Olivier-Maurice Clément (17 November 1921 – 15 January 2009) was a French

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

theologian who taught at

St. Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute The St. Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute ( French: ''Institut de théologie orthodoxe Saint-Serge'') in Paris, France, is a private university of higher education in Orthodox theology. Founded in 1925 by a group led by Metropolitan Eulogiu ...

Paris, France Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. He actively promoted the reunification of Christians (he was friends with

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

), dialogue between Christians and people of other beliefs, and the engagement of Christian thinkers with modern thought and society.

Biography

Olivier-Maurice Clement was born on 17 November 1921, into an agnostic family from the Cevennes. He became a follower of Jesus Christ at the age of thirty, after a long search in atheism and in Asian spiritualities. He had discovered, through reading the Christian philosophers Nicholas Berdyaev and

Vladimir Lossky Vladimir Nikolaievich Lossky (; 1903–1958) was a Russian Orthodox theologian exiled in Paris. He emphasized '' theosis'' as the main principle of Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Biography Vladimir Nikolaievich Lossky was born on 8 June ( OS 26 M ...

(of whom he would become a student and a friend), the thinking of the Fathers of the ancient, undivided Church, and he received baptism in the Orthodox Church, within the French-speaking diocese of the Moscow Patriarchate in Paris. He described his childhood, spiritual wanderings and conversion in his autobiography, ''L'Autre Soleil'' (The Other Sun) (ed. Stock 1986). As a history professor, he taught at the Louis-le-Grand lyceum in Paris for a long time. As a professor of the

(Institut Saint-Serge) he became one of the most highly regarded witnesses to

Orthodox Christianity Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

, as well as one of the most prolific. He was a founder of the Orthodox Fellowship in Western Europe, and was the author of thirty books on the life, thought and history of the Orthodox Church, and their meeting with other Christians, the non-Christian religions and modernity. He was responsible for the theological journal, ''Contacts'', and became a Doctor honoris causa at the Institute for theology in Bucharest and at the Catholic University in Louvain. Within the scope of his teaching activities, Olivier Clement was particularly engaged in the life and testimony of the Orthodox Church in France. He also inspired the work of the Orthodox Fellowship in Western Europe from its founding in the early 1960s and participated in Orthodox Christian conferences in western Europe from 1971, when every third year Orthodox Christians from the four corners the continent would meet to pray and reflect together. Among contemporary Orthodox theologians he was one who gave most attention to questions of modernity; which he sought to answer through a powerful and poetic reflection, rooted in the tradition of the Church as well as creative and renewing. He was an interlocutor with several great spiritual leaders of his time - Saint Sophrony of Maldon monastery in Britain, Patriarch Athenagoras,

, theologian Dumitru Staniloae, Brother Roger of Taizé,

Andrea Riccardi Andrea Riccardi (born 16 January 1950) is an Italian historian, professor, politician and activist, founder of the Community of Sant'Egidio. He served as minister for international cooperation without portfolio in the Monti Cabinet. Life In 1 ...

, founder of the Sant'Egidio community - with all of whom he formed a relationship of trust and friendship. Clément was also an advocate of the

meta-historical fall The meta-historical fall (also called a metaphysical, supramundane, atemporal, or pre-cosmic fall) is an understanding of the biblical fall of man as a reality outside of empirical history that affects the entire history of the universe. This un ...

and wrote that "holy fathers, delving into the biblical texts, showed that the Fall represented a cosmic catastrophe, an eclipse of the paradisiacal mode of being and emergence of a new mode of existence in the whole universe". He died on 15 January 2009.

Bibliography

* ''Transfigurer le Temps'' (Delachaux & Niestlé, Paris, 1959) with a 2019 English translation by Jeremy N. Ingpen entitled ''Transfiguring Time: Understanding Time in the Light of the Orthodox Tradition'' (New City Press, 2019) * ''Roots of Christian Mysticism: Texts from Patristic Era with Commentary'' (with

Jean-Claude Barreau Jean-Claude Barreau (10 May 1933 – 5 March 2025) was a French essayist and writer. Life and career Born in Paris on 10 May 1933, Barreau had half-Jewish lineage. While his maternal grandparents were Ashkenazi Jews, he was raised by his patern ...

) (1995) * ''You Are Peter: An Orthodox Reflection on the Exercise of Papal Primacy'' (2003. New City Press) * ''Taize: A Meaning to Life'' (Paperback) (1997. GIA publications) * ''Three Prayers: The Lord's Prayer, O Heavenly King, the Prayer of Saint'' (2000. St. Vladimir's Seminary Press) * ''On Human Being: A Spiritual Anthropology (Theology and Faith)'' (2000. New City Press) * ''Dialogues Avec Le Patriarche Athenagoras'' (1969. Fayard) ASIN: B0010ED7ZA * ''Le Chemin de Croix à Rome'' (O.clement) (Paperback) (1998. Desclée de Brouwer) * ''The Church of Orthodoxy (Religions of Humanity)'' (2002. Chelsea House Publications) * ''Conversations With Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I'' (1997. St. Vladimir's Seminary Press) * '' Berdiaev, un philosophe russe en France'' (Collection DDB) (1991. Desclee de Brouwer) * ''The Spirit of Solzhenitsyn'' (1976. Barnes & Noble Books)

References

Online works

Noesis The Glory of God Hidden in His Creatures

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clement, Olivier 1921 births 2009 deaths Eastern Orthodox theologians Eastern Orthodox Christians from France Converts to Eastern Orthodoxy from atheism or agnosticism People in Christian ecumenism