Episode 39: Origen of Alexandria - Interview with Dr. Thomas Scheck

Five Books for Catholics

Dr. Thomas Scheck discusses Origen of Alexandria (185-253) and recommends the following books:

1. Contra Celsum by Origen (edited by Henry Chadwick)
2. Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans (vol. 1) (vol. 2) by Origen (translated by Thomas P. Scheck)
3. Homilies on Joshua by Origen (translated by Barbara J. Bruce)
4. Homilies on Numbers by Origen (translated by Thomas P. Scheck)
5. Apology for Origen by St. Pamphilius (translated by Thomas P. Scheck) ....and some bonus recommendations...
6. Church Fathers: From Clement of Rome to Augustine by Benedict XVI
7. The History of the Church by Eusebius of Caesarea, translated by G.A. Williamson, revised and edited by Andrew Louth
8. Origen: The Life and Though of the First Great Theologian by Henri Crouzel

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The ecclesiastical writer Origen of Alexandria (185-253) exerted an enormous influence on the Church Fathers and the development of Christian doctrine. He is the first and arguably the greatest Christian scholar of Sacred Scripture. He was instructed rigorously in letters and the study of Sacred Scripture by his father, St. Leonidas. After his father’s death, one wealthy benefactor financed the precocious youth’s education. Another, Ambrose, whom Origen had converted from Gnosticism to orthodox Christianity, provided him with a staff to write out and copy the books dictated by the brilliant biblical scholar. Still a teenager, Origen was appointed a catechist by Demetrius, the bishop of Alexandria, and for many years headed the city’s prestigious catechetical school. During a visit to Palestine, the bishops who had invited him to preach to their congregations, ordained him a presbyter. Enraged, Demetrius condemned Origen in missives to the heads of the local churches and started some of the spurious accusations that would affect his reputation in the following centuries. However, the bishop who had ordained Origen, Theoctistus of Caesarea, welcomed him into his church. There he continued to write and directed a school, where he would teach his students—mostly pagans with an interest in becoming Christians—philosophy and then theology. Under the persecution of Decius, he was arrested. Tortured repeatedly during his two years of imprisonment, he refused to renounce the faith and died shortly after his release. Only a small fraction of his 2000 odd works is extant. Campaigns to condemn Origen as the source of later heresies were launched in the late fourth and the sixth century. As a result, many copies of his writings were destroyed or neglected. Among his main works are the Hexapla, Contra Celsum, De principiis, On Prayer, Exhortation to Martyrdom, along with numerous homilies and biblical commentaries.

In this interview, Dr. Thomas P. Scheck will take us through some of the great Alexandrian theologian’s writings.

Dr. Thomas P. Scheck (PhD, University of Iowa), taught for 16 years at Ave Maria University as Associate Professor of Classics and Theology. He currently teaches Latin at Naples Classical Academy, Naples, Florida. He is a translator of many works of the Church Fathers, including Origen, St. Jerome, St. Chromatius, and of Renaissance scholars such as Erasmus and St. John Fisher.

Read the interview at www.fivebooksforcatholics.com/origen-of-alexandria/⁠

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