Origen

Origen was a Christian scholar and theologian and one of the most distinguished of the Fathers of the early Christian Church. He was born about 182 , probably at Alexandria , and died at Caesarea not later than 251 . His writings are important as the first serious intellectual attempt to describe Christianity.

Origen ( Greek : Ōrigénēs , or Origen Adamantius , c. 185 –254 ) was an early Christian scholar and theologian , and one of the most distinguished writers of the early Christian Church despite not being considered a Church father by some. According to tradition, he is held to have been an Egyptian who taught in Alexandria , reviving the Catechetical School of Alexandria where Clement of Alexandria had taught. The patriarch of Alexandria at first supported Origen but later expelled him for being ordained without the patriarch's permission. He relocated to Caesarea Maritima and died there after being tortured during a persecution. Using his knowledge of Hebrew, he produced Hexapla and corrected Septuagint . He wrote commentaries on most of the books of the Bible . In De principiis ( On First Principles ), he articulated one of the first philosophical expositions of Christian doctrine . He interpreted scripture allegorically and showed himself to be a Neo-Pythagorean , and Neo-Platonist . Like Plotinus , he wrote that the soul passes through successive stages of incarnation before eventually reaching God . He imagined even demons being reunited with God. His views of a hierarchical structure in the Trinity , the temporality of matter, "the fabulous preexistence of souls," and "the monstrous restoration which follows from it" were declared anathema in the 6th century. See Eusebius - Church History (Book VI) . Eusebius , Church History , VI.14, also Photius and St. A History of Roman Civilization and of Christianity from Their Beginnings to A.D. 325 (Story of Civilization, No 3) .

He was a prolific writer in multiple branches of theology, including textual criticism , biblical exegesis and hermeneutics , philosophical theology , preaching , and spirituality written in Greek. Unlike many church fathers, he was never canonized as a saint because some of his teachings directly contradicted the teachings attributed to the apostles, notably the Apostles Paul and John . His teachings on the pre-existence of souls , the final reconciliation of all creatures, including perhaps even the devil (the apokatastasis ), and the subordination of the Son of God to God the Father , were extremely controversial. The New Catholic Encyclopedia (Detroit: Gale, 2003). JSTOR 2708524 . : Invalid |ref=harv ( help ) reprinted in Patrides, C. Premises and motifs in Renaissance literature . JSTOR 2708524 . : Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= ( help ) ; Invalid |ref=harv ( help )

Christian scholar, ascetic, and theologian (c. 184 – c. 253) This article is about the third-century Christian scholar. Origen of Alexandria ( c. 185 – c. 253), also known as Origen Adamantius , was an early Christian scholar , ascetic , and theologian who was born and spent the first half of his career in Alexandria . He was a prolific writer who wrote roughly 2,000 treatises in multiple branches of theology, including textual criticism , biblical exegesis and hermeneutics , homiletics , and spirituality. He was one of the most influential and controversial figures in early Christian theology, apologetics , and asceticism. He has been described as "the greatest genius the early church ever produced". Origen sought martyrdom with his father at a young age but was prevented from turning himself in to the authorities by his mother. When he was eighteen years old, Origen became a catechist at the Catechetical School of Alexandria . He devoted himself to his studies and adopted an ascetic lifestyle. He came into conflict with Demetrius , the bishop of Alexandria, in 231 after he was ordained as a presbyter by his friend Theoclistus, the bishop of Caesarea , while on a journey to Athens through Palestine. Demetrius condemned Origen for insubordination and accused him of having castrated himself and of having taught that even Satan would eventually attain salvation, an accusation which Origen vehemently denied. Origen founded the Christian School of Caesarea, where he taught logic , cosmology , natural history , and theology, and became regarded by the churches of Palestine and Arabia as the ultimate authority on all matters of theology. He was tortured for his faith during the Decian persecution in 250 and died three to four years later from his injuries. Origen was able to produce a massive quantity of writings because of the patronage of his close friend Ambrose of Alexandria , who provided him with a team of secretaries to copy his works, making him one of the most prolific writers in all of antiquity. His treatise On the First Principles systematically laid out the principles of Christian theology and became the foundation for later theological writings. He also authored Contra Celsum , the most influential work of early Christian apologetics, in which he defended Christianity against the pagan philosopher Celsus , one of its foremost early critics . Origen produced the Hexapla , the first critical edition of the Hebrew Bible, which contained the original Hebrew text as well as four different Greek translations of it, and one Greek transliteration of the Hebrew, all written in columns, side by side. He wrote hundreds of homilies covering almost the entire Bible , interpreting many passages as allegorical . Origen taught that, before the creation of the material universe , God had created the souls of all the intelligent beings. These souls, at first fully devoted to God, fell away from him and were given physical bodies. Origen was the first to propose the ransom theory of atonement in its fully developed form, and he also significantly contributed to the development of the concept of the Trinity . Origen hoped that all people might eventually attain salvation , but was always careful to maintain that this was only speculation. He defended free will and advocated Christian pacifism . Origen is considered by some Christian groups to be a Church Father . He is widely regarded as one of the most influential Christian theologians. His teachings were especially influential in the east, with Athanasius of Alexandria and the three Cappadocian Fathers being among his most devoted followers. Argument over the orthodoxy of Origen's teachings spawned the First Origenist Crisis in the late fourth century, in which he was attacked by Epiphanius of Salamis and Jerome but defended by Tyrannius Rufinus and John of Jerusalem . In 543, Emperor Justinian I condemned him as a heretic and ordered all his writings to be burned. The Second Council of Constantinople in 553 may have anathematized Origen, or it may have only condemned certain heretical teachings which claimed to be derived from Origen. His teachings on the pre-existence of souls were rejected by the Church. The Birth of Purgatory . "Origen of Alexandria, who in his Homily on the Song of Songs explicitly refers to ‘Ignatius’ as ‘one of the saints’" Iliara LE Ramelli. The Role of Philosophical Asceticism from Ancient Judaism to Late Antiquity. 53 pp. E. 2008b. ‘Philosophical Allegoresis of Scripture in Philo and its Legacy in Origen and Gregory of Nyssa’. E. 2012b. ‘Philo as Origen’s Declared Model’. The New Catholic Encyclopedia (Detroit: Gale, 2003). A Greek–English Lexicon at the Perseus Project . Origen and his ascetic legacy, in: Asceticism in the Graeco-Roman World . Philo and the Church Fathers: A Collection of Papers . JSTOR 2708524 . reprinted in Patrides, C. Premises and motifs in Renaissance literature . JSTOR 2708524 . : |journal= ignored ( help ) There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or templates on this page, but the references will not show without a template or template (see the help page ).

Christian scholar, ascetic, and theologian (c. 185 – c. 253) This article is about the third-century Christian scholar. Origen of Alexandria ( c. 185 – c. 253 ), also known as Origen Adamantius , was an early Christian scholar , ascetic , and theologian who was born and spent the first half of his career in Alexandria . He was a prolific writer who wrote roughly 2,000 treatises in multiple branches of theology, including textual criticism , biblical exegesis and hermeneutics , homiletics , and spirituality. He was one of the most influential and controversial figures in early Christian theology, apologetics , and asceticism. He has been described by John Anthony McGuckin as "the greatest genius the early church ever produced". The Birth of Purgatory . The New Catholic Encyclopedia (Detroit: Gale, 2003). A Greek–English Lexicon at the Perseus Project . Origen and his ascetic legacy, in: Asceticism in the Graeco-Roman World . There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or templates on this page, but the references will not show without a template or template (see the help page ).