Anca Vasiliu

This article by Anca Vasiliu, drawn from a paper delivered in homage to Olivier Clément in 2011, offers a theological and philosophical meditation on the figure and thought of this French Orthodox theologian. The author argues that Olivier Clément deserves the title of "theologian" in the patristic sense of the term, not on account of the breadth of his erudition, but because his manner of being, thinking, and writing constitutes in itself a theophanic testimony. The article examines three structuring axes of his theology: a theology of love inherited from Byzantine Christianity, articulating Hellenic and Semitic traditions; a theology of the face and the icon as anthropological foundation; and a theology of the prayer of the heart as an act of unification of being. The contribution of the article lies in its illumination of the internal coherence of a contemporary Orthodox thought capable of responding to philosophical questions concerning the person, presence, and beauty.