Origen

{ohr'-i-jin}

Origen, c.185-c.254, is generally considered the greatest theologian and biblical scholar of the early Eastern church. He was probably born in Egypt, perhaps in Alexandria, to a Christian family. His father died in the persecution of 202, and he himself narrowly escaped the same fate. At the age of 18, Origen was appointed to succeed Clement of Alexandria as head of the catechetical school of Alexandria, where he had been a student.

Between 203 and 231, Origen attracted large numbers of students through his manner of life as much as through his teaching. According to Eusebius, he took the command in Matt. 19:12 to mean that he should castrate himself. During this period Origen traveled widely and while in Palestine (c.215) was invited to preach by local bishops even though he was not ordained. Demetrius, bishop of Alexandria, regarded this activity as a breach of custom and discipline and ordered him to return to Alexandria. The period following, from 218 to 230, was one of Origen's most productive as a writer.

In 230 he returned to Palestine, where he was ordained priest by the bishops of Jerusalem and Caesarea. Demetrius then excommunicated Origen, deprived him of his priesthood, and sent him into exile. Origen returned to the security of Caesarea (231), and there established a school of theology, over which he presided for 20 years. Among his students was Saint Gregory Thaumaturgus, whose Panegyric to Origen is an important source for the period. Persecution was renewed in 250, and Origen was severely tortured. He died of the effects a few years later.

Although most of his writings have disappeared, Origen's literary productivity was enormous. The Hexapla was the first attempt to establish a critical text of the Old Testament; the commentaries on Matthew and John establish him as the first major biblical scholar of the Christian church; the De Principiis (or Peri Archon) is a dogmatic treatise on God and the world; and the Contra Celsum is a refutation of paganism.

Origen attempted to synthesize Christian scriptural interpretation and belief with Greek philosophy, especially Neoplatonism and Stoicism. His theology was an expression of Alexandrian reflection on the Trinity, and, prior to Saint Augustine, he was the most influential theologian of the church. Some of Origen's ideas remained a source of controversy long after his death, and "Origenism" was condemned at the fifth ecumenical council in 553 (Council of Constantinople). Origen is one of the best examples of early Christian mysticism: the highest good is to become as like God as possible through progressive illumination. Despite their sometimes controversial character, his writings helped to create a Christian theology that blended biblical and philosophical categories.

Ross Mackenzie

Bibliography
Bigg, Charles, The Christian Platonists of Alexandria (1886; repr. 1970); Burghardt, W. J., et al., eds., Origen, Prayer, Exhortation to Martyrdom (1954); Caspary, G. E., Politics and Exegesis: Origen and the Two Swords (1979); Chadwick, Henry, Early Christian Thought and the Classical Tradition: Studies in Justin, Clement and Origen (1966); Danielou, Jean, Origen, trans. by Walter Mitchell (1955); Drewery, B., Origen and the Doctrine of Grace (1960); Hanson, R. P. C., Origen's Doctrine of Tradition (1954); Kannengiesser, C., ed., Origen of Alexandria (1988).