Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) - Volume 3.djvu/60

Rh 48 ORIGENES. lis to assign to Origen's removal the date A. d. 216. At Caesareia he received the most respectful treatment. Though not yet ordained to the priest- hood, he was invited to expound the Scriptures, and to discourse publicly in the church. Theo- ctistus, bishop of Caesareia, and Alexander, bisliop of Jerusalem, the latter of whom had been a fellow- student of Origen, were among the prelates at whose invitation he was induced thus to come for- ward : and when Demetrius of Alexandria, who was growing jealous of Origen, objected to it as an unheard of irregularity, that a layman should preach before bishops, they vindicated him by citing several precedents. It was perhaps during this visit to Palestine that Origen rnet with one of the Greek versions of the Old Testament, the Editio Quinta or Sexta, which he published in his Hcxapla^ and which is said to have been found in a wine jar at Jericho. He returned to Alexandria, apparently about the end of Caracalla's reign, at the desire of Demetrius, who sent some deacons of his church to hasten him home (Euseb. //. E. vi. 19). He returned with zeal to the discharge of his office of Catechist, and to the diligent pursuit of his biblical labours. His next journey was into Greece. Eusebius {H. E. vi. 23) describes the occasion in general terms, as being ecclesiastical business, but Rufinus {In versione Eusebii^ I. c.) and Jerome {De Vir. Iliustr. c. 54) more exactly describe the object as being the refutation of heretics who were increasing there. Passing through Palestine on his way, he was ordained presbyter by his friends, Theoctistus and Alexander, and the other bishops of that pro- vince, at Caesareia. This aroused again the jealousy of Demetrius, and led to a decisive rupture between him and Origen, who, however, completed his jour- ney, in the course of which he probably met with a Greek version of the 0. T. (the Se^ta or Qimita Editio of his Hexapla)^ which had been discovered by one of his friends at Nicopolis, in Epeirus, near the Promontory of Actium, on the Ambracian Gulf {Synopsis Sacrae Scripturae, Athanasio adscripta). Possibly it was on tliis journey that Origen had the interview with Maramaea, mother of the emperor Alexander Severus, mentioned by Eusebius (//. E. vi. 21). Mammaeawas led by the curiosit)'^ which Origen's great reputation had excited, to solicit an interview with him when she was at Antioch. Tillemont places this interview at an earlier period, A. D. 218, Huet inA. D. 223; but the date is altogether uncertain. The journey of Origen into Greece is placed by Eusebius, as we understand the passage, in the episcopate of Pontianus at Rome, which extended from A. D. 230, or, according to other accounts, from 233 to 235, and of Zebinus at Antioch from A. D. 228 to 237 ; but Tillemont and Huet interpret the passage so as to fix the ordina- tion of Origen in a. d. 228, about the time when Zebinus of Antioch succeeded Philetus. We are disposed to place it in A. D. 230. On his return to Alexandria, he had to encounter the open enmity of Demetrius. The remembrance of incidents of the former part of his life was revived and turned to his disadvantage. His self- mutilation, which had been excused at the time, was now urged against him ; and a passage in Epiphanius {Haeres. Ixiv. 2) gives reason to think that a charge of having offered incense to heathen deities was also brought against him. Eusebius has omitted the account of the steps taken by ORIGENES. Demetrius against Origen from his Ecclesiastical History, on the ground that they were related in the Defence of Origen ('TTrep ^Cipiyhovs diroXoyia^ Apologia pro Origene) drawn up by Pamphilusand Eusebius ; and the loss of this defence has deprived us of the most trustworthy account of these trans- actions. However, we learn from Photius, who has preserved {Bibl. Cod. 118) a notice of the lost work, that a council of Egyptian prelates and pres- byters was held by Demetrius, in which it was determined that Origen should leave Alexandria, and not be allowed either to reside or to teach there. His office of Catechist devolved or was bestowed on his colleague Heraclas. His ordina- tion, however, was not invalidated, and indeed the passage in Photius seems to imply that the coun- cil expressly decided that he should retain his priesthood. But Demetrius was determined that he should not retain it ; and, in conjunction with certain Egyptian prelates, creatures, it would ap- pear, of his own, he pronounced his degradation. Origen had probably, before this second sentence, retired from Alexandria into Palestine, where he was welcomed and protected, and where he taught and preached with great reputation. It was, per- haps, mortification at having failed to crush Origen that led Demetrius to take the further step of ex- communicating him, and to write to the bishops of all parts of the world to obtain their concurrence in the sentence. Such was the deference already paid to the see of Alexandria, and to the decision of the Egyptian bishops, that, except in Palestine and the adjacent countries, Arabia and Phoenicia, in Greece, and perhaps in Cappadocia, where Origen Avas personally known and respected, the condem- nation appears to have obtained general assent. Even the bishop and clerg}'^ of Rome joined in the general cry. (Hieron. Epist 29, ed. Benedict., 33, ed. Vallars. and apud Rufin. Invectiv. ii. 19, ed. Vallars.) It is probable that Origen's unpopu- larity arose from the obnoxious character of some of his opinions, and was increased by the circum- stance that even in his life-time (Hieron. In Rufin. ii. 18) his writings were seriously corrupted. It appears also that the indiscretion of Ambrosias had published some things which were not designed for general perusal. (Hieron. Epist. Q5, ed. vett., 41, ed. Benedict., 84, ed. Vallars. c. 10.) But what was the specific ground of his exile, deposition, and ex- communication is not clear ; it is probable that the immediate and only alleged ground was the irregu- larity of his ordination ; and that whatever things in his writings were capable of being used to his pre- judice, were employed to excite odium against him, and so to obtain general concurrence in the pro- ceedings of his opponents. Possibly the story of his apostasy, mentioned by Epiphanius, was circu- lated at the same time, and for the same object. Origen was, meanwhile, secure at Caesareia, where he preached almost daily in the church. He wrote a letter in vindication of himself to some friends at Alexandria, in which he complains of the falsification of his writings. According to Jerome (/« Rufin. ii. 18), he severely handled (lacerei) Demetrius, and " inveighed against (w2- vehatur) the bishops and clergy of the whole world," expressing his disregard of their excommu- nication of him : but from some quotations from the letter it appears to have been written in a milder and more forgiving spirit than Jerome's description would lead us to expect. Demetrius