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Published by Zenit.org,
September 17, 2004
An Orthodox Theologian Who Bridges
East and West
2 Books Look at Author of 1998 Colosseum Via
Crucis
ROME, SEPT. 17,
2004 (Zenit.org).-
French lay Orthodox theologian Olivier Clément,
one of the standout promoters of East-West
dialogue among Christians, is the object of two
new books.
"Memories of Hope" ("Mémoires d’espérance"),
published by Desclée de Brouwer presents a series
of interviews with Jean-Claude Noyer in which
Clément proposes in a hopeful manner the encounter
with Christ and the spiritual experience.
Clément, who, like the John Paul II, says Europe
needs the "two lungs" of East and West to breathe,
is the author of more than 30 books. The Pope
asked him to write the texts for meditation for
the 1998 Good Friday Via Crucis held in Rome's
Colosseum.
Clément was born in France's Languedoc region, a
de-Christianized land of Cathar roots and
anti-Catholic prejudices. At age 20, he began a
spiritual journey that led him briefly to
Protestantism, which he considered too "dry," and
too remote from the wonder of a "young pagan"
before the splendor of nature and Mediterranean
culture.
His fascination with the East led him to discover
Russian author Vladimir Lossky. In the latter's
essay on the Eastern Church's mystical theology,
Clément discovered the mystery of the Trinity and
the Fathers of the Church.
According to Jean-Claude Noyer, Clément proposes
"an intelligent, profound and interiorly renewed
Christianity."
The interviewer speaks to the theologian about
topics such as love, mission, the Jesus Prayer,
and explains his vision of the "four witnesses of
the Gospel: Patriarch Athenagoras; Mother Marie
Skobtsov; Father Sophrony and John Paul II."
Patriarch Athenagoras of Constantinople, together
with Paul VI, had a key role in ecumenical
dialogue.
Noyer recounts his meetings with the theologian on
Friday afternoons in his Paris apartment, and
describes him as "a stroller between two shores, a
man of dialogue and unity."
The other book that has just came out is "Olivier
Clément: His Spiritual and Theological Journey"
("Olivier Clément, son Itinéraire Spirituel et
Théologique") published by Éditions Anne Sigier.
The work, by Franck Damour, highlights how
Clément's theology is "that of Christianity of the
Resurrection which opens us to the earth, to the
body and to beauty."
The book recounts Clément's life, and his journey
from atheism to a theology marked by the
Transfiguration.
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