The work of Olivier Clément and Greek Orthodoxy

This article examines the reception of the work of French theologian Olivier Clément in Greece, from the 1960s until his death in 2009. Drawing on historical and documentary research, it traces the channels through which his thought penetrated Greek theological circles, identifying Dimitris Koutroubis as a central figure and decisive intellectual mediator and translator. The author shows that the dissemination of Clément's writings — through the journal Synoro, collective works, and individual translations — contributed to the emergence of what is known as the "theology of the sixties" in Greece, a renewal movement associated with figures such as Yannaras, Nellas, and Gondikakis. The article makes a twofold contribution: it documents a long-overlooked transnational theological influence and reveals the internal tensions within Greek Orthodoxy between ecumenical openness and identitarian withdrawal — tensions that Clément's work itself helped to crystallize.