ORIGEN (c. 185–c. 254), surnamed Adamantius (the man of steel or diamond), is considered the greatest Christian theologian of the Antenicene period.

Life

The main source for Origen's life is the sixth book of Eusebius of Caesarea's Church History. His teachings are also described in a panegyric delivered by one of his students, who (despite recent doubts) is still believed to be Gregory Thaumaturgus. Much information about Origen that was contained in Eusebius's lost writings is preserved in the writings of Jerome. It is difficult to date precisely the events of Origen's life, and recent attempts to do so are not completely satisfactory.

Origen was probably born in Alexandria in 185, the first of seven children in a Christian family. His father, Leonides, taught him Greek literature and the Bible. In 202, when he was seventeen, his father was martyred (by beheading) during the persecution of Septimius Severus. To support his...