Gregory the Miracle-Worker, Panegyric to Origen 5.76-5.112
https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/325
Context
Theodore, who later became known as Gregory the Miracle-Worker (ὁ
Θαυματουργός), was a Christian convert from a leading family of Pontic Neocaesarea who
became an influential theologian and bishop during the middle decades of the 3rd
century. As a wealthy youth traveling with his brother to study law at Berytus in ca.
231-233, he escorted his sister to Caesarea, where her husband was called to serve as
legal attaché (assessor?) to the governor. There Theodore entered the training of Origen
for several years, at the end of which he delivered an eloquent valedictory lauding the
integration of Classical and Christian intellectualism. In this passage he describes the
circumstances of his diversion to Caesarea and attraction to Origen.
Text
Πῶς οὖν καὶ τοῦτο ἐξεπορίσθη; Κηδεστήν μου ἄνδρα ἀδελφῆς ἐμῆς ὁ τότε
ἄρχων τῶν Παλαιστίνων τοῦτον παραλαβὼν ἐξαίφνης, ἄκοντα μόνον κεχωρισμένον τῆς ὁμοκοίτου
ἤγαγεν ἐνταῦθα, συνεπιβοηθήσοντα καὶ κοινωνήσοντα τῶν τοῦ ἔθνους ἄρχοντος πόνων· νομικὸς
γάρ τις ἦν, καὶ ἔστιν ἴσως ἔτι· ὃς δὴ ἐλθὼν ἅμα αὐτῷ ἔμελλε μὲν οὐκ εἰς μακρὸν
μετάπεμπτον ἀπολήψεσθαι τὴν γυναῖκα, ἐπαχθῶς αὐτῆς καὶ ἄκων κεχωρισμένος, καὶ ἡμᾶς δὲ
ἅμα αὐτῇ συνεπισπώμενος. Ἐξαίφνης γοῦν οὐκ οἶδ’ ὅπως ἀποδημεῖν μέν, ἀλλ’ ἑτέρωθί ποι
μᾶλλον ἀποδημεῖν ἤπερ ἐνταῦθα διανοουμένοις ἡμῖν ἐπέστη στρατιώτης φέρων ἐντολήν,
παραπέμπειν μὲν καὶ διασώζεσθαι τὴν ἀδελφὴν ἡμῶν καταλαμβάνουσαν τὸν ἄνδρα, ἄγειν δὲ καὶ
ἡμᾶς συνοδοιπόρους ἅμ’ αὐτῇ· χαριουμένους μὲν καὶ τῷ κηδεστῇ, καὶ μάλιστα τῇ ἀδελφῇ,
ὅπως μὴ οὐκ εὐσχήμων τε ἢ ὀκνηροτέρα πρὸς τὴν ὁδοιπορίαν ᾖ, οἰκέταις αὐτοῖς καὶ τοῖς
συγγενέσι τιμήσασι, καὶ οὐ μικρόν τι ἕτερον τῶν προὔργου διαπραξαμένοις, εἰ ἐπὶ τὴν
Βηρυτίων ἔλθοιμεν πόλιν, ἐκεῖ τὸ τῶν νόμων μάθημα ἐκπονήσαντες. Πάντα τοιγαροῦν ἐκίνει
ἡμᾶς, τὸ πρὸς τὴν ἀδελφὴν εὔλογον, τὸ ἡμέτερον αὐτῶν μάθημα, πρὸς δὲ καὶ ὁ στρατιώτης
(ἐπεὶ καὶ τούτου μνημονεῦσαι δεῖ), φέρων ἐξουσίαν πλειόνων τῶν δημοσίων ὀχημάτων τῆς
χρήσεως, καὶ σύμβολα πλείονος ἀριθμοῦ ἡμῶν μᾶλλον ἢ τῆς ἀδελφῆς μόνης ἕνεκα. Φαινόμενα
μὲν ταῦτα· τὰ δὲ μὴ φαινόμενα μὲν ἀληθέστερα δέ, ἡ πρὸς τὸν ἄνδρα τοῦτον κοινωνία, τὴν
ἀληθῆ δι’ αὐτοῦ περὶ τὰ τοῦ λόγου μαθήματα, ἡ τῶν ψυχῶν ἡμῶν ὠφέλεια εἰς σωτηρίαν ἦγεν
ἡμᾶς ἐπὶ τάδε, τυφλώττοντας μὲν καὶ οὐκ εἰδότας, σωτηριωδῶς δὲ ἡμῖν. Τοιγαροῦν οὐχ ὁ
στρατιώτης, θεῖος δέ τις συνοδοιπόρος καὶ πομπὸς ἀγαθὸς καὶ φύλαξ, ὁ διὰ παντὸς τοῦ βίου
τούτου ὥσπερ μακρᾶς ὁδοιπορίας διασώζων ἡμᾶς, παραμειψάμενος τά τε ἄλλα καὶ τὴν Βηρυτόν,
ἧς μάλιστα ⟨ἕνεκα⟩ ὁρμᾶν ἐνταῦθα ᾠήθημεν, ἐνταῦθα φέρων κατεστήσατο· πάντα ποιῶν καὶ
κινῶν, ἕως πάσῃ μηχανῇ τῷ τῶν πολλῶν ἡμῖν ἀγαθῶν αἰτίῳ τούτῳ συνδήσεται.
1
Textual Note
Ed. Crouzel 1969Translation
How, then, was this effected? The governor of Palestine at the time
suddenly engaged my brother-in-law, my sister’s husband, and brought him here, against
his will, alone, and separated him from his wife, in order to join as an assistant and
participant in the hard work of governing the country. For he was a lawyer, and perhaps
still is. After (my brother-in-law) had gone with (the governor), he intended after a
short time to have his wife summoned and welcomed back, after his difficult and
involuntary separation from her, and to bring us along with her. As we were pondering
travelling to I don’t know where, but certainly anywhere other than this, a soldier
suddenly appeared bearing a letter with instructions for us to escort and to protect our
sister as she rejoined her husband, and to be her travelling companions. It would be a
favor to our relative and especially to our sister, so that she might not undertake the
journey in a manner unbecoming or with hesistance; and our friends and family regarded
our action highly, and we gained no small advantage if we would come to the city of
Berytus, where we could work through law school. And so accordingly all these factors
moved us there—fair consideration of my sister; my own studies; and most of all the
soldier (this needs to be mentioned), who was bringing a larger supply of public
vehicles than the mission demanded and a greater number of promissory notes to us than
was required for just my sister. While these were the explicit reasons (for the
journey), the less obvious and truer reasons were these: (the opportunity for)
fellowship with (Origen); (the access to) the Truth under his guidance in lessons on the
Word; the benefit of our souls (advancing) to salvation. These reasons led us here,
blind and unknown, in a way that saved us. And therefore it was not the soldier, but a
certain divine companion and righteous conductor and guardian, accompanying us safely
through the present life in its entirety, as though it were a long journey. He led us
past various places but in particular Berytus, the city which at the time we were most
determined to reach; and he brought us here (to Caesarea) and settled us in, shaping and
adjusting all circumstances until by any means he might bind us to this man who was to
be the source of all our blessings.
2
Translation Note
Adapted from Salmond 1886Works Cited
- 1 Gregory the Miracle-Worker, Remerciement à Origène, suivi de la Lettre d’Origène à Grégoire., ed. Henri Crouzel, Sources chrétiennes 148 (Paris: Éditions du Cerf, 1969), section: 5, line: 76-112.
- 2 Gregory the Miracle-Worker, The Oration and Panegyric Addressed to Origen, in Gregory Thaumaturgus, Dionysius the Great, Julius Africanus, Anatolius and Minor Writers, Methodius, Arnobius, trans. S. D. F. Salmond, American edition, vol. 6, 10 vols., The Ante-Nicene Fathers: Translations of the Writings of the Fathers down to A.D. 325 (Buffalo: The Christian Literature Publishing Company, 1886), 50–91, p: 26.
How to Cite This Entry
Joseph L. Rife, “Gregory the Miracle-Worker, Panegyric to Origen 5.76-5.112,” in Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, entry published June 30, 2023, https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/325.
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Bibliography:
Joseph L. Rife, “Gregory the Miracle-Worker, Panegyric to Origen 5.76-5.112.” In Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, edited by Joseph L. Rife., edited by Joseph L. Rife. Caesarea City and Port Exploration Project, 2023. Entry published June 30, 2023. https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/325.About this Entry
Entry Title: Gregory the Miracle-Worker, Panegyric to Origen 5.76-5.112
Authorial and Editorial Responsibility:
- Joseph L. Rife, general editor, Vanderbilt University
- Joseph L. Rife, editor, Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia
- David A. Michelson, Daniel L. Schwartz, and William L. Potter, technical editor, “Gregory the Miracle-Worker, Panegyric to Origen 5.76-5.112”
- Joseph L. Rife, entry contributor, “Gregory the Miracle-Worker, Panegyric to Origen 5.76-5.112”
Additional Credit:
- TEI encoding by William L. Potter
- Electronic text added by Joseph L. Rife
- Testimonia identified by Joseph L. Rife