Origen

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Origen of Alexandria was a Christian of the early third century who was the first Christian theologian to formulate a systematic system of Christian theological thinking. He lived in a turbulent period for the Christian Church, a period of Roman persecutions and loose doctrinal consensus. He was a priest, ordained under controversial conditions. His writings were extensive, much of which is not extant. In later centuries some extreme views by followers were attributed to him and his name was brought under suspicion. He was anathematized by the Second Council of Constantinople in 553 and declared an heretic.

Life

Origen’s full name was Origenes Adamantius. His dates of birth and death are not known exactly. He was born about 185, most probably in Alexandria. He was born into a Christian family. He is believed to have been educated by his father, Leonides. He used this education to revive and teach, as didaskalos, at the ‘’catechetical school in Alexandria’’ in 203, under the jurisdiction of Demetrius, the bishop of Alexandria. This was after his father died a martyr in 202 in the persecutions under Septimius Severus. Origen was then seventeen and apparently succeeded Clement of Alexandria who had been driven out of Alexandria by the persecutions.

In 230, he was ordained a priest in Palestine without the authority of Demetrius who subsequently expelled him from Alexandria.

He died a martyr’s death in the persecutions of 250, probably in 254, and most probably in Caesarea.

Works

Origen wrote extensively. According to Epiphanius he produces some 6,000 works. In addition to some spurious efforts, his writings can be divided into four classes: text criticism; exegesis; systematic, practical, and apologetic theology; and letters. Of all these works his most important writing was the ‘’Hexapla’’, a textual criticism that compared various translations of the Old Testament. However, only some portions of this work have come down to us. The full text is no longer extant.

External links

• A Coptic view [1]
• Origen: Wikipedia [2]
• Origen of Alexandria [3]