Editing Origen (section)

===After the Anathemas===
{{rquote|right|If orthodoxy were a matter of intention, no theologian could be more orthodox than Origen, none more devoted to the cause of the Christian faith.|[[Henry Chadwick (theologian)|Henry Chadwick]], scholar of early Christianity, in the ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]''{{sfn|Chadwick|2017}}}}
As a direct result of the numerous condemnations of his work, only a tiny fraction of Origen's voluminous writings have survived.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|pp=25–26}}{{sfn|Ehrman|2003|pp=155–156}} Nonetheless, these writings still amount to a massive number of Greek and Latin texts, very few of which have yet been translated into English.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=25}} Many more writings have survived in fragments through quotations from later Church Fathers.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=26}} Even in the late 14th century, [[Francesc Eiximenis]] in his [[Llibre de les dones]], produced otherwise unknown quotations from Origen, which may be evidence of other works surviving into the Late Medieval period.<ref>Wittlin, Curt J. "Francesc Eiximenis and the" Sins of the Tongueu: Observations on a Semantic Field." Catalan Review 13.1–2 (1999): 255–276, p.255</ref><ref>''Llibre de les dones''. Barcelona. Curial Edicions Catalanes. 1981, p.387. Introduction by [[Curt Wittlin]]. {{in lang|ca}}</ref> 

It is likely that the writings containing Origen's most unusual and speculative ideas have been lost to time,{{sfn|MacGregor|1982|p=56}} making it nearly impossible to determine whether Origen actually held the heretical views which the anathemas against him ascribed to him.{{sfn|MacGregor|1982|p=56}} Nonetheless, in spite of the decrees against Origen, the church remained enamored of him{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=26}} and he remained a central figure of Christian theology throughout the first millennium.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=26}} He continued to be revered as the founder of Biblical exegesis,{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=26}} and anyone in the first millennium who took the interpretation of the scriptures seriously would have had knowledge of Origen's teachings.{{sfn|McGuckin|2004|p=26}}

{{Infobox saint
|name=Origen the Scholar
|birth_date={{circa}} 185
|death_date={{circa}} 253
|feast_day=[[April 27]]
|venerated_in=[[Evangelical Church in Germany]]
|image=Origen3.jpg
|imagesize=
|caption=
|birth_place=[[Alexandria]]
|death_place=[[Tyre, Lebanon|Tyre]]
|titles= Teacher and theologian
|beatified_date=
|beatified_place=
|beatified_by=
|canonized_date=
|canonized_place=
|canonized_by=
|attributes=self-castration, monastic habit
|patronage=
|major_shrine=
|suppressed_date=
|issues=Lack of formal canonization, accusations of heresy
}}

Jerome's Latin translations of Origen's homilies were widely read in western Europe throughout the Middle Ages,{{sfn|Chadwick|2017}} and Origen's teachings greatly influenced those of the Byzantine monk [[Maximus the Confessor]] and the Irish theologian [[John Scotus Eriugena]].{{sfn|Chadwick|2017}} Since the [[Renaissance]], the debate over Origen's orthodoxy has continued to rage.{{sfn|Chadwick|2017}} [[Basilios Bessarion]], a Greek refugee who fled to Italy after the [[Fall of Constantinople]] in 1453, produced a Latin translation of Origen's ''Against Celsus'', which was printed in 1481.{{sfn|Trigg|1983|p=255}} Major controversy erupted in 1487, after the [[Renaissance humanism|Italian humanist]] scholar [[Giovanni Pico della Mirandola]] issued a thesis arguing that "it is more reasonable to believe that Origen was saved than he was damned".{{sfn|Trigg|1983|p=255}} A papal commission condemned Pico's position on account of the anathemas against Origen, but not until after the debate had received considerable attention.{{sfn|Trigg|1983|p=255}}

The most prominent advocate of Origen during the Renaissance was the Dutch humanist scholar [[Desiderius Erasmus]], who regarded Origen as the greatest of all Christian authors{{sfn|Trigg|1983|p=255}} and wrote in a letter to [[John Eck]] that he learned more about Christian philosophy from a single page of Origen than from ten pages of [[Augustine of Hippo|Augustine]].{{sfn|Trigg|1983|p=255}} Erasmus especially admired Origen for his lack of rhetorical flourishes, which were so common in the writings of other Patristic authors.{{sfn|Trigg|1983|p=255}} Erasmus borrowed heavily from Origen's defense of free will in ''On First Principles'' in his 1524 treatise ''[[De libero arbitrio diatribe sive collatio|On Free Will]]'', now considered his most important theological work.{{sfn|Trigg|1983|p=255}} 

In 1527, Erasmus translated and published the portion of Origen's ''Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew'' that survived only in Greek{{sfn|Trigg|1983|p=256}} and in 1536, he published the most complete edition of Origen's writings that had ever been published at that time.{{sfn|Trigg|1983|p=255}} While Origen's emphasis on the human effort in attaining salvation appealed to the Renaissance humanists, it made him far less appealing to the proponents of the Reformation.{{sfn|Trigg|1983|p=256}} 

[[Martin Luther]] deplored Origen's understanding of salvation as irredeemably defective{{sfn|Trigg|1983|p=256}} and declared "in all of Origen there is not one word about Christ".{{sfn|Trigg|1983|p=256}} Consequently, he ordered for Origen's writings to be banned.{{sfn|Trigg|1983|p=256}} Nonetheless, the earlier Czech reformer [[Jan Hus]] had taken inspiration from Origen for his view that the church is a spiritual reality rather than an official hierarchy,{{sfn|Trigg|1983|p=256}} and Luther's contemporary, the Swiss reformer [[Huldrych Zwingli]], took inspiration from Origen for his interpretation of the Eucharist as symbolic.{{sfn|Trigg|1983|p=256}}

In the seventeenth century, the English [[Cambridge Platonists|Cambridge Platonist]] [[Henry More]] was a devoted Origenist,{{sfn|Hutton|2006|p=205}} and although he did reject the notion of universal salvation,{{sfn|Hutton|2006|p=205}} he accepted most of Origen's other teachings.{{sfn|Hutton|2006|page=205}} [[Pope Benedict XVI]] expressed admiration for Origen,{{sfn|Pope Benedict XVI|2007|pp=24–27}} describing him in a sermon as part of a series on the Church Fathers as "a figure crucial to the whole development of Christian thought", "a true 'maestro{{'"}}, and "not only a brilliant theologian but also an exemplary witness of the doctrine he passed on".{{sfn|Pope Benedict XVI|2007|p=24}} He concludes the sermon by inviting his audience to "welcome into your hearts the teaching of this great master of the faith".{{sfn|Pope Benedict XVI|2007|p=27}} Modern Protestant evangelicals admire Origen for his passionate devotion to the scriptures{{sfn|Franke|2003}} but are frequently baffled or even appalled by his allegorical interpretation of them, which many believe ignores the literal, historical truth behind them.{{sfn|Franke|2003}}

Origen is often noted for being one of the few Church Fathers who is not generally regarded as a saint.<ref>Hook, Walter Farquhar. ''The Nonentity of Romish Saints and the Inanity of Romish Ordinances.'' John Murray, 1850, p. 21</ref> Nevertheless, there are notable individuals who referred to Origen as St. Origen. This includes Anglicans such as [[Edward Welchman]],<ref>Welchman, Edward. ''The Thirty-nine Articles of the Church of England: Illustrated with Notes, and Confirmed by Texts of the Holy Scripture, and Testimonies of the Primitive Fathers.... Written in Latin by the Rev. Mr Archdeacon Welchman, and Now Translated Into English According to the Sixth Edition, by a Clergyman of the University of Oxford. No. 4.'' John and Francis Rivington, 1767, p.54.</ref> [[John Howson]]<ref>Howson, John. ''Uxore dimissa propter fornicationem aliam non licet superinducere''. Barnesius, p.16.</ref> and [[Winston Churchill (Cavalier)|Sir Winston Churchill]];<ref>Churchill, Winston. ''Divi Britannici: Being a Remark Upon the Lives of All the Kings of this Isle, from the Year of the World 2855. Unto the Year of Grace 1660.'' Tho. Roycroft, to be sold by Francis Eglesfield, 1962, p.49.</ref> Calvinists such as [[Pierre Bayle]],<ref>Bayle, Pierre, et al. ''A General Dictionary: Historical and Critical: in which a New and Accurate Translation of that of the Celebrated Mr. Bayle, with the Corrections and Observations Printed in the Late Edition at Paris, is Included; and Interspersed with Several Thousand Lives Never Before Published. The Whole Containing the History of the Most Illustrious Persons of All Ages and Nations Particularly Those of Great Britain and Ireland, Distinguished by Their Rank, Actions, Learning and Other Accomplishments. Vol. 4.'' J. Bettenham, 1736.</ref> Georges-Louis Liomin<ref>Liomin, Georges-Louis. ''Préservatif contre les opinions erronées qui se répandent au sujet de la durée des peines de la vie à venir. chez le Sr. Fréderic Louis Liomin'', 1760.</ref> and [[Heinrich Bullinger]];<ref>Gantet, Claire. "La religion et ses mots: La Bible latine de Zurich (1543) entre la tradition et l'innovation." ''Zwingliana'' 23 (2010): 143–167, p.149.</ref> American scholar and Orthodox Christian [[David Bentley Hart]];<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.firstthings.com/article/2015/10/saint-origen|title=Saint Origen|website=[[First Things]]|date=October 2015|access-date=22 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221007113239/https://www.firstthings.com/article/2015/10/saint-origen|archive-date=7 October 2022|url-status=live}}</ref> Oriental Orthodox such as [[Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria]],<ref>H.H. Pope Shenouda III. ''"THE BEHOLDER OF GOD MARK THE EVANGELIST SAINT AND MARTYR."'' (1995), p.95.</ref> Fr. Tadros Yakoup Malaty<ref>Fr. Malaty, Tadros Yakoup. "Divine Love and Divine Commandment" ''Divine Love'' Vol. 4 (2019), p.203.</ref> and the [[Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States]].<ref>Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States. "NT 101 Gospel and Acts" ''Servants' Preparation Program'' (2005), p.75.</ref> Origen's father, Saint [[Leonides of Alexandria]], has a feast day on April 22 in the Catholic tradition, and the [[Evangelical Church in Germany]] celebrates [[April 27]] as Origen's feast day.