The Philocalia of Origen: A New Translation with Annotations

Origen was one of the great thinkers of the third-century Church and the most influential of the Greek Church Fathers. He created significant interpretations of Scripture throughout his life. The Philocalia of Origen is a collection of texts excerpted from Origen’s numerous works. It was created sometime in the fourth century, perhaps by Basil of Caesarea and Gregory of Nazianzus. It is of special interest to scholars of Origen because it contains several excerpts from works that are no longer extant, or from works now otherwise found only in Latin translations prepared in the fourth century or later from the original Greek.

Yet the Philocalia is also essential to those beginning their studies in Origen; it consists of short extracts from a wide range of his writings--homilies, commentaries, a theological treatise, apologetics--which cover some of the most important subjects he discussed. Many of the annotations in this edition aim to introduce and contextualize Origen to readers previously unacquainted with his works.

The Greek text of the Philocalia was first edited for an English audience in 1893 by J. Armitage Robinson. This text, with some minor improvements, is the Greek text presented in this edition and translated on the facing pages.

Ronald E. Heine, Professor Emeritus of Bible and Theology, Bushnell University

Ronald E. Heine is Professor Emeritus of Bible and Theology at Bushnell University, Oregon. He was educated at Lincoln Christian Seminary and the University of Illinois. His areas of research and teaching include patristics, early Christian history and theology, the use and study of the Bible in the early church, and New Testament. He has taught at Christian colleges and seminaries in the US and the UK, and was Director of the Institut zur Erforschung des Urchristentums in Tübingen, Germany for eleven years. He specializes in the study of the third-century church father, Origen.