The spiritual crisis of the West and orthodoxy

This article brings together the reflections of Father Cyrille Argenti (1918-1994), a Greek Orthodox priest active in France, on the spiritual situation of the contemporary West and the role that the Orthodox Church is called to play within it. In the form of a pastoral and theological analysis, the text examines the effects of secularization on Western ecclesial and cultural life. The central idea is that the spiritual crisis of the West calls Orthodoxy to manifest itself not as a tradition turned in upon itself, but as a living place of renewal of creation. The contribution of this text lies in the lucidity with which Argenti articulates cultural diagnosis and ecclesiological vision, offering concrete orientations for Orthodox presence in a secularized Western context. The enduring relevance of this analysis, a quarter of a century after it was written, testifies to its lasting theological significance.