Notes on the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete (continued and conclusion)

This article constitutes the conclusion of Olivier Clément's notes on the Great Canon of Saint Andrew of Crete, a Byzantine penitential hymn of the seventh century sung during the Orthodox Great Lent. Proceeding through theological and spiritual meditation, the author analyzes the final chapters of the Canon by following the ascending movement that leads from penitence to transfigured life. The central idea is that the "descent" of Christ into death and hell corresponds symmetrically to the "ascent" of man toward God, made possible by the divine energies acting upon human energies. The article successively examines confidence and humility, ascesis — notably fasting in its bodily, spiritual, and social dimensions —, the gift of tears, the virtues, contemplation, and the transfiguration of the cosmos. Its theological contribution lies in the articulation between patristic anthropology, soteriology, and eschatology, illuminated by a typological reading of the biblical and evangelical figures summoned by Andrew of Crete.