Origen

Early Christian theologian and prolific biblical scholar. Head of the Catechetical School of Alexandria. Author of the Hexapla and Octapla, and of extensive commentaries on Scripture. Condemned at the Fifth Ecumenical Council and not canonized.

Works

• Commentary on Genesis
• Commentary on the Gospel of John
• Hexapla
• Homilies on Numbers

Preface and Praise of Sacred Scripture

• Chapter II: On the Object and Breadth of Sacred Scripture — Commenting on John chapter 1: Divine Scripture is an intelligible world of four parts (earth=history, water=morality, air=natural science, fire/ether=theology)

  "Origen, commenting on chapter 1 of St. John, says: Divine Scripture is an intelligible world"

• Chapter II: On the Object and Breadth of Sacred Scripture — "Origens" called oracles, temples, arks of the testament

  "Origens, Anthonys, and Vincents were called oracles"

• Chapter IV: The Judgments and Examples of the Fathers — In Homily 5 on Numbers, supports Hebrew tradition about Moses receiving explanation of law on Sinai

  "Origen in Homily 5 on Numbers lend their support"

• Chapter IV: The Judgments and Examples of the Fathers — From boyhood rendered and recited sacred sayings from memory daily; investigated deepest meanings; thoroughly learned Hebrew; collected versions from across world; first composed Hexapla and Octapla

  "regarding Origen, Eusebius attests that from boyhood he had begun this practice"

• Chapter IV: The Judgments and Examples of the Fathers — Listed among Fathers who labored night and day

  "Origen, Jerome, Cyril"

• The Author's Method (paragraph 48) — Went astray in excessive allegory: formation of Eve as spiritual, trees of paradise as angelic fortitude; made his own genius the Sacraments of the Church; censured: "Where Origen is good, no one is better; where bad, no one is worse"

  "as Origen went astray in this extreme, when, fleeing — indeed, destroying — the historical truth"

• The Fathers' Defense of the Old Testament — Wrote 46 books on Genesis

  "Origen wrote 46 books on Genesis"

• The Septuagint Translation and Greek Translators — Collected all Greek versions and arranged Tetrapla, Hexapla, and Octapla; corrected corrupt Septuagint; his edition received by all as "common"

  "Origen collected all of these and from them arranged his Tetrapla, Hexapla, and Octapla"

Commentary on the Pentateuch of Moses

• Canons Bearing a Torch Before the Pentateuch — Thought Genesis should be expounded allegorically, not historically; all the Fathers and the Church condemn his allegories

  "against Origen, who thought all these things should be expounded allegorically and symbolically, and thus overturned the letter and the literal sense"

• Canons Bearing a Torch Before the Pentateuch — Wishes allegory to be free in Scripture

  "St. Jerome, Gregory, Origen, and others often wish the allegory to be free"

Chapter I (The Six Days of Creation)

• Introduction — Listed among those who wrote on Genesis

  "Origen, St. Jerome, Augustine, Theodoret, Procopius, Chrysostom, Eucherius, Rupert, and others wrote on Genesis."

• Introduction — Listed among authors recommended for moral teachings

  "to read St. Chrysostom, Ambrose, Origen"

• Verse 6: Let there be a firmament — Cited for the allegorical view that upper waters = angels, lower = demons

  "First, Origen understood by the upper waters the angels, and by the lower the demons; but this is an Origenistic and allegorical fantasy."

• Verse 26: Let Us Make Man in Our Image and Likeness — Cited for placing the image of God in the soul's eternity and immortality

  "Origen places it in this."

• Verse 26: Let Us Make Man in Our Image and Likeness — Named as holding (incorrectly) that the image of God was lost through sin; refuted by Augustine

  "So against Origen, St. Augustine teaches"

• Verse 26: Let Us Make Man in Our Image and Likeness — Cited for the tropological interpretation of man's dominion

  "So say Origen, Chrysostom, and Eucherius."

• Heaven and Earth: Four Interpretations — Listed among supporters of the empyrean heaven interpretation

  "of Origen, Theodoret, Alcuin"

• Heaven and Earth: Four Interpretations — Listed among those who thought angels were created before the world

  "so held Origen, Basil, Gregory of Nazianzus"

Related

• Eusebius of Caesarea
• Alexandria
• Hexapla
• Homilies on Numbers
• Commentary on the Gospel of John
• Scripture Interpretation: Authority of the Church and Fathers
• Spiritual Interpretation of Scripture