Akademik

(c. 185–254)

Early Christian theologian. Origen produced an elaborate edition of the Old Testament, the Hexapla, in which the Hebrew, the Hebrew transliterated into Greek, and four Greek versions are presented side by side. His work De Principiis covered a range of topics from the point of view of reconciling the philosophy of Plato with Christianity (it is usually thought that Origen the Platonist and Origen the Christian, sometimes distinguished, were one person). He favoured an allegorical approach to the Bible, and defended the pre-existence of souls, the unity of God the father (and lesser divinity of the Son), and the original creation of all spirits as equal. He also allowed that in the end all might be saved, a view that particularly shocked St Jerome: ‘Origen teaches that after many ages and one restoration of all things, Gabriel will be in the same state as the devil, Paul as Caiaphas, and virgins as prostitutes.’ His views were condemned in 400, and then again to make sure in 553 at the second council of Constantinople.