Condemnation of Origen as a heretic

[Olympiada]

Greetings on Cheesefare Friday
OT readings this morning. Oh boy, here we go, descend into the Fast. Take a deep breath.

I picked up this subject in another discussion community "Condemnation of Origen as a Heretic" and it piqued my interest as I saw my retired bishop mention Origen in yet another discussion community. I want to come to the discussion in my other discussion community with some knowledge. I am wondering if anyone can give me a brief synopsis of Origen's problem. I have my notes from Saint Paisius Missionary School but as that was back in 1999 perhaps some new understanding has been gained since then. I will review those notes though.

Also if anyone here has any book recommendations on the subject that would be good so I can check my own library to see if I have them.

Yours in Christ,
Olympiada

[M.C. Steenberg]

Dear friends,

It is often helpful to spend some time looking through the forum before starting a new thread, as many topics have lengthy threads already existing that deal various themes. A good place to start is always the Discussion Community's forum search engine (http://www.monachos.net/forum/search.php).

This is certainly the case vis-a-vis the present question on Origen. I might direct Olympiada and others towards the following threads:



Origen of Alexandria (http://www.monachos.net/forum/showthread.php?t=1962) - containing nearly 150 posts
Universalism and the Orthodox Church (http://www.monachos.net/forum/showthread.php?t=1619)
The nature of soul and pre-existence (http://www.monachos.net/forum/showthread.php?t=3301)
Universal salvation (http://www.monachos.net/forum/showthread.php?t=1597)
Pre-existence of souls in the Wisdom of Solomon? (http://www.monachos.net/forum/showthread.php?t=3182)
Souls, immortality and eternity (http://www.monachos.net/forum/showthread.php?t=1495) - with over 100 posts


These are but an initial few. I would recommend using the search engine with the simple keyword 'Origen' as a starting-point -- there are nearly 90 threads in this Community that deal with Origen in one way or another. Additional queries can help find more specific information.

And obviously ... things that haven't yet been covered are more than open for new discussion!

INXC, Matthew

[John Uebersax]

Also if anyone here has any book recommendations on the subject that would be good so I can check my own library to see if I have them.


This reply comes a little late for your question, but maybe it will help someone later who checks the thread.

A very well-respected book on the subject is:

Clark, Elizabeth A. The Origenist Controversy. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1992. ISBN: 0691031738.

This considers the first Origenist controversy (there were two, see below) in the context of the complex interplay and conflicts of various people at the time (St. Jerome, Rufinus, etc.).

The article in the Catholic Encyclopedia of 1911, "Origen and Origenism", gives a good basic description of the two Origenist crises, the first which ended with the condemnation of St. Chrysostom (c. 400 AD), and the second, about 514 AD, which resulted in the well-known anathemas.

I'm not certain that it has been established beyond doubt that Origen himself was anathemized, as opposed to specific features of his writings.

Hope this helps.

John Uebersax