Origen is one of the leading scholars and church teachers. He was born in the year 185 to Christian parents in the city of Alexandria. His father, the martyr Leonidas, was a professor of logic and philosophy, and Origen almost joined his father on the path of martyrdom if his mother had not hidden his clothes and prevented him from going out. He died in the year 253 in the city of Tyre, after leaving behind several hundred works of letters, articles, and books on interpretation, doctrine, worship, and life in Christ. Despite all this abundance of writing, the Church did not declare him a saint due to some theological errors that marred his writings. However, Origen remains in the eyes of the Church a teacher to be emulated in much of what he taught and wrote, and a scholar whose counterparts are rare.
Origen's most important written work, without a doubt, is the book “The Six Pillars,” which contains six columns on its pages, each of which contains a translation of the Old Testament known at that time. Origen mentioned in the footnotes a comparison of the Septuagint (Greek), which is the translation adopted by the Church since its inception, with other Greek and Hebrew texts. Unfortunately, only excerpts preserved in partial manuscripts have reached us from this huge book. As for his explanations of the Holy Bible, they are divided into three categories: 1- Explanations of obscure texts, especially the Song of Songs and the Gospel of Saint John the Theologian, 2- Sermons in which he links the text of the Holy Bible to the daily life of the believer, so these sermons have become a valuable source of spiritual care and guidance, 3- Studies A book through which the breadth of Origen’s knowledge is demonstrated in the fields of history, philosophy, theology, and philology.
Perhaps the most important thing Origen wrote on the subject of theology and doctrine is the book “The Response to Celsus,” and Celsus was a Jewish philosopher who published an article in which he tried to criticize Christians for their faith. In this book, Origen reviews the various issues and topics raised by Celsus, and those like him who are enemies of Christianity and those who doubt its authenticity, and he addresses them in order to refute them with evidence of logic and the strength of the argument. Origen asserts, against Celsus's claim that Greek philosophy is superior to Christian doctrine, that the Christian faith has its own logic that surpasses Greek wisdom, because this faith is not based on “the convincing words of human wisdom” but rather on “proof of the spirit and power.” Origen says that the divinity of Jesus Christ is beyond doubt, not only because the prophecies of the Old Testament were fulfilled in him, nor because Jesus went around healing every weakness and every disease among the people. This is evidence within the fellowship of faith, but the main proof of the divinity of Jesus Christ is the work of the Holy Spirit today in believers. The Spirit is the one who convinced them with His argument to the point that they came to faith, as every argument disappeared from them and they went preaching the Gospel.
One of Origen's theological works is his book on the “Fundamental Principles,” which is considered the oldest production in dogmatic theology. In this book, our writer explains the foundations of interpreting the Holy Bible, saying that the sacred text can be understood on three levels: 1- The literal level, 2- The level of personal nourishment, 3- The spiritual level, and by that he means what the text refers to indirectly, as the reader takes it into account. What was mentioned in it about the fathers of the faith as patterns of his personal biography. Origen adds, in his treatise on the legality of the texts of the Bible, that the legal text of the book is like the limits that the fathers set for us, and within which, if we limit ourselves, we grow in faith and understanding. Therefore, we must read the book constantly, as it is our daily food: “If a text seems unclear to you, knock on this closed door before you in prayer, because to him who knocks it will be opened.”
Origen wrote many spiritual and moral works, the most important of which are a treatise on prayer and guidance on martyrdom. In his article on prayer, Origen explains “The Lord’s Prayer,” to show us the fatherhood of God, and adds that determining the times and content of prayer helps us direct our entire lives to the Father, and so also, places of worship are places set apart to speak to God in the company of angels and saints who join us in prayer. He points out the necessity of “emptying the soul of worldly concerns during prayer so that the Lord may come and fill it with His presence.” He concludes by saying that prayer is the gift of the Holy Spirit, and we must persevere in praying to the Father to teach us how to pray. As for him, the Church is “the people called by the name of Christ,” “the holy vessel of God,” and “the keeper of the faith.” He also says that it is the body of Christ, and the body moves by the power of the word, just as every member in it lives and moves in Christ Jesus. He was the first to call the Church “the city of God,” God’s dwelling place with people. He said that there is no salvation outside the church, since our salvation is in the shed blood of Christ and in his body that was broken for us in the church gathered at his feet.
About my parish bulletin
Sunday, November 4, 2001
Issue 44
