Introducing Origen

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Page 7

These happy years, however, were soon to end. Origen was called to Greece, probably about the year 228, [1882] upon what Eusebius vaguely calls "the pressing need of ecclesiastical affairs." [1883] But, this has generally been understood [1884] to refer to the prevalence of heretical views in the Church there, for the eradication of which the assistance of Origen was invoked. Before entering on this journey, he obtained letters of recommendation from his bishop. [1885] He passed through Palestine on his way to Greece, and at Caesarea received at the hands of his friends Alexander and Theoctistus ordination to the office of presbyter,--an honour which proved to him afterwards the source of much persecution and annoyance. No doubt the motives of his friends were of the highest kind, and among them may have been the desire to take away the ground of objection formerly raised by Demetrius against the public preaching of a mere layman in the presence of a bishop. But they little dreamed of the storm which this act of theirs was to raise, and of the consequences which it was to bring upon the head of him whom they had sought to honour. After completing his journey through Greece, Origen returned to Alexandria about the year 230. He there found his bishop greatly incensed against him for what had taken place at Caesarea. Nor did his anger expend itself in mere objurgations and rebukes. In the year 231 a synod was summoned by Demetrius, composed of Egyptian bishops and Alexandrian presbyters, who declared Origen unworthy to hold the office of teacher, and excommunicated him from the fellowship of the Church of Alexandria. Even this did not satisfy the vindictive feeling of Demetrius. He summoned a second synod, in which the bishops alone were permitted to vote, and by their suffrages Origen was degraded from the office of presbyter, and intimation of this sentence was ordered to be made by encyclical letter to the various Churches. The validity of the sentence was recognised by all of them, with the exception of those in Palestine, Phoenicia, Arabia, and Achaia; a remarkable proof of the position of influence which was at that time held by the Church of Alexandria. Origen appears to have quitted the city before the bursting of the storm, and betook himself to Caesarea, which henceforth became his home, and the seat of his labours for a period of nearly a quarter of a century.

[1882] Cf. Hefele, Encyclopaedie, etc., s.v. Origenes.

[1883] 'Epeigouses chreias ekklesiastikon heneka pragmaton.

[1884] Cf. Redepenning, vol. i. p. 406, etc.

[1885] Cf. ibid.

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