In his first book on Matthew’s Gospel, maintaining the Canon of the Church, [Origen] testifies that he knows only four Gospels, writing as follows: “Among the four Gospels, which are the only indisputable ones in the Church of God under heaven, I have learned by tradition that the first was written by Matthew, who was once a publican, but afterwards an apostle of Jesus Christ, and it was prepared for […]
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Origen on the Character of the Scripture
Harmony of the Scripture For as the different chords of the psalter or the lyre, each of which gives forth a certain sound of its own which seems unlike the sound of another chord, are thought by a man who is not musical and ignorant of the principle of musical harmony, to be inharmonious, because of the dissimilarity of the sounds, so those who are not skilled in hearing the […]
Read moreOrigen on the Spiritual Meaning of the Passover
We eat the flesh of the Lamb, with bitter herbs, and unleavened bread, when we repent of our sins and grieve with the sorrow which is according to God, a repentance which operates for our salvation, and is not to be repented of; or when, on account of our trials, we turn to the speculations which are found to be those of truth, and are nourished by them. We are […]
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Origen: An Ideal Scholar II
He would have us familiarized with all discourse about the Divinity, guarding sedulously against our being in any peril with respect to what is the most needful thing of all, namely, the knowledge of the Cause of all things. For he deemed it right for us to study philosophy in such wise, that we should read with utmost diligence all that has been written, both by the philosophers and by […]
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Origen: An Ideal Scholar
Origen was a Christian philosopher, Biblical scholar and theologian of the third century, His full name in Latin, Oregenes Adamantius, can perhaps be translated as Origen the Immovable. Apart from his erudition, imagination, intellect and piety, I would use one word to describe my impression of Origen: gravitas. He is the type of scholar who demands respect, even from his most formidable opponents, without at the same time making them […]
Read moreOrigen on the Differences Between Jewish and Christian Scriptures
Why should I enumerate all the instances I collected with so much labour, to prove that the difference between our copies and those of the Jews did not escape me? In Jeremiah I noticed many instances, and indeed in that book I found much transposition and variation in the readings of the prophecies. Again, in Genesis, the words, “God saw that it was good,” when the firmament was made, are […]
Read moreOrigen: Feasts Of The Christian Life
We ourselves are accustomed to observe certain days, as for example the Lord’s day, the Preparation, the Passover, or Pentecost. To the perfect Christian, who is ever in his thoughts, words, and deeds serving his natural Lord, God the Word, all his days are the Lord’s, and he is always keeping the Lord’s day. He also who is unceasingly preparing himself for the true life, and abstaining from the pleasures […]
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