A Letter from Origen to Africanus

De: Origen Adamantinus

Narrado por: Damien Grout

Origen to Africanus, a beloved brother in God the father, through Jesus Christ, his holy child, greeting. Your letter, from which I learn what you think of the Susanna in the Book of Daniel, which is used in the churches, although apparently somewhat short, presents in its few words many problems, each of which demands no common treatment, but such as oversteps the character of a letter and reaches the limits of a discourse. And I, when I consider, as best I can, the measure of my intellect, that I may know myself, am aware that I am wanting in the accuracy necessary to reply to your letter; and that the more, that the few days I have spent in Nicomedia have been far from sufficient to send you an answer to all your demands and queries even after the fashion of the present epistle. Wherefore pardon my little ability, and the little time I had, and read this letter with all indulgence, supplying anything I may omit.

©2016 Andrew Overett (P)2020 Andrew Overett

A Facebook battle between 3rd Century theologians?

Origen is my favorite theologian, so I read all I can by him. This work is a little different, though, in that it is essentially Origen's response to another theologian (Africanus) who calls him out for sloppy scholarship regarding an apocryphal portion of Daniel. There are some nuggets of spiritual insight here, but we mostly get a glimpse into Origen's personality and especially the methods he used in scholarship, philosophy, and spiritual inquiry. So, this book would not be - in my opinion - a place to start in the study of Origen or his theology, but still remains very interesting and full of historical value about this fascinating time in waning Antiquity. I found it a good use of my money and time.