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The Famous French Orthodox Theologian Olivier Clement passed away ( 17.01.2009 )

The well-known Orthodox theologian Olivier Clement who was born in the 1921 in France, died on January 15th, 2009. One of the biggest names of the Orthodox idea, passed away. A disciple of Vladimir Losky, this French theologian was in a fact one of the main figures in the so called Paris School, which experienced its bloom in frame of the Theologian Institute “Saint Sergei Radonesky” in Paris. The Institute became centre of the big spiritual and theologian renaissance, beginning in Russia at the end of the 19th century, and continuing on the West after the Bolshevism revolution in 1917 (the so called October Revolution). Olivier Clement was born in 1921, in an atheistic family. “I grew up in a non-Christian environment… I wasn’t baptised, neither religiously educated.” Even in his younger days he asked himself about the basic spiritual questions. He adored poetry. Besides Rilque (Rainer Maria) he read the Holy Bible, but for the persuaded atheist, the Gospel was unbearable pain sometime…

 

His meeting of the Orthodoxy happened through “The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church” by Vladimir Losky – the teaching about the man as an image of the Holy Trinity. Following the words of Christ Himself: “I’m the road, and the truth, and life!”, a real, full transformation happened once when he bought himself an icon of our Saviour, and stayed in front of Him praying. Face to face. “In one moment Christ Himself requested me, and I followed Him. I’ve abandoned all of my knowledge about the religion and devoted myself to Him.”

 

Together with Losky, he started to study the Holy Fathers in a detailed manner.

On the occasion of the death of Olivier Clement, the Assembly of Orthodox Bishops of France came out with an announcement, stating that “Clement has been characteristic with his good-loving approach to the mankind: He was in a real love with Divine Beauty, which he has been trying to discover and resolve in the world, such as in every human person, as well.”        

 

God Bless His Soul!  

  

Source: Дверибг.нет, La Croix