Claude Hiffler

This article by Claude Hiffler, drawn from the roundtable discussions of an Orthodox theology conference, addresses the question of human sexuality in its anthropological and spiritual complexity. Adopting a reflective and deliberately open approach, the author refuses fixed definitions in favor of observation and questioning. The central idea is that sexuality cannot be reduced to a biological function or a simple expression of desire, but constitutes an energy called to be humanized and transfigured in love. The article identifies four forms of the distortion of desire — biological reductionism, contempt for the body, false liberation, and psychological trauma — and examines them in the light of Scripture and Orthodox tradition. The theological contribution lies in the rehabilitation of chastity as the integrity of the person and in the articulation between eros, conjugal love, and spiritual life, under the sign of divine mercy.

This article reports on three presentations given during a round table and workshops organized as part of an Orthodox congress. The first contribution, by Nikita Struve, examines the tension between conservatism and reformism in the Church through a theological and historical approach. It argues that this duality is constitutive of ecclesial life and that the true danger lies not in the opposition itself, but in the absolutization of one or the other tendency, or in the recourse to binding authority. The second presentation, by Claude Hiffler, analyzes the relationship between the Orthodox Church and the contemporary world, marked by the predominance of technical knowledge to the detriment of spiritual knowledge. The third contribution, by Élie Korotkoff and André Lossky, deals with liturgical life, emphasizing the centrality of the Eucharist, the communal dimension of all celebration, and the place of services without a priest in the ecclesial tradition.

This article offers a medical and theological reflection on contraception, written by a practicing physician from an Orthodox perspective. The author immediately distinguishes between fertility and fertilization: the former pertains to a spiritual quality of love, the latter to biological determinism. From this distinction, he refuses any normative judgment on contraceptive methods as such, holding that evangelical morality cannot be reduced to a code of abstract principles. The central contribution of the article lies in the application of the Orthodox notion of economy, which requires treating each conjugal situation as a unique case. The author also rejects the argument of the "natural" often invoked against contraception, drawing on a biblical anthropology of human responsibility in Creation. Contraception must be neither rejected nor trivialized, but discerned within the dynamic of love and spiritual freedom.

This article by Dr. Claude Hiffler, a physician, offers a theological and medical reflection on illness from an Eastern Orthodox Christian perspective. Emerging from a study workshop, it is framed within the concept of the "sacrament of the brother," a notion that articulates the encounter with the suffering other as a locus of divine presence. The author develops an anthropology grounded in the Fall as the origin of illness, fear, and the fragmentation of human desire, in dialogue with modern medicine and the great spiritual traditions. He argues that contemporary medicine, by setting aside all transcendence, remains insufficient to grasp the human person in his totality. The main contribution of the article lies in the articulation between medical, patristic, and spiritual data, proposing an integral vision of healing in which love, attentive listening, and prayer constitute fully valid therapeutic pathways.

This article by Dr Claude Hiffler examines the relationship between medicine, illness and death from an Orthodox theological perspective. Drawing on both medical reflection and spiritual meditation, it confronts the limits of scientific medicine — silent on the meaning of events — with a Christian anthropology grounded in the fall, the denaturation of man and the rupture with God as the origin of evil and suffering. The author develops a preventive and therapeutic conception integrating asceticism, listening to the patient, rediscovering the body as a temple of the Spirit, and spiritual combat. He also addresses end-of-life ethical questions, including euthanasia. The contribution of the article lies in the articulation between contemporary medical data and patristic tradition, proposing a medicine of the person rooted in mercy and the theology of the image.