Origen, Letter to Gregory the Miracle-Worker 1
https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/330
Context
Origen was an intellectual luminary and influential theologian of the
Church during the first half to middle of the 3rd century. He attracted a following of
devout students and famous visitors at Alexandria until his departure under pressure
from the bishop Demetrios in 231 C.E. He was warmly received by the hierarchs in
Palestine, where he settled in Caesarea, was ordained, and continued preaching and
teaching. Among his many disciples there was one Theodore from Pontus, later known as
Gregory the Miracle-Worker, who arrived a prospective lawyer and left a Christian
scholar. According to the traditional chronology, Gregory studied under Origen from ca.
231 or 233 until 238 or 239, but we have little evidence for the exact history. Two
precious documents of the relationship survive: the panegyric to Origen that Gregory
gave as his valedictory (see Related Texts), and a short letter from teacher to student
perhaps dating to ca. 235-238, when Origen hid to avoid the purge of Christian leaders
under Maximinus Thrax. This letter survives in the Philocalia (13), a
compilation of Origen’s writings by Basil of Caesarea and Gregory of Nazianzus from the
late 350s to early 360s. As he opens the letter, Origen encapsulates the program of his
school at Caesarea. He exhorts Gregory to study Greek philosophy, music, literature,
oratory, and science in order to perfect his understanding of Christian thought and
scripture.
Text
Χαῖρε ἐν θεῷ, κύριέ μου σπουδαιότατε καὶ αἰδεσιμώτατε υἱὲ Γρηγόριε, παρὰ
Ὠριγένους.Ἡ εἰς σύνεσιν, ὡς οἶσθα, εὐφυΐα ἔργον φέρειν δύναται ἄσκησιν προσλαβοῦσα,
ἄγον ἐπὶ τὸ κατὰ τὸ ἐνδεχόμενον, ἵν’ οὕτως ὀνομάσω, τέλος ἐκείνου, ὅπερ ἀσκεῖν τις
βούλεται. δύναται οὖν ἡ εὐφυΐα σου Ῥωμαῖόν σε νομικὸν ποιῆσαι τέλειον καὶ Ἑλληνικόν τινα
φιλόσοφον τῶν νομιζομένων ἐλλογίμων αἱρέσεων. ἀλλ’ ἐγὼ τῇ πάσῃ τῆς εὐφυΐας δυνάμει σου
ἐβουλόμην καταχρήσασθαί σε τελικῶς μὲν εἰς χριστιανισμόν· ποιητικῶς δὲ διὰ τοῦτ’ ἂν
ηὐξάμην παραλαβεῖν σε καὶ φιλοσοφίας Ἑλλήνων τὰ οἱονεὶ εἰς χριστιανισμὸν δυνάμενα
γενέσθαι ἐγκύκλια μαθήματα ἢ προπαιδεύματα, καὶ τὰ ἀπὸ γεωμετρίας καὶ ἀστρονομίας
χρήσιμα ἐσόμενα εἰς τὴν τῶν ἱερῶν γραφῶν διήγησιν· ἵν’, ὅπερ φασὶ φιλοσόφων παῖδες περὶ
γεωμετρίας καὶ μουσικῆς γραμματικῆς τε καὶ ῥητορικῆς καὶ ἀστρονομίας, ὡς συνερίθων
φιλοσοφίᾳ, τοῦθ’ἡμεῖς εἴπωμεν καὶ περὶ αὐτῆς φιλοσοφίας πρὸς χριστιανισμόν.
1
Textual Note
Ed. Koetschau 1894Translation
Greetings in God,
most excellent and reverend lord, son Gregory, from Origen.A natural talent for
understanding, as you know, bestows on one the ability, through diligent practice, to
pursue activity that leads to the fullest possible consummation (if I may call it that)
of the very thing he desires to practice. Your innate aptitude makes you a consummate
Roman lawyer and a Greek philosopher of the most famous schools. But I was wishing that
you would apply the full force of your talent to perfection in Christianity. For this
reason, bearing in mind what you could become, I prayed that you would undertake
whichever topics in Greek philosophy could serve as useful general and preparatory
lessons for Christianity, and those subjects in geometry and astronomy that would be
useful for interpreting the Holy Scriptures. And so, just as the children of
philosophers say that geometry and music, grammar and rhetoric, and astronomy are
ancillary to philosophy, we say that philosophy is ancillary to Christianity.
2
Translation Note
Trans. J. L. Rife with ref. to Menzies 1899Works Cited
- 1 Origen, Der Brief des Origenes an Gregorios Thaumaturgos [Letter to Gregory the Miracle-Worker], in Des Gregorios Thaumaturgos Dankrede an Origenes, ed. Paul Koetschau, Sammlung ausgewählter kirchen- und dogmengeschichtlicher Quellenschriften 9 (Freiburg & Leipzig: Mohr, 1894), 40–44, section: 1, p: 40-41.
- 2 Origen, Letter of Origen to Gregory, in The Gospel of Peter, The Diatessaron of Tatian, The Apocalypse of Peter, The Visio Pauli, The Apocalypses of the Virgin and Sedrach, The Testament of Abrtaham, The Acts of Xanthippe and Polyxena, The Narrative of Zosimus, The Apology of Aristides, The Epistles of Clement (Complete Text), Origen’s Commentary on John, Books I-X, and Commentary on Matthew, Books I, II, and X-XIV, trans. Allan Menzies, 5th ed., vol. 9, 10 vols., The Ante-Nicene Fathers : Translations of the Writings of the Fathers down to A.D. 325. Original Supplement to the American Edition (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1926), 295–96, p: 295.
How to Cite This Entry
Joseph L. Rife, “Origen, Letter to Gregory the Miracle-Worker 1,” in Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, entry published June 30, 2023, https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/330.
Show full citation information...
Bibliography:
Joseph L. Rife, “Origen, Letter to Gregory the Miracle-Worker 1.” 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/330.About this Entry
Entry Title: Origen, Letter to Gregory the Miracle-Worker 1
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, “Origen, Letter to Gregory the Miracle-Worker 1”
- Joseph L. Rife, entry contributor, “Origen, Letter to Gregory the Miracle-Worker 1”
Additional Credit:
- TEI encoding by William L. Potter
- Electronic text added by Joseph L. Rife
- Testimonia identified by Joseph L. Rife