the cause of Christian unity, and served as president—the first Orthodox president in its history—of the Canadian Council of Churches from 2003 to 2006. Above all, Richard Schneider was a man of deep, personal faith, who embodied and represented for many the gentleness, forgiveness, and love that he and they experience in Christ.
He is survived by his wife, Lisa, and 7 children.
All services for Prof. Richard Schneider will be held at Saint Elias the Prophet Ukrainian Greco-Catholic Church and cemetery (10193 Heritage Road / Brampton, ON L7A 0A1). All who wish to say goodbye and pay their respects are welcome.
The schedule of services for Richard is as follows:
Memorial Service (Panikhida)
Thursday, November 17, 7:00 PM EST
Visitation following the memorial service with reading of the Psalter until 9 pm EST
Funeral and Burial
Friday, November 18, 11:00 AM EST
Please note that several members of Richard’s family are severely immuno-suppressed. COVID-19 social distancing and masking rules will be followed. If you have been exposed to COVID-19 or seasonal viruses in the past 7 days, or if you have symptoms of COVID-19 or seasonal viruses, we ask you to refrain from attending.
In lieu of flowers, Richard’s family have expressed that donations to Holy Myrrhbearers Orthodox Mission, Saint Mary of Egypt Refuge, or Saint John the Compassionate Mission would be greatly appreciated.
May Richard’s memory be eternal!