Biographies
Origen
By Barry Baldwin

Hardcopy Issue Date: September
Online Publication Date: Sep 1, 2004, 15:30

 “Origen’s story deserves to be told right from the cradle” —Eusebius. Born around 185 in (probably) Alexandria, the young man narrowly escaped sharing his father’s martyrdom in anti-Christian pogroms there. Peace restored, Bishop (later Saint) Demetrius chose the lay but outstandingly erudite Origen to replace the fugitive Clement as head of the Catechetical School. He combined this responsibility with intensified study of pagan philosophy under the Neo-Platonist Ammonius, whilst leading a personal life of such asceticism as to castrate himself through an over-literal interpretation of Matthew

19.12 (“There be eunuchs which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake”)—Augustine (Confessions 8.8) considered but rejected this expedient.

His growing fame amongst both Christians and pagans, plus fresh Alexandrian persecutions, led to far-flung missions, from Rome where he heard St Hippolytus, to Arabia and Palestine where he was invited to preach and ordained by the Bishop of Caesarea. An agitated Demetrius promptly recalled, dismissed, and unfrocked him. Origen returned c.230 to Caesarea where he preached, taught, and wrote for the next 20 years until the persecution under emperor Decius. Though he was not executed, his imprisonment and prolonged tortures hastened his death soon after release (c.251), entitling him to martyr status.

“Origen’s life and writings require a separate study,” asserted Eusebius, himself providing one along with Origen’s martyred follower Pamphilus. Cataloguing his works, Jerome (Letter 33) exclaims over “the sweat he expended on so many Scriptural commentaries.” Jerome, whose admiration changed to abusing him as snake and dog, says he wrote 2000 books, a fecundity helped by his dictating them to teams of girl stenographers.

Because of the instant and long-lasting (until anathematization by the Second Council of Constantinople, 553) Origenist Controversy, plus his forbidding prolixity, most of this vast output is lost or survives only in not always reliable Latin translations. Though Jerome had the original manuscript, his chief work of Biblical scholarship, the Hexapla (“Six-Fold”)—in which the Old Testament in Hebrew (which Origen learned for this purpose), the (Greek) Septuagint, and four other versions were arranged in parallel columns with critical editorial signs, 6000 pages long—is almost wholly lost.

Ancillary commentaries addressed almost every Biblical book (that on John is foremost), along with hundreds of homilies on particular passages. More accessible through their subject-matter and relative brevity are treatises on Prayer and Martyrdom. His admirers Basil and Gregory Nazianzus (who dubbed him “The Stone that sharpens us all,” a common patristic image of Christ Himself) sought to popularise him via an anthology entitled Philocalia (“Love of the Beautiful”).

One of two important uncharacteristic works was Against Celsus, a detailed rebuttal of this Epicurean’s TrueWord, the first intellectual anti-Christian pamphlet. The abuse heaped on him by Porphyry’s Against the Christians implies success, while a passage prefiguring iconoclastic sentiment upset iconodules*. The other was his speculative tetralogy On First Principles, which attracted shrill criticisms from St Methodius to Augustine (City of God 11.23, 21.17) to Photius for its notions of pre-existent souls, their transmigration and ultimate purification by God, his reversal of Clement’s Logos over Theos scheme, the material world, free will, alleged Subordinationism, and, finally, his insistence on Biblical allegory. Also notable is the Dialogue with Heracleides, unusual ancient stenographic minutes of a cut-and-thrust debate on the Father-Son relationship.

The real Origen is hard to pin down. He may often have been advancing hypotheses, or reporting the views of others. He and admirers claimed that enemies tampered with his texts to make them seem heretical.

“There are many Origens: philosopher, scholar, mystic, exegete, allegorist, saint... his influence on Christian thought exceeded by no one except Paul himself”—Robert J. Daly, S.J.

“Origen combined two quite disparate talents: a speculative theologian of unparalleled boldness and imagination and a Scriptural interpreter of dazzling technical expertise” —Timothy Barnes, Constantine & Eusebius (1981).

“I want to be a man of the Church, to be called by the name of Christ, to bear that name which is blessed on the earth” —Origen, Homily 16 on Luke.

*Iconodules are those who revere and venerate icons

FURTHER READING:

There are translations of surviving works by Robert Daly and Henry Chadwick.

Recent books include:

Elizabeth Clark’s The Origenist Controversy (1992) and Mark Edwards’ Origen Against Plato (2002).

The quadrennial Origen Conferences, held since 1973, generate much technical scholarship. ‘Googling’ provides 39.200 sites.

Text from the Breviary

From the exhortation to martyrdom by Origen, priest.

Those who share in Christ’s suffering will also rejoice in his consolation.

If passing from unbelief to faith means that we have passed from death to life, we should not be surprised to find that the world hates us. Any one who has not passed from death to life is incapable of loving those who have departed from death’s dark dwelling place to enter a dwelling made of living stones and filled with the light of life. Jesus laid down his life for us; so we too should lay down our lives, I will not say for him, but for ourselves and also, surely, for those who will be helped by the example of our martyrdom.

Now is the time for Christians to rejoice, since Scripture says that we should rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering trains us to endure with patience, patient endurance makes us pleasing to God, and being pleasing to God gives us ground for a hope that will not be disappointed. Only let the love of God be poured forth in our hearts through the Holy Spirit.

The more we share in the sufferings of Christ, the more we share, through him, in his consolation. We should be extremely eager to share in Christ’s sufferings and to let them be multiplied in us if we desire the superabundant consolation that will be given to those who mourn. This consolation will not perhaps be the same for all, for if it were, Scripture would not say: The more we share in the suffering of Christ, the more we share in his consolation. Sharing in his consolation will be proportionate to our sharing his suffering. We learn this from one who could say with all confidence: We know that as you share in his sufferings, so you will share in the consolation as well.

God says through the prophet: At an acceptable time I heard you; on the day of salvation I helped you. What time could be more acceptable than when, for our fidelity to God in Christ, we are made a public spectacle and led away under guard, not defeated but triumphant?

In Christ and with Christ the martyrs disarm the principalities and powers and share in his triumph over them, for their share in Christ’s sufferings makes them sharers also in the mighty deeds those sufferings accomplished. What could more appropriately be called the day of salvation than the day of such glorious departure from this world? But I entreat you not to give offence to anyone, so that our ministry may not be blamed. Be very patient and show in every way that you are servants of God. Say: And now, what do I wait for? Is it not the Lord?

Ephesians 6:12, 14, 13 ½