The renewal of the church

This article by Olivier Clément offers a systematic theological study of ecclesial renewal drawing on the Orthodox tradition. Building on Orthodox ecclesiology in its complexity — deemed more balanced than the polarizations characteristic of Western Christianity — the author structures his reflection around three axes: the structures of the Church, the transmission of faith, and mission in the world. He shows that authentic renewal proceeds from a return to holiness, understood as the ontological actualization of grace, rather than from institutional reform. The principal theological contribution lies in the highlighting of the Trinitarian and pneumatological structure of the Church — notably through the notions of sobornost, epiclesis, and reception — as a corrective to Christomonist or spiritualist tendencies. The article thus offers an original ecumenical contribution, capable of shedding light on interconfessional debates on primacy, Tradition, and the relationship of the Church to the contemporary world.