Editing Origen (section)

==Life==

===Early years===
Almost all information about Origen's life comes from a lengthy biography of him in Book VI of the ''[[Church History (Eusebius)|Ecclesiastical History]]'' written by the Christian historian [[Eusebius]] ({{circa|260}} – c. 340).{{sfn|Trigg|1983|p=9}} Eusebius portrays Origen as the perfect Christian scholar and a literal saint.{{sfn|Trigg|1983|p=9}} Eusebius, however, wrote this account almost fifty years after Origen's death and had access to few reliable sources on Origen's life, especially his early years.{{sfn|Trigg|1983|p=9}} Anxious for more material about his hero, Eusebius recorded events based only on unreliable hearsay evidence. He frequently made speculative inferences about Origen based on the sources he had available.{{sfn|Trigg|1983|p=9}} Nonetheless, scholars can reconstruct a general impression of Origen's historical life by sorting out the parts of Eusebius's account that are accurate from those that are inaccurate.{{sfn|Trigg|1983|pp=9–10}}

Origen was born in either 185 or 186 AD in Alexandria.{{sfn|Olson|1999|p=100}}{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=2}}{{sfn|Trigg|1983|p=8}} [[Porphyry (philosopher)|Porphyry]] called him  "a [[Greeks|Greek]], and educated in [[ancient Greek literature|Greek literature]]".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Eusebius |title=Ecclessiastical History Book VI (1766) |url=https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf201.iii.xi.i.html}}</ref> According to Eusebius, Origen's father was [[Leonides of Alexandria]], a respected professor of literature and also a devout Christian who practised his religion openly (and later a martyr and saint with a feast day of April 22 in the Catholic church).{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=3}}{{sfn|Trigg|1983|p=10}} Joseph Wilson Trigg deems the details of this report unreliable, but admits that Origen's father was certainly at least "a prosperous and thoroughly Hellenized bourgeois".{{sfn|Trigg|1983|p=10}} According to John Anthony McGuckin, Origen's mother, whose name is unknown, may have been a member of the lower class who did not have the [[Roman citizenship|right of citizenship]].{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=3}} 

It is likely that, on account of his mother's status, Origen was not a Roman citizen.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|pp=2–3}} Origen's father taught him about literature and philosophy{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|pp=3–4}} as well as the Bible and Christian doctrine.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|pp=3–4}}{{sfn|Trigg|1983|pp=11–16}} Eusebius states that Origen's father made him memorize passages of scripture daily.{{sfn|Trigg|1983|p=12}} Trigg accepts this tradition as possibly genuine, given Origen's ability as an adult to recite extended passages of scripture at will.{{sfn|Trigg|1983|p=12}} Eusebius also reports that Origen became so learned about the holy scriptures at an early age that his father was unable to answer his questions about them.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=4}}{{sfn|Trigg|1983|pp=12–13}}

In 202, when Origen was "not yet seventeen", the [[Roman emperor]] [[Septimius Severus]] ordered Roman citizens [[Persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire#Marcus Aurelius to Maximinus the Thracian|who openly practised Christianity to be executed]].{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=3}}{{sfn|Trigg|1983|p=30}} Origen's father Leonides was arrested and thrown in prison.{{sfn|Olson|1999|p=100}}{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=3}}{{sfn|Trigg|1983|p=30}} Eusebius reports that Origen wanted to turn himself in to the authorities so that they would execute him as well,{{sfn|Olson|1999|p=100}}{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=3}} but his mother hid all his clothes and he was unable to go to the authorities since he refused to leave the house naked.{{sfn|Olson|1999|p=100}}{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=3}} According to McGuckin, even if Origen had turned himself in, it is unlikely that he would have been punished, since the emperor was only intent on executing Roman citizens.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=3}} Origen's father was beheaded,{{sfn|Olson|1999|p=100}}{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=3}}{{sfn|Trigg|1983|p=30}} and the state confiscated the family's entire property, leaving them impoverished.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=3}}{{sfn|Trigg|1983|p=30}} Origen was the eldest of nine children,{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=3}}{{sfn|Trigg|1983|p=30}} and as his father's heir, it became his responsibility to provide for the whole family.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=3}}{{sfn|Trigg|1983|p=30}}

When he was eighteen, Origen was appointed as a catechist at the Catechetical School of Alexandria.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=4}} Many scholars have assumed that Origen became the head of the school,{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=4}} but according to McGuckin, this is highly improbable. It is more likely that he was given a paid teaching position, perhaps as a "relief effort" for his impoverished family.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=4}} While employed at the school, he adopted the ascetic lifestyle of the Greek [[Sophist]]s.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=4}}{{sfn|Trigg|1983|p=53}}<ref name="EusebiusHistoria" /> He spent the whole day teaching{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=4}} and would stay up late at night writing treatises and commentaries.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=4}}{{sfn|Trigg|1983|p=53}} He went barefoot and only owned one cloak.{{sfn|Trigg|1983|p=53}} He did not drink alcohol and ate a simple diet{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=6}} and he often fasted for long periods.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=6}}{{sfn|Trigg|1983|p=53}} Although Eusebius goes to great lengths to portray Origen as one of the [[Christian monasticism|Christian monastics]] of his era,{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=4}} this portrayal is now generally recognized as [[anachronism|anachronistic]].{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=4}}

According to Eusebius, as a young man, Origen was taken in by a wealthy [[Gnosticism|Gnostic]] woman,{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=5}} who was also the patron of a very influential Gnostic theologian from [[Antioch]], who frequently lectured in her home.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=5}} Eusebius goes to great lengths to insist that, although Origen studied while in her home,{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=5}} he never once "prayed in common" with her or the Gnostic theologian.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=5}} Later, Origen succeeded in converting a wealthy man named [[Ambrose of Alexandria|Ambrose]] from [[Valentinianism|Valentinian Gnosticism]] to orthodox Christianity.{{sfn|Olson|1999|p=101}}{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=5}} Ambrose was so impressed by the young scholar that he gave Origen a house, a secretary, seven [[Shorthand|stenographers]], a crew of copyists and calligraphers, and paid for all of his writings to be published.{{sfn|Olson|1999|p=101}}{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=5}}

When he was in his early twenties, Origen sold the small library of Greek literary works that he had inherited from his father for a sum which netted him a daily income of four [[obolus|obols]].{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=5}}{{sfn|Trigg|1983|p=53}}<ref name="EusebiusHistoria">Eusebius, ''Historia Ecclesiastica'', VI.3.9</ref> He used this money to continue his study of the Bible and of philosophy.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=5}}{{sfn|Trigg|1983|p=53}} Origen studied at numerous schools throughout Alexandria,{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=5}} including the [[Alexandrian school|Platonic Academy of Alexandria]],{{sfn|Olson|1999|pp=100–101}}{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=5}} where he was a student of [[Ammonius Saccas]].{{sfn|Watts|2008|pp=158–161}}{{sfn|Olson|1999|p=101}}{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=5}}{{sfn|Trigg|1983|pp=66–75}}{{sfn|Grant|1967|p=551}} Eusebius claims that Origen studied under [[Clement of Alexandria]],{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=6}}{{sfn|Olson|1999|p=100}}{{sfn|Trigg|1983|pp=54–66}} but according to McGuckin, this is almost certainly a retrospective assumption based on the similarity of their teachings.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=6}} Origen rarely mentions Clement in his writings,{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=6}} and when he does, it is usually to correct him.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=6}}

===Alleged self-castration===
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| footer            = Eusebius claims in his ''Ecclesiastical History'' that, as a young man, Origen secretly paid a physician to surgically [[castration|castrate]] him, a claim which affected Origen's reputation for centuries,{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|pp=6, 13–14}} as demonstrated by these fifteenth-century depictions of Origen castrating himself.
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Eusebius claims that, as a young man, following a literal reading of Matthew 19:12, in which Jesus is presented as saying "there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuch for the sake of the [[Kingdom of Heaven (Gospel of Matthew)|kingdom of heaven]]",<ref>{{bibleverse|Matthew|19:12}}</ref> Origen either [[castration|castrated]] himself or had someone else castrate him in order to ensure his reputation as a respectable tutor to young men and women.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=6}}{{sfn|Trigg|1983|p=53}}<ref>Eusebius, ''Historia Ecclesiastica'' VI.8</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://image.ox.ac.uk/images/bodleian/msdouce195/122v.jpg |title=Digital Bodleian<!-- Bot generated title --> |access-date=2016-02-23 |archive-date=2017-05-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170510170231/http://image.ox.ac.uk/images/bodleian/msdouce195/122v.jpg |url-status=live }}</ref> Eusebius further alleges that Origen privately told Demetrius, the bishop of Alexandria, about the castration and that Demetrius initially praised him for his devotion to God on account of it.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=6}} 

Origen, however, never mentions anything about having castrated himself in any of his surviving writings.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=6}}{{sfn|Trigg|1983|p=54}} In his explanation of this verse in his ''Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew'', written near the end of life, he strongly condemns any literal interpretation of Matthew 19:12,{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=6}} asserting that only an idiot would interpret the passage as advocating literal castration.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=6}}

{{Origenism}}

Since the beginning of the twentieth century, some scholars have questioned the historicity of Origen's self-castration, with many seeing it as a wholesale fabrication.<ref>{{Cite journal |first=Shawn W. J. |last=Keough |year=2008 |volume=03 |issue=30 |title=Christoph Markschies, ''Origenes und sein Erbe: Gesammelte Studien. Texte und Untersuchungen zur Geschichte der altchristlichen Literatur 160'' |journal=Bryn Mawr Classical Review |url=http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/bmcr/2008/2008-03-30.html |access-date=2009-01-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080608123250/http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/bmcr/2008/2008-03-30.html |archive-date=2008-06-08 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Origen and Origenism">{{cite CE1913 |last=Prat |first=Ferdinand |wstitle=Origen and Origenism |volume=11}}</ref> Trigg states that Eusebius's account of Origen's self-castration is certainly true, because Eusebius, who was an ardent admirer of Origen, yet clearly describes the castration as an act of pure folly, [[Criterion of embarrassment|would have had no motive]] to pass on a piece of information that might tarnish Origen's reputation unless it was "notorious and beyond question".{{sfn|Trigg|1983|p=53}} Trigg sees Origen's condemnation of the literal interpretation of Matthew 19:12 as him "tacitly repudiating the literalistic reading he had acted on in his youth".{{sfn|Trigg|1983|p=53}}

In sharp contrast, McGuckin dismisses Eusebius's story of Origen's self-castration as "hardly credible", seeing it as a deliberate attempt by Eusebius to distract from more serious questions regarding the orthodoxy of Origen's teachings.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=6}} McGuckin also states: "We have no indication that the motive of castration for respectability was ever regarded as standard by a teacher of mixed-gender classes."{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=6}} He adds that Origen's female students (whom Eusebius lists by name) would have been accompanied by attendants at all times, meaning that Origen would have had no good reason to think that anyone would suspect him of impropriety.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=6}} 

[[Henry Chadwick (theologian)|Henry Chadwick]] argues that, while Eusebius's story may be true, it seems unlikely, given that Origen's exposition of Matthew 19:12 "strongly deplored any literal interpretation of the words".{{sfn|Chadwick|1993|pp=108–109}} Instead, Chadwick suggests, "Perhaps Eusebius was uncritically reporting malicious gossip retailed by Origen's enemies, of whom there were many."{{sfn|Chadwick|1993|pp=108–109}} However, many noted historians, such as [[Peter Brown (historian)|Peter Brown]] and [[William Placher]], continue to find no reason to conclude that the story is false.<ref name="Platcher">[[William Placher]], ''A History of Christian Theology: An Introduction'', (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1983), p. 62.</ref> Placher theorizes that, if it is true, it may have followed an episode in which Origen received some raised eyebrows while privately tutoring a woman.<ref name="Platcher" />

===Travels and early writings===
{{Location map+|Mediterranean|width=400|float=left|caption=A map of the Mediterranean showing locations associated with Origen|places=
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{{Location map~|Mediterranean|lat=32.5012|N|long=34.8924|E|region:IT_type:city(60157)|position=right|label_size=75 |label= [[Caesarea Maritima|Caesarea]]}}
{{Location map~|Mediterranean|lat=40.7666636|N|long=29.916663|E|region:IT_type:city(60157)|position=right|label_size=75 |label= [[Nicomedia]]}}
{{Location map~|Mediterranean|lat=36.1968|N|long=36.1612|E|region:IT_type:city(60157)|position=right|label_size=75 |label= [[Antioch]]}}
{{Location map~|Mediterranean|lat=37.9838|N|long=23.7275|E|region:IT_type:city(60157)|position=right|label_size=75 |label= [[Athens]]}}
{{Location map~|Mediterranean|lat=38.7205|N|long=35.4826|E|region:IT_type:city(60157)|position=right|label_size=75 |label= [[Caesarea Mazaca]]}}
{{Location map~|Mediterranean|lat=33.2705|N|long=35.2038|E|region:IT_type:city(60157)|position=right|label_size=75 |label= [[Tyre, Lebanon|Tyre]]}}
{{Location map~|Mediterranean|lat=41.9028|N|long=12.4964|E|region:IT_type:city(60157)|position=right|label_size=75 |label= [[Rome]]}}
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In his early twenties Origen became less interested in work as a [[Grammarian (Greco-Roman)|grammarian]]{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=7}} and more interested in operating as a rhetor-philosopher.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=7}} He gave his job as a catechist to his younger colleague [[Pope Heraclas of Alexandria|Heraclas]].{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=7}} Meanwhile, Origen began to style himself as a "master of philosophy".{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=7}} Origen's new position as a self-styled Christian philosopher brought him into conflict with Demetrius, the bishop of Alexandria.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=7}} Demetrius, a charismatic leader who ruled the Christian congregation of Alexandria with an iron fist,{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=7}} became the most direct promoter of the elevation in status of the bishop of Alexandria;{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|pp=7–8}} before Demetrius, the bishop of Alexandria had merely been a priest who was elected to represent his fellows,{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=8}} but after Demetrius, the bishop was seen as clearly a rank higher than his fellow priests.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=8}} By styling himself as an independent philosopher, Origen was reviving a role that had been prominent in earlier Christianity{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|pp=7–8}} but which challenged the authority of the now-powerful bishop.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|pp=7–8}}

Meanwhile, Origen began composing his massive theological treatise ''[[On the First Principles]]'',{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=8}} a landmark book which systematically laid out the foundations of Christian theology for centuries to come.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=8}} Origen also began travelling abroad to visit schools across the Mediterranean.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=8}} In 212 he travelled to Rome – a major center of philosophy at the time.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=8}} In Rome, Origen attended lectures by [[Hippolytus of Rome]] and was influenced by his {{translit|grc|[[Logos (Christianity)|logos]]}} theology.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=8}} In 213 or 214, the governor of the [[Province of Arabia]] sent a message to the prefect of Egypt requesting him to send Origen to meet with him so that he could interview him and learn more about Christianity from its leading intellectual.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=8}} Origen, escorted by official bodyguards,{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=8}} spent a short time in Arabia with the governor before returning to Alexandria.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|pp=8–9}}

In the autumn of 215, the Roman Emperor [[Caracalla]] visited Alexandria.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=9}} During the visit, the students at the schools there protested and made fun of him for having murdered his brother [[Geta (emperor)|Geta]]{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=9}} (died 211). Caracalla, incensed, ordered his troops to ravage the city, execute the governor, and kill all the protesters.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=9}} He also commanded them to expel all the teachers and intellectuals from the city.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=9}} Origen fled Alexandria and traveled to the city of [[Caesarea Maritima]] in the Roman province of [[Syria Palaestina|Palestine]],{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=9}} where the bishops [[Theoctistus of Caesarea]] and [[Alexander of Jerusalem]] became his devoted admirers{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=9}} and asked him to deliver discourses on the scriptures in their respective churches.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=9}} This effectively allowed Origen to deliver sermons even though he was not formally ordained.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=9}} While this was an unexpected phenomenon, especially given Origen's international fame as a teacher and philosopher,{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=9}} it infuriated Demetrius, who saw it as a direct undermining of his authority.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=9}} Demetrius sent deacons from Alexandria to demand that the Palestinian hierarchs immediately return "his" catechist to Alexandria.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=9}} He also issued a decree chastising the Palestinians for allowing a person who was not ordained to preach.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|pp=9–10}} The Palestinian bishops, in turn, issued their condemnation, accusing Demetrius of being jealous of Origen's fame and prestige.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=10}}

[[File:1 QIsa example of damage col 12-13.jpg|thumb| While in [[Jericho]], Origen bought an ancient manuscript of the [[Hebrew Bible]] which had been discovered "in a jar",{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=10}} a discovery which prefigures the later discovery of the [[Dead Sea Scrolls]] in the twentieth century.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=10}} Shown here: a section of the [[Isaiah scroll]] from [[Qumran]].]]

Origen obeyed Demetrius's order and returned to Alexandria,{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=10}} bringing with him an antique scroll he had purchased at [[Jericho]] containing the full text of the Hebrew Bible.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=10}} The manuscript, which had purportedly been found "in a jar",{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=10}} became the source text for one of the two Hebrew columns in Origen's {{translit|grc|Hexapla}}.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=10}} Origen studied the [[Old Testament]] in great depth;{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=10}} Eusebius even claims that Origen learned Hebrew.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=11}}{{sfn|Marcos|2000|p=205}} Most modern scholars regard this claim as implausible,{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=11}}{{sfn|Marcos|2000|pp=204–205}} but they disagree over how much Origen knew about the language.{{sfn|Marcos|2000|p=205}} H. Lietzmann concludes that Origen probably only knew the Hebrew alphabet and not much else,{{sfn|Marcos|2000|p=205}} whereas R. P. C. Hanson and G. Bardy argue that Origen had a superficial understanding of the language but not enough to have composed the entire {{translit|grc|Hexapla}}.{{sfn|Marcos|2000|p=205}} A note in Origen's ''On the First Principles'' mentions an unknown "Hebrew master",{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=11}} but this was probably a consultant, not a teacher.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=11}}

[[File:OrigenStudentsLuyken.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Dutch illustration by Jan Luyken (1700), showing Origen teaching his students]]

Origen also studied the entire [[New Testament]],{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=10}} but especially the [[Pauline epistles|epistles of the apostle Paul]] and the [[Gospel of John]],{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=10}} the writings which Origen regarded as the most important and authoritative.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=10}} At Ambrose's request, Origen composed the first five books of his exhaustive ''Commentary on the Gospel of John'',{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=12}} He also wrote the first eight books of his ''Commentary on Genesis'', his ''Commentary on Psalms 1–25'', and his ''Commentary on Lamentations''.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=12}} In addition to these commentaries, Origen also wrote two books on the resurrection of Jesus and ten books of {{translit|grc|Stromata}} ('Miscellanies').{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=12}} It is likely that these works contained much theological speculation,{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=13}} which brought Origen into even greater conflict with Demetrius.<ref>{{cite book
 | last1 = McGuckin
 | first1 = John Anthony
 | author-link1 = John Anthony McGuckin
 | chapter = The Life of Origen (ca. 186–255)
 | editor1-last = McGuckin
 | editor1-first = John Anthony
 | editor1-link = John Anthony McGuckin
 | title = The Westminster Handbook to Origen
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=riEdrWEDFq0C
 | series = The Westminster Handbooks to Christian Theology
 | location = Louisville, Kentucky
 | publisher = Westminster John Knox Press
 | date = 2004
 | page = 13
 | isbn = 9780664224721
 | access-date = 6 September 2020
 | quote = The writings brought to a head the growing tension between the philosopher theologian Origen and the local bishop Demetrios. One could suspect that his doctrine of incorporeal resurrection bodies and the other speculations that must have been contained in the {{translit|grc|Stromata}}, as well as many of the unusual points of doctrine still extant in the ''On the First Principles'', would have been enough to give Demetrios grounds for complaint. The latest conflict between Origen and his bishop seems to have been the last straw [...]
 | archive-date = 28 April 2021
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210428104459/https://books.google.com/books?id=riEdrWEDFq0C
 | url-status = live
 }}</ref>

===Conflict with Demetrius and removal to Caesarea===

Origen repeatedly asked Demetrius to [[Ordination|ordain]] him as a priest, but Demetrius continually refused.<ref>[[Eusebius]], ''Church History'', VI.14. See [http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/250106.htm Eusebius – Church History (Book VI)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612135919/http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/250106.htm |date=2018-06-12 }}.</ref>{{sfn|Griggs|2000|p=61}}{{sfn|Olson|1999|p=101}} In around 231, Demetrius sent Origen on a mission to Athens.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=13}}{{sfn|Crouzel|1989|p=18}} Along the way, Origen stopped in Caesarea,{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=13}}{{sfn|Crouzel|1989|p=18}} where he was warmly greeted by the bishops Theoctistus of Caesarea and Alexander of Jerusalem, who had become his close friends during his previous stay.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=13}}{{sfn|Crouzel|1989|p=18}} While he was visiting Caesarea, Origen asked Theoctistus to ordain him as a priest.{{sfn|Olson|1999|p=101}}{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=13}} Theoctistus gladly complied.<ref>Eusebius, ''Historia Ecclesiastica'' VI.26</ref>{{sfn|Griggs|2000|p=61}}{{sfn|Crouzel|1989|p=18}} Upon learning of Origen's ordination, Demetrius was outraged and issued a condemnation declaring that Origen's ordination by a foreign bishop was an act of insubordination.{{sfn|Griggs|2000|p=61}}{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|pp=13–14}}{{sfn|Crouzel|1989|p=18}}

Eusebius reports that as a result of Demetrius's condemnations, Origen decided not to return to Alexandria and instead to take up permanent residence in Caesarea.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|pp=13–14}} John Anthony McGuckin, however, argues that Origen had probably already been planning to stay in Caesarea.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=14}} The Palestinian bishops declared Origen the chief theologian of Caesarea.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=15}} [[Firmilian]], the bishop of [[Caesarea Mazaca]] in [[Cappadocia]], was such a devoted disciple of Origen that he begged him to come to Cappadocia and teach there.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|pp=14–15}}

Demetrius raised a storm of protests against the bishops of Palestine and the church [[synod]] in Rome.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=14}} According to Eusebius, Demetrius published the allegation that Origen had secretly castrated himself,{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=14}} a capital offense under Roman law at the time{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=14}} and one which would have made Origen's ordination invalid, since eunuchs were forbidden from becoming priests.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=14}} Demetrius also alleged that Origen had taught an extreme form of {{translit|grc|[[apokatastasis]]}}, which held that all beings, including even Satan himself, would eventually attain salvation.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=15}} This allegation probably arose from a misunderstanding of Origen's argument during a debate with the Valentinian Gnostic teacher Candidus.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=15}} Candidus had argued in favor of [[predestination]] by declaring that the Devil was beyond salvation.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=15}} Origen had responded by arguing that, if the Devil is destined for eternal damnation, it was on account of his actions, which were the result of his own [[free will]].{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|pp=15–16}} Therefore, Origen had declared that Satan was only morally [[Reprobation|reprobate]], not absolutely reprobate.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|pp=15–16}}

Demetrius died in 232, less than a year after Origen's departure from Alexandria.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=14}} The accusations against Origen faded with the death of Demetrius,{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=17}} but they did not disappear entirely{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|pp=15–17}} and they continued to haunt him for the rest of his career.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|pp=15–17}} Origen defended himself in his ''Letter to Friends in Alexandria'',{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=15}} in which he vehemently denied that he had ever taught that the Devil would attain salvation{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=15}}{{sfn|Olson|1999|p=105}}{{sfn|Kelly|2006|p=199}} and insisted that the very notion of the Devil attaining salvation was simply ludicrous.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=15}}

===Work and teaching in Caesarea===
{{rquote|right|It was like a spark falling in our deepest soul, setting it on fire, making it burst into flame within us. It was, at the same time, a love for the Holy Word, the most beautiful object of all that, by its ineffable beauty attracts all things to itself with irresistible force, and it was also love for this man, the friend and advocate of the Holy Word. I was thus persuaded to give up all other goals&nbsp;... I had only one remaining object that I valued and longed for – philosophy, and that divine man who was my master of philosophy.|Theodore, ''Panegyric'', a first-hand account of what listening to one of Origen's lectures in Caesarea was like{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=18}}}}

During his early years in Caesarea, Origen's primary task was the establishment of a Christian School;{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=16}}{{sfn|Watts|2008|pp=161–164}} Caesarea had long been seen as a center of learning for Jews and Hellenistic philosophers,{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=16}} but until Origen's arrival, it had lacked a Christian center of higher education.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=16}} According to Eusebius, the school Origen founded was primarily targeted towards young pagans who had expressed interest in Christianity{{sfn|Olson|1999|p=102}}{{sfn|Watts|2008|pp=161–164}} but were not yet ready to ask for baptism.{{sfn|Olson|1999|p=102}}{{sfn|Watts|2008|pp=161–164}} The school therefore sought to explain Christian teachings through [[Middle Platonism]].{{sfn|Olson|1999|p=102}}{{sfn|Watts|2008|pp=161–166}} Origen started his curriculum by teaching his students classical [[Socratic method|Socratic]] reasoning.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=18}} After they had mastered this, he taught them [[cosmology]] and [[natural history]].{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=18}} Finally, once they had mastered all of these subjects, he taught them theology, which was the highest of all philosophies, the accumulation of everything they had previously learned.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=18}}

With the establishment of the Caesarean school, Origen's reputation as a scholar and theologian reached its zenith{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=16}} and he became known throughout the Mediterranean world as a brilliant intellectual.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=16}} The [[ordinary (officer)|hierarchs]] of the Palestinian and Arabian church synods regarded Origen as the ultimate expert on all matters dealing with theology.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=17}} While teaching in Caesarea, Origen resumed work on his ''Commentary on John'', composing at least books six through ten.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|pp=16–17}} In the first of these books, Origen compares himself to "an Israelite who has escaped the perverse persecution of the Egyptians".{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=16}} Origen also wrote the treatise ''On Prayer'' at the request of his friend Ambrose and Tatiana (referred to as the "sister" of Ambrose), in which he analyzes the different types of prayers described in the Bible and offers a detailed exegesis on the [[Lord's Prayer]].{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|pp=12, 17}}

[[File:Julia mammea02 pushkin.jpg|thumb|left|[[Julia Avita Mamaea]], the mother of the Roman emperor [[Severus Alexander]], summoned Origen to Antioch to teach her philosophy.{{sfn|Olson|1999|p=101}}]]

Pagans also took a fascination with Origen.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=18}} The [[Neoplatonism|Neoplatonist]] philosopher [[Porphyry (philosopher)|Porphyry]] heard of Origen's fame{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=18}} and traveled to Caesarea to listen to his lectures.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=18}} Porphyry recounts that Origen had extensively studied the teachings of [[Pythagoras]], [[Plato]], and [[Aristotle]],{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=18}}{{sfn|Grant|1967|p=552}} but also those of important Middle Platonists, [[Neopythagoreanism|Neopythagoreans]], and [[Stoicism|Stoics]], including [[Numenius of Apamea]], [[Chronius]], [[Apollophanes]], [[On the Sublime|Longinus]], [[Moderatus of Gades]], [[Nicomachus]], [[Chaeremon]], and [[Lucius Annaeus Cornutus|Cornutus]].{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=18}}{{sfn|Grant|1967|p=552}} Nonetheless, Porphyry accused Origen of having betrayed true philosophy by subjugating its insights to the exegesis of the Christian scriptures.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=18}}{{sfn|Watts|2008|p=158}} Eusebius reports that Origen was summoned from Caesarea to Antioch at the behest of [[Julia Avita Mamaea]], the mother of Roman Emperor [[Severus Alexander]], "to discuss Christian philosophy and doctrine with her".<ref>From ''The Emergence of Christianity'', Cynthia White, Greenwood Press, 2007, p. 14.</ref>

In 235, approximately three years after Origen began teaching in Caesarea, Alexander Severus, who had been tolerant towards Christians, was murdered{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=19}} and Emperor [[Maximinus Thrax]] instigated a purge of all those who had supported his predecessor.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=19}} His [[pogrom]]s targeted Christian leaders{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=19}} and, in Rome, [[Pope Pontianus]] and [[Hippolytus of Rome]] were both sent into exile.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=19}} Origen knew that he was in danger and went into hiding in the home of a faithful Christian woman named Juliana the Virgin,{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=19}} who had been a student of the [[Ebionites|Ebionite]] leader [[Symmachus (translator)|Symmachus]].{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=19}} Origen's close friend and longtime patron Ambrose was arrested in [[Nicomedia]], and Protoctetes, the leading priest in Caesarea, was also arrested.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=19}} In their honor, Origen composed his treatise ''[[Exhortation to Martyrdom]]'',{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=19}}{{sfn|Heine|2004|p=122}} which is now regarded as one of the greatest classics of Christian resistance literature.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=19}} After coming out of hiding following Maximinus's death, Origen founded a school of which [[Gregory Thaumaturgus]], later bishop of Pontus, was one of the pupils. He preached regularly on Wednesdays and Fridays, and later daily.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=17}}{{sfn|Watts|2008|p=165}}

===Later life===

Sometime between 238 and 244, Origen visited Athens, where he completed his ''Commentary on the [[Book of Ezekiel]]'' and began writing his ''Commentary on the [[Song of Songs]]''.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=20}} After visiting Athens, he visited Ambrose in Nicomedia.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=20}} According to Porphyry, Origen also travelled to Rome or Antioch, where he met [[Plotinus]], the founder of Neoplatonism.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|pp=20–21}} The Christians of the eastern Mediterranean continued to revere Origen as the most orthodox of all theologians,{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=21}} and when the Palestinian hierarchs learned that [[Beryllus of Bostra|Beryllus]], the bishop of Bostra and one of the most energetic Christian leaders of the time, had been preaching [[adoptionism]] (the belief that Jesus was born human and only became divine after [[Baptism of Jesus|his baptism]]),{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=21}} they sent Origen to convert him to orthodoxy.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=21}} Origen engaged Beryllus in a public disputation, which went so successfully that Beryllus promised only to teach Origen's theology from then on.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=21}} On another occasion, a Christian leader in Arabia named Heracleides began teaching that the [[Christian mortalism|soul was mortal and that it perished with the body]].{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=22}} Origen refuted these teachings, arguing that the soul is immortal and can never die.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=22}}

In {{circa}} 249, the [[Plague of Cyprian]] broke out.{{sfn|MacMullen|1992}} In 250, Emperor [[Decius]], believing that the plague was caused by Christians' failure to recognise him as divine,{{sfn|MacMullen|1992}} [[Decian persecution|issued a decree for Christians to be persecuted]].{{sfn|MacMullen|1992}}{{sfn|Olson|1999|p=102}}{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=22}} This time Origen did not escape.{{sfn|Olson|1999|p=102}}{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=22}} Eusebius recounts how Origen suffered "bodily tortures and torments under the iron collar and in the dungeon; and how for many days with his feet stretched four spaces in the stocks".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://christianbookshelf.org/pamphilius/church_history/chapter_xxxix_the_persecution_under_decius.htm |title=Eusebius, ''Ecclesiastical History'', Book 6, chapter 39 |publisher=Christianbookshelf.org |access-date=2014-04-24 |archive-date=2013-05-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130511071929/http://christianbookshelf.org/pamphilius/church_history/chapter_xxxix_the_persecution_under_decius.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>Timothy David Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', page 351, footnote 96 (Cambridge, Mass.; London: Harvard University Press, 1981) {{ISBN|0-674-16530-6}}</ref>{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=22}} The governor of Caesarea gave very specific orders that Origen was not to be killed until he had publicly renounced his faith in Christ.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=22}} Origen endured two years of imprisonment and torture,{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=22}} but obstinately refused to renounce his faith.{{sfn|Olson|1999|p=102}}{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|pp=3, 22}} In June 251, Decius was killed fighting the Goths in the [[Battle of Abritus]], and Origen was released from prison.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=22}} Nonetheless, Origen's health was broken by the physical tortures enacted on him,{{sfn|Olson|1999|p=102}}{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|pp=3, 23}} and he died less than a year later at the age of sixty-nine.{{sfn|Olson|1999|p=102}}{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|pp=3, 23}} A later legend, recounted by Jerome and numerous itineraries, places his death and burial at [[Tyre (Lebanon)|Tyre]], but little value can be attached to this.<ref>{{Cite book|author=Jerome |title=De viris illustribus (On Illustrious Men) |chapter=[[s:De Viris Illustribus#Chapter 54 (Origen, surnamed Adamantius)|Chapter 54 (Origen, surnamed Adamantius)]] |author-link=Jerome|title-link=De Viris Illustribus (Jerome) }}</ref>