On Origen: A biographical paper

Throughout the annals of history, there appears in each generation a man who is
completely ahead of his time. Such genius is usually extremely honoured or extremely reviled;
sometimes, both at the same time. The man who is not a product of his society but instead leads
the way for a society is often seen as out of touch with the world. In a world where Christians
were often maligned for being weak in intellect, Origen was the complete opposite. Here was a
man who conversed with rabbis and was as knowledgeable in the current philosophies of his
time as his other contemporaries. His critics, formidable as they were, could not deny such
acumen in a man.1 Within his works, there is a vision of Christianity that would influence and
guide future Christian thinkers and endure the tarnished reputation brought upon him by the
Church he so loved. No matter the intensity of persecution brought upon this man, his legacy still
endured. This is a clear testament to the faith he possessed and the influence of such a prodigious
man. Such is the case of the man named Origen.
In Book VI of Eusebius Church History, Eusebius tells his readers of the life of Origen.2
Origen was born in the year 185 A.D. 3 in Alexandria. His father, Leonides, was a Christian
martyr who was beheaded4 during the time of Septimius Severus.5 Young though Origen was at
this time, his passion for martyrdom was already ablaze in his young heart. He was willing to
suffer martyrdom like his father if not for his mother who stopped him by hiding all of his
clothes and forcing him to stay indoors. Even at a young age, Eusebius recounts of young
Origens love for the Scriptures and deep insights concerning it. It is said that he often stood
over the sleeping boy and kissed6 his breast in reverence, as if it enshrined a divine spirit,
counting himself blessed in his promising offspring7. After his fathers death, the imperial
forces took his property, leaving Origens mother and six younger brothers destitute. However,

through Gods grace, he gained a patroness who received him into her house. He later became a
teacher of philosophy and catechism8, an ordained priest9, a school founder, and died as a result
of the torture he endured for the faith.10 He was also a prolific writer whose major works include
Scholia11, the Hexapla, homilies, commentaries12, apologetic works13, doctrinal and practical
treatises14 and letters. 15
Apart from St. Paul, some would argue that it is not Augustine, nor Aquinas, but Origen,
who would be the theologian that had a great influence on Christianity. Certainly, in his
teachings, we find some themes that orthodox16 Christianity still hold true today. Origens
thought that the two forces that operate to drive the souls back toward God are the freedom each
soul possesses and the providence of God 17 is reminiscent of the argument for free will. In
other words, freedom is part of the definition of a rational being that makes choices.18 There is
also an assumption of
the unity of mind, will and spirit. Implied by this view of a human being is the notion of
freedom. A person can think and will; he can know and have fellowship with God.
Origens emphasis upon freedom and the responsibility carried with it is unmistakable.
But it is when we remember what his world was like that the true significance of this
emphasis emerges. He strenuously attacked determinists, whether they were philosophers
or Christian Gnostics. And his message of freedom was designed to proclaim hope in a
world where hope was almost buried beneath chaos. 19

Also, the notion that the body is the vehicle whereby God reveals Himself and through which
the soul moves toward God is something which most Christians posit in todays Christianity.
The mystery of Incarnation redeems the flesh from improper views about it that are best
exemplified and rampant in most Gnostic teachings. Likewise, Origens views of martyrdom,

prayer and Scripture merge into one vision of the Christian life as a movement toward perfect
knowledge of God and perfect fellowship with Him through Christ.20 There is also a view of
God who is not punitive in nature, but someone who is instead restorative.
As one examines Origens life, one cannot but be amazed with the passion and fervour he
had in studying and examining the Scriptures and the life he led as a man completely enamoured
and transformed by the God He so faithfully and lovingly served. Eusebius notes how even as a
young child, he was in love with the Word and how as he grew, that love did not falter nor
waver, but instead increased and grew stronger. This was a man who wanted to live out21 the
tenets of the Scriptures to the utmost that upon reading Matt. 19:12, he committed the act of
orchiectomy. 22 23 In his desire to effectively study the Scripture, he acquainted himself with
rabbis and Jewish thinking on the Jewish Scriptures.24 He also devised the Hexapla: a work that
put in parallel columns the Hebrew Old Testament, its Greek transliteration, and the different
Greek translations available. 25
When many of the teachers of catechism in Alexandria fled due to the persecution of
Christians, Origen was the man who took charge of the catechumens who were looking for
someone to instruct them in the way. In fact, many of his students became martyrs themselves.
Origen, himself, would go to them and comfort them, even as they were led away to their own
deaths. This was after all the same person who as a boy wrote a letter to his father when he was
about to be martyred exhorting him to think of Christ and not to think about him and his family
so that he would not waver. Later in his life, Origen would also be himself tortured for his faith.
However, he did not die during this time, but died later on as a result of the physical beatings his

frail body endured. Some even wonder if the heretical charges brought against him would never
have happened if he died a martyr, instead of a confessor.
Prior to Origen, some early church fathers subscribed to the view that philosophy is
dangerous for Christians. Others disagreed. Origen was able to synthesize these two attitudes and
this demonstrated his originality.26 According to Fr. Bohringer, Origen had a wide knowledge
about different domains in philosophy. Because of this, he was able to
bridge the gap between Christianity and the Graeco-Roman world. He was able to
expound the Gospel in terms meaningful to his pagan contemporaries and, perhaps more
important, to Christians who retained that culture even upon conversion.27
Not only was Origen a great teacher, but he was also responsible for establishing the church in
Caesarea as a major center of intellectual activity.28 He helped establish a school, a major
archive and a library to help make it a reality. The principle that had been established
throughout Byzantine Christianity that the church leadership ought to base its cultural mission
around a nexus of higher education services29 is an insight they gained through Origen.
One of the problems in dealing with Origen and his works is the reliability and veracity
of the sources we now have concerning him. Origen led a controversial life that involved conflict
with higher ecclesiastical authorities during his lifetime30 and even after.31 Even though he was
active in exposing and addressing heresies32, as best demonstrated by his work Contra Celsum,
in which he methodically argues against a philosopher named Celsus who wrote a book33
condemning Christians, he himself would be branded a heretic34 by the very Church he lovingly
gave himself up for. As a result, many of his works were repressed, or burned. His surviving
works also come with its problems. The problem is that the works we now have are translations

of the original copies and the translation comes with a price. Rufinus, in his translation, freely
admitted that he took liberties in editing Origens works (to make it easier for Latin readers, he
abridged passages or added his own commentaries) and censuring it (to make sure that it adapted
to the Churchs current orthodox position, he took out certain offending parts).35 This makes it
difficult to fully and truly understand Origen and his thoughts when we do not have his original
writings.
As defiled as Origens works may be handed down to us, there is historical recourse of
action still afforded unto us to help us understand him. One can use Philocalia, Justinians
Florilegium and writers like Gregory of Nyssa, in whom we may expect to find traces of
Origens teaching, as they were influenced by him.36 Eusebius and Pamphilus also wrote an
Apology for Origen. Gregory Thaumaturgus Oratio Panegyrica gives us few biographical
details but it provides a good deal of important material bearing on Origens personality and
activities.37 With these works, some truths about who Origen is and what he believed come to
light.
It is more reasonable to believe that Origen is saved than to believe that he is damned.38
During the time of Origens writings, there were many issues where the Church did not have nor
hold any formal, orthodox stance. In dealing with these subjects, like the pre-existence of souls,
or the Trinity, Origens method is to push the boundaries and expound on these issues. In his
works, he often declares that his ideas are not formal judgements or doctrines, but a way of
researching and discussing what he understands the Scriptures to say, without admitting that
what he has said has been perfectly integrated. They are mere conjectures rather than dogma.39

Origen pushed his mind to ponder and consider questions that have never before been answered.
In so doing, he pushed his mind to places that no one has gone before. However, philosopher that
he may be, he tested every thought against the authority of the Scriptures and submitted to it
wholeheartedly. In his homily on Joshua, he says
I bear the title of priest and, as you see, I preach the Word of God. But if I do anything
contrary to the discipline of the Church or the rule laid down in the Gospels if I give
offence to you and to the Church then I hope the whole Church will unite with one
consent and cast me off.
In utter humility, he may have uttered a word of prophecy, because this is exactly the fate he
suffered according to history. The Church did unite in one accord and cast him off. Nothing so
tragic can befall such a man of God as what happened to Origen. The defender against heretics
was now branded a heretic himself. The words he used to promote Christianity would be the
same words they would use against him. And with this background, his life and afterlife was
scrutinized and condemned. For never was there a tale of more woe, than this of Origen and his
treatment by his foes.

NOTES
1. Eusebius, Church History, (Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2007), 201-202.
2. Danilou reminds us that allowances must be made for the element of exaggeration
that went with the hagiographical style in early times, as it still does sometimes today. Jean
Danilou, Origen (Great Britain: Purnell and Sons, 1955), 5.
3. Eugne DeFaye, Origen and his work (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1926), 23.
4. John Anthony McGuckin, Origen (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2004), 3,
remarks that Leonides execution by beheading denotes his class rank.
5. Eusebius, Church History, 188.
6. Among the early Christians, the kiss was a ritual gesture denoting veneration. That is
why the priest kisses the altar and the Gospel book. And that was why Leonides kissed his sons
body, the temple of the Holy Spirit. Danilou, Origen, 6.
7. Eusebius, Church History, 189.
8. Eusebius, Church History, 189.
9. Danilou, Origen, 23.
10. It pains me to summarize such a great mans life in one sentence. However, there are
numerous books that have been written on his life and works.

11. McGuckin, Origen, 26. Jerome records that Origen wrote extensive Scholia or
learned commentary notes on the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Isaiah, Psalms 1-15,
Ecclesiastes, and the Gospel of John
12. McGuckin, Origen, 29-31. He wrote a commentary on the Gospel of John, Gospel of
Matthew, the Epistle to the Romans, and on the Canticle of Canticles
13. McGuckin, Origen, 33-34. Contra Celsum and Dialogue with Heracleides would
both go under this category.
14. In this category, he wrote Peri Archon, Miscellanies (Stromata), On Prayer, The
Exhortation to Martyrdom, Peri Pascha, and Treatise on the Resurrection. McGuckin, Origen,
40.
15. He wrote a Letter to Theodore and a Letter to Julius Africanus. McGuckin, Origen,
40.
16. The use of the word orthodox here is a pointed one, especially because of the fact that
Origens thoughts and works have been condemned as heretical by the Church.
17. Rowan A. Greer, Origen (New York: The Missionary Society of St. Paul the Apostle,
1979), 12.
18. Greer, Origen, 12.
19. Ibid, 33-34.

20. Ibid, 17.

21. Henri Crouzel, Origne et la philosophie (France: ditions Montaigne, 1962), 11,
states: Il sefforce de la comprendre par lxperience de sa vie de foi et de laction de lEsprit
Saint en son me : telle est la source de lexgse spirituelle dOrigne.
22. Eusebius, Church History, 193-194.
23. McGuckin, Origen, 7, argues that the famous castration story, though much beloved
by generations of theology students, is historically a smokescreen of Pamphilusown invention,
canonized by Eusebius.
24. Greer, Origen, 31.
25. Ibid, 31.
26. Crouzel, Origne et la philosophie, 170.
27. Greer, Origen, 33.
28. McGuckin, Origen, 16.
29. McGuckin, Origen, 16.
30. When Origen left Alexandria in 216, he went to Palestine where he preached in the
church. This put him at odds with Demetrios, the Alexandrian bishop, who demanded from the
Palestinian hierarchs the return of Origen back to him.

10

31. A synod in Constantinople condemned Origen and his views, and the condemnation
was ratified by the Fifth General Council of 553. Greer, Origen, 30.
32. It is interesting to note that in his preface, he states that the defence which you ask
me to compose will weaken the force of the defence that is in the mere facts, and detract from the
power of Jesus which is manifest to those who are not quite stupid. Nevertheless, that we may
not appear to shirk the task which you have set us, we have tried our best to reply to each
particular point in Celsus book and to refute it as it seemed fitting to us, although his arguments
cannot shake the faith of any true Christian. He goes on to say that he writes his defence not for
the true Christians but for those who are weak in the faith and need support.
33. The books name, interestingly enough, is called The True Doctrine.
34. Henri Crouzel, Une controverse sur Origne a la Renaissance : Jean Pic de la
Mirandole et Pierre Garcia (Tolosae: Librairie Philosophique, 1977), 69-72, discusses the
question of what is a heretic.
35. Danilou, Origen, xi.
36. Ibid, xii.
37. Ibid, 4.
38. Il est plus raisonnable de croire Origne sauv que de le croire damn. Crouzel,
Une controverse sur Origne, 99.

11

39. Pamphile et Eusbe de Csare, Apologie pour Origne, (Paris: Les ditions du cerf,
2002), 37.

12

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Crouzel, Henri. Origne et la philosophie, Tolosae: ditions Montaigne, 1962.
Crouzel, Henri. Une controverse sur Origne a la Renaissance : Jean Pic de la Mirandole et
Pierre Garcia. Tolosae: Librairie Philosophique, 1977.
Danilou, Jean, Origen. Great Britain: Purnell and Sons, 1955.
DeFaye, Eugne. Origen and his work. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1926.
Eusebius, Church History. Translated by Paul Maier. Louisville: Kregel, 2007.
Greer, Rowan A. Origen. New York: The Missionary Society of St. Paul the Apostle, 1979.
McGuckin, John Anthony. Origen. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2004.
Origen. Contra Celsum. Translated by Henry Chadwick. Cambridge: Syndics of the Cambridge
University Press, 1953.
Pamphile and Eusbe de Csare, Apologie Pour Origne. Translated by Ren Amacker and ric
Junod. Paris: Les ditions du Cerf, 2002.

13

Personal Reflection
For a very long time, I have heard the name of Origen and was really interested in knowing more
about him. So, when I found out that I had to do a biographical paper on a person who interested
me, I chose to do my research on Origen. Reading about Origen, his life and his works, was both
inspiring and somewhat humourous. Because I like controversy and controversial figures, I was
surprised to know that Origen fit that category... and then some! I did not know that though he
was such a prominent Christian figure that he would later be deemed a heretic by the Church.
The man whose works inspired the Cappadocian fathers would also be the same man deemed
anathema by the people he influenced.
In reading the story of his life, and the events that transpired after his death, it reminded
me of the idea and the power of leaving behind a legacy. Even though he was branded a heretic
by the Church, there remained a remnant of people who stood by him and defended him. These
were usually the people whose lives were touched by his life and his works. His legacy left
behind him a great cloud of witnesses, so to speak.
While reading his Exhortation to Martyrdom, I was struck not only by his zeal and
fervour for the faith, but also for his compassion and spirit of encouragement to those who were
suffering for the sake of the Gospel. Not only did he encourage others when they were going
through persecution, he became an encouragement to others himself when he was tortured and
suffered for the faith that claimed the lives of so many of those whom he loved. This is probably

14

the reason why the Churchs decision to call him a heretic was such a low blow. Instead of
nurturing and celebrating her son, she opposed him and his virtuous acts, and disowned him.