Fortunes and misfortunes of the "Orthodox Catholic Church of France"

This article traces the history of the "Orthodox Catholic Church of France," an institution that was established as an attempt to root Orthodoxy within the Western cultural context. Through a historical study, Alexis Van Bunnen examines the main stages of the founding, development, and difficulties encountered by this Church. The central idea is that the construction of a local Orthodox Church in France involved specific ecclesiological and liturgical choices, aimed at articulating the Orthodox tradition with the particularities of Latin and French culture. The contribution of the article lies in shedding light on the tensions inherent in any project of Orthodox inculturation in the West, between fidelity to Byzantine sources and adaptation to the realities of an ecclesial and cultural context profoundly different from that of the traditional Eastern Orthodox Churches.