Origen of Alexandria

Origen Adamantius

Lived

c. 185–c. 253

Era

The fathers

Where

Alexandria and Caesarea

Tradition

The apostolic communities

The first systematic theologian, and the first great biblical scholar

Head of the catechetical school at Alexandria and later at Caesarea, author on a scale nobody has matched — commentaries on most of the Bible, the first attempt at a systematic theology, and the Hexapla, a six-column parallel edition of the Old Testament. He was tortured under Decius and died of it.

Why it matters

He established that scripture is read at several levels at once, which shaped exegesis for a thousand years, and he set the questions the fourth century would answer. He was also condemned three centuries after his death, at Constantinople II, for speculations about pre-existent souls and universal restoration that he had offered as speculation. Most of his work is lost as a result, surviving in fragments and in Latin translations made by admirers who quietly corrected him.

In the record

1. 553 AD Council

   Second Council of Constantinople

   Condemned by it, three centuries after his death

All the figures, from the apostolic age to the present, or the timeline they stand in.