Conversion to Christian Philosophy—the case of Origen’s School in Caesarea
Abstract
In this article I will discuss whether the teaching and preaching of Origen should be understood as aiming at a conversion to philosophy. The idea that Origen’s teaching can be understood this way is inspired by Gregor Thaumaturgus-or Gregory the Wonderworker as he is called in English.1 In his address2 to Origen and his fellow pupils when he left Origen’s school in Caesarea Gregory describes what happened to him in Origen’s school as a kind of conversion. Reading Gregory’s address one can get the impression that his conversion was a conversion to philosophy more than a conversion to Christianity or to a certain kind of Christian theology. In a shorter form, Eusebius mentions something similar. At this background it is reasonable to ask what Gregory could have meant by his description, and whether such a description of Origen’s work can be confirmed and substantiated by Origen’s own writings. I will focus on Origen’s activities in Caesarea, but these will be seen in the context of what we know about his own education and his teaching in Alexandria in the period before he moved to Caesarea.
ZUSAMMENFASSUNG
In meinem Beitrag versuche ich das, was wir über Origenes’ Schule in Caesarea von Gregor Thaumaturgus wissen, mit dem in Verbindung zu bringen, was über Origenes’ Lehrstrategien aus seinen Bibelkommentaren entnommen werden kann. Diese Kommentare sind zweifellos an philosophisch gut ausgebildete Menschen adressiert, die sich für „Christliche Philosophie“ interessieren, aber noch nicht von der Wahrheit des Christentums überzeugt sind. Origenes’ Bibelkommentare können daher als Werkzeug bei seinem Bemühen gesehen werden, Menschen wie Gregor Thaumaturgus zu dem zu bekehren, was nach Origenes wahre christliche Philosophie ist.
© 2015 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Masthead
- Titelei
- Editorial / Einleitung
- Berlin, 1929-1932: Eine autobiographische Skizze von Carl Andresen
- Carl Andresen (1909-1985) – ein protestantischer Kirchenhistoriker in seiner Zeit
- „Patristik – heute eine Disziplin mit Zukunft!“ Zum Gedenken an Carl Andresen (1909-1985)
- Education and Religion: A New Research Centre at Göttingen
- What Do We Know about Justin’s “School” in Rome?
- Justin’s School in Rome–Reflections on Early Christian “Schools”
- In Search of Christian Paideia Education and Conversion in Early Christian Biography
- Did Christian Ethics have any Influence on the Conversion to Christianity?
- Nos ergo soli innocentes! (Apologeticum 45,1) Innocence as a Marker of Christian Affiliation in Tertullian’s Apologeticum
- The Education and (Self-)Affirmation of (Recent or Potential) Converts: The Case of Cyprian and the Ad Donatum
- Conversion to Christian Philosophy—the case of Origen’s School in Caesarea
- Rezensionen / Reviews
Articles in the same Issue
- Masthead
- Titelei
- Editorial / Einleitung
- Berlin, 1929-1932: Eine autobiographische Skizze von Carl Andresen
- Carl Andresen (1909-1985) – ein protestantischer Kirchenhistoriker in seiner Zeit
- „Patristik – heute eine Disziplin mit Zukunft!“ Zum Gedenken an Carl Andresen (1909-1985)
- Education and Religion: A New Research Centre at Göttingen
- What Do We Know about Justin’s “School” in Rome?
- Justin’s School in Rome–Reflections on Early Christian “Schools”
- In Search of Christian Paideia Education and Conversion in Early Christian Biography
- Did Christian Ethics have any Influence on the Conversion to Christianity?
- Nos ergo soli innocentes! (Apologeticum 45,1) Innocence as a Marker of Christian Affiliation in Tertullian’s Apologeticum
- The Education and (Self-)Affirmation of (Recent or Potential) Converts: The Case of Cyprian and the Ad Donatum
- Conversion to Christian Philosophy—the case of Origen’s School in Caesarea
- Rezensionen / Reviews
