The "Magnificat" virus

This article by Olivier Clément offers a theological and cultural study of liberation theologies, examined from an Orthodox perspective. Taking the *Magnificat* as its starting point, as a biblical expression of the preferential option for the poor, the author analyzes the diversity of these currents in Latin America, their ambiguous relationship with Marxism, and their rootedness in the patristic tradition. He shows that the Church Fathers — Chrysostom, Basil, Gregory of Nyssa — developed a social thought grounded in the sacramentality of the poor and the universal destination of goods. The article establishes significant convergences with Russian religious philosophy (Berdyaev, Bulgakov), the Orthodox Youth Movement of Antioch, and the Greek neo-orthodox renewal, suggesting that Trinitarian theology and the notion of divine humanity offer a properly Christian foundation for all integral liberation.