Cyrille Argenti

This article by Cyrille Argenti offers a theological meditation on the nature and foundations of Orthodox Christian prayer. Starting from the human condition separated from its Creator, the author develops a reflection structured in several stages: the vital necessity of prayer as the restoration of the bond between the creature and its source, the singularity of Christian prayer founded on the Incarnation of the Word, the role of the Holy Spirit as the essential gift to ask of God, and the Trinitarian dimension inherent in all Orthodox prayer. The article also addresses the conditions of prayer — silence, ascesis, participation in the mystery of the Cross — as well as its articulation with sacramental life and communal prayer. The theological contribution lies in the presentation of prayer not as a punctual or ritual act, but as the natural state of man made in the image of God, progressively restored through the action of the Spirit.

This article presents a homily by Cyrille Argenti devoted to the Gospel account of the healing of the epileptic child according to Mark (Mk 9:17-29), whose title takes up the words of Christ addressed to the child's father. The approach is homiletical: the text constitutes a sermon developed from a New Testament pericope. The central idea concerns faith as the condition and dynamic of healing, as it manifests itself in the confrontation between the powerlessness of the disciples, the distress of the father, and the omnipotence of Christ. On the theological level, the homily explores the relationship between faith, prayer, and divine action, drawing on the Orthodox exegetical tradition. It thus offers a testimony to contemporary French-language Orthodox homiletical practice, articulating scriptural reading and catechetical transmission within the ecclesial community.

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.

This article by Archimandrite Cyrille Argenti addresses the theological notions of divine punishment, forgiveness and love of neighbour in the Orthodox Christian tradition. It takes the form of a pastoral meditation structured around several scriptural and patristic themes. The central idea is that divine punishment is not vengeance but paternal correction, and that true chastisement consists in not being corrected by God, that is to say, in being abandoned to one's sins. The author then develops the inseparable link between eucharistic communion and fraternal reconciliation, distinguishing the stages of forgiveness, prayer for one's enemy and effective love. The theological contribution lies in the articulation between the anthropology of sin, humility as a spiritual remedy and eucharistic ecclesiology, rooted in a Trinitarian reading of interpersonal relations within the Christian community.