Origen (The Early Church Fathers)

307 Pages·1998·0.83 MB·English

by  Joseph W. Trigg

ORIGEN

Origen was the greatest and most influential Christian theologian
before Augustine – the founder of Biblical study as a serious discipline
in the Christian tradition – and a figure with immense influence on
the development of Christian spirituality.
This volume presents a comprehensive and accessible insight into
Origen’s life and writings. An introduction analyzes the principal
influences that formed him as a Christian and as a thinker, his
emergence as a mature theologian at Alexandria, his work in Caesarea
and his controversial legacy. Fresh translations of a representative
selection of Origen’s writings, including some never previously
available in print, show how Origen provided a lasting framework
for Christian theology by finding through study of the Bible a coherent
understanding of God’s saving plan.
Joseph Trigg is Rector of Christ Church (Episcopal), Port Tobacco
Parish, La Plata, Maryland. His books include Origen: the Bible and
Philosophy in the Third-century Church (Atlanta 1983) and Biblical
Interpretation in the series Message of the Fathers of the Church
(Delaware 1988).
THE EARLY CHURCH FATHERS
Edited by Carol Harrison
University of Durham
The Greek and Latin Fathers of the Church are central to the creation
of Christian doctrine, yet often unapproachable because of the sheer
volume of their writings and the relative paucity of accessible
translations. This series makes available translations of key selected
texts by the major Fathers to all students of the early church.
MAXIMUS THE CONFESSOR
Andrew Louth
IRENAEUS OF LYONS
Robert M. Grant
Further books in this series will be on Ambrose and Gregory of
Nyssa.
ORIGEN
Joseph W. Trigg
London and New York
First published 1998
by Routledge
11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2002.
Simultaneously published in the US and Canada
by Routledge
29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001

© 1998 Joseph W. Trigg

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying or recording, or in any information storage or retrieval
system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Trigg, Joseph W., 1949–
Origen / Joseph W. Trigg.
(The early church fathers)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Origen 2. Theology – History – Early church, ca. 30–600 – Sources.
I. Title. II. Series.
BR1720.O7T75 1998
270.1’092–dc21 97-23338
[B] CIP

ISBN 0–415–11835–2 (hbk)
ISBN 0–415–11836–0 (pbk)
ISBN 0-203-01199-6 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN 0-203-21202-9 (Glassbook Format)
TO ROBERT M. GRANT

CONTENTS

A note on translations ix
Abbreviations xii
PART I
Introduction 1
1 The making of a scholar and theologian 3
2 The mature years at Alexandria 15
3 Man of the church at Caesarea 36
4 A controversial legacy 62
PART II
Texts 67
Commentary on Psalms 1–25, fragment from preface 69
Commentary on Lamentations, selected fragments 73
Commentary on Genesis, fragment from Book 3 86
Commentary on John, Book 1 103
Commentary on John, Book 13.3–192 150
vii
CONTENTS
Homily 12 on Jeremiah 179
Homilies 19 and 20 on Luke 193
Homily 5 on 1 Samuel 199
Letter to Gregory 210
Commentary on John, Book 32.1–140 214
Commentary on John, Book 32.318–67 233
Notes 241
Bibliographical note 274
Index of Scriptural citations 275
Subject index 287

viii
A NOTE ON
TRANSLATIONS

In the translations below I have tried to provide a readable English
text as faithful as possible to Origen’s intentions. In line with the
first aim, I have often altered the sentence structure of the original.
In line with the second, I have sought to avoid technical terms from
later eras. On occasions where a reference to the original Greek
wording has seemed helpful, I have included the original
(transliterated) in the notes. (This is most often the case with logos,
perhaps the most heavily freighted word in the Greek language.)
Origen’s work does not lend itself well to being excerpted. Although
he often wrote at length, he wrote carefully and sparingly,
characteristically accumulating arguments to lead his reader step by
step to a logical conclusion. Except in the case of the Commentary
on Lamentations, I have therefore presented integral works, or self-
contained sections, with no omissions. Triple asterisks indicate gaps
in the manuscript tradition. I have sought to make available works
that reflect Origen’s entire career, giving roughly equal weight to
his Alexandrian and Caesarean periods. I have also sought to present
works not previously translated into English or accessible only on
expensive or out-of-print editions. These last two considerations
militated against including texts from Origen’s best-known works,
On First Principles, Contra Celsum, and the occasional treatises,
although I cite them generously in part I.
The chapter and section numbers (arabic and roman) in my
translations and in references to Origen’s works do not come from
Origen himself. Like the chapter and verse numbers in the Bible,
most of these were added for convenience in reference when these
works were edited in the Renaissance. I use those commonly
employed in modern editions. Pierre Nautin’s Origène: sa vie et son
œuvre provides a comprehensive list of these editions up to 1976.1
The most important addition to Nautin’s list appeared in 1990. Edited
by the late Caroline Hammond Bammel, it is the first of a projected
ix