Origen

Origen was one of the most influential and controversial figures in early Christian theology, apologetics, and asceticism. He was born in Alexandria, Egypt, around 185 AD, to a Christian family. His father, Leonides, was martyred during the persecution of Septimius Severus in 202. Origen was a brilliant student who learned Hebrew and studied the scriptures under Clement of Alexandria. He became the head of the Catechetical School of Alexandria at the age of 18 and devoted himself to teaching, writing, and living a life of rigorous piety. He traveled widely and engaged in debates and dialogues with pagans, Jews, and heretics. He also suffered persecution and imprisonment for his faith. He was ordained as a presbyter by his friend Bishop Theoclistus of Caesarea in Palestine in 231, which caused a conflict with his own bishop, Demetrius of Alexandria, who condemned him for insubordination and alleged doctrinal errors. Origen left Alexandria and settled in Caesarea, where he founded a school of theology and continued his prolific literary output. He wrote about 2,000 works in various fields, including textual criticism, biblical interpretation, doctrinal exposition, apologetics, and spirituality. His most important works include the Hexapla, a massive critical edition of the Old Testament in six versions; On the First Principles, a systematic treatise on Christian theology; and Contra Celsum, a refutation of the pagan philosopher Celsus, who had attacked Christianity. Origen’s theology was based on a combination of biblical exegesis, philosophical reasoning, and spiritual experience. He emphasized the allegorical and spiritual meaning of the scriptures, the preexistence and fall of souls, the freedom of the will, the subordination of the Son and the Spirit to the Father, the eternal generation of the Son, the incarnation and divinization of Christ, the ransom theory of atonement, the cosmic role of the church, the diversity of gifts and ranks among Christians, the necessity of asceticism and prayer, the possibility of universal salvation, and the restoration of all things in the final consummation. Origen’s theology was admired by many but also criticized by some, especially for his views on the preexistence of souls, the apocatastasis (restoration of all), and the corporeality of God. He was accused of heresy by some of his opponents, such as Methodius of Olympus and Epiphanius of Salamis, and some of his writings were condemned by the Fifth Ecumenical Council in 553. However, he was also defended and praised by many of his followers and admirers, such as Gregory Thaumaturgus, Dionysius of Alexandria, Pamphilus of Caesarea, Eusebius of Caesarea, Gregory of Nyssa, and John of Damascus. He is regarded as one of the greatest Christian thinkers and a pioneer of biblical scholarship and spiritual theology. He died in Tyre, Phoenicia, around 254 AD, from the injuries he had sustained during the Decian persecution in 250.