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the unlearned style of the apostle in speech, who confessed himself to be unskilled in speech, that is, in phrasing, yet the epistle is more Greek in the composition of its words, as everyone who is able to judge differences in phrasing would agree. 6.25.12 And again, that the thoughts of the epistle are admirable and not second to the acknowledged apostolic writings, this too everyone who pays attention to the apostolic reading would agree is true.” 6.25.13 To these, after other things, he adds, saying: “But I, giving my opinion, would say that the thoughts are the apostle’s, but the phrasing and the composition belong to someone who recorded the apostolic teachings and, as it were, wrote scholia on what was said by the teacher. If, therefore, any church holds this epistle as Paul’s, let it be commended for this also; for not without reason did the men of old hand it down as Paul’s. 6.25.14 But who wrote the epistle, in truth God knows, but the account that has reached us is from some who say that Clement, who became bishop of the Romans, wrote the epistle, and from others that Luke, who wrote the Gospel and the Acts.” But let this be as it may; 6.26.1 This was the tenth year of the aforementioned reign, in which Origen, having moved from Alexandria to Caesarea, left the catechetical school there to Heraclas; not long after, Demetrius, the bishop of the church of the Alexandrians, died, having served in the ministry for forty-three full years; and Heraclas succeeded him. At this time Firmilianus was prominent, bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, holding Origen in such great esteem that at one time he would summon him to his own regions for the benefit of the churches, and at another he would travel to him in Judaea and spend some time with him for the sake of improvement in divine matters. Moreover, both Alexander, the prelate of Jerusalem, and Theoctistus of Caesarea, constantly adhered to him as their only teacher, and permitted him to carry out the interpretation of the divine Scriptures and the other parts of ecclesiastical discourse. But the Roman emperor Alexander, having completed his reign of thirteen years, was succeeded by Maximinus Caesar; who, out of hatred for the household of Alexander, which consisted of many believers, stirred up a persecution, commanding that only the leaders of the churches be put to death, as being responsible for the teaching according to the Gospel. At that time Origen also composed his work On Martyrdom, dedicating the writing to Ambrosius and Protoctetus, a presbyter of the parish in Caesarea, because no ordinary trial had overtaken them both in the persecution; in which, the story holds, the men distinguished themselves by their confession, Maximinus having lasted for no more than three years. Origen has noted the time of this persecution both in the twenty-second of his Commentaries on John and in various letters. After Maximinus, when Gordian succeeded to the Roman rule, Anteros succeeded Pontianus, who had been bishop of the church at Rome for six years, and Fabianus succeeded him, after he had served in the ministry for a month. 6.29.2 They say that after the death of Anteros, Fabianus came with others from the country and was staying in Rome, where, most miraculously, by divine and heavenly grace, he was brought to the clerical office. 6.29.3 For when all the brethren had gathered for the purpose of electing one who was to succeed to the episcopate, and very many distinguished and notable men were in the minds of the majority, Fabianus, who was present, came into no one's mind; but nevertheless, they relate that suddenly a dove flew down from above and settled on his head, showing a likeness of the descent of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove upon the Savior.

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τὸ ἐν λόγῳ ἰδιωτικὸν τοῦ ἀποστόλου, ὁμολογήσαντος ἑαυτὸν ἰδιώτην εἶναι τῷ λόγῳ, τοῦτ' ἐστὶν τῇ φράσει, ἀλλ' ἐστὶν ἡ ἐπιστολὴ συνθέσει τῆς λέξεως Ἑλληνικωτέρα, πᾶς ὁ ἐπιστάμενος κρίνειν φράσεων διαφορὰς ὁμολογήσαι ἄν. 6.25.12 πάλιν τε αὖ ὅτι τὰ νοήματα τῆς ἐπιστολῆς θαυμάσιά ἐστιν καὶ οὐ δεύτερα τῶν ἀποστολικῶν ὁμολογουμένων γραμμάτων, καὶ τοῦτο ἂν συμφήσαι εἶναι ἀληθὲς πᾶς ὁ προσέχων τῇ ἀναγνώσει τῇ ἀποστολικῇ». 6.25.13 τούτοις μεθ' ἕτερα ἐπιφέρει λέγων· «ἐγὼ δὲ ἀποφαινόμενος εἴποιμ' ἂν ὅτι τὰ μὲν νοήματα τοῦ ἀποστόλου ἐστίν, ἡ δὲ φράσις καὶ ἡ σύνθεσις ἀπομνημονεύσαντός τινος τὰ ἀποστολικὰ καὶ ὥσπερ σχολιογραφήσαντός τινος τὰ εἰρημένα ὑπὸ τοῦ διδασκάλου. εἴ τις οὖν ἐκκλησία ἔχει ταύτην τὴν ἐπιστολὴν ὡς Παύλου, αὕτη εὐδοκιμείτω καὶ ἐπὶ τούτῳ· οὐ γὰρ εἰκῇ οἱ ἀρχαῖοι ἄνδρες ὡς Παύλου αὐτὴν παραδεδώκασιν. 6.25.14 τίς δὲ ὁ γράψας τὴν ἐπιστολήν, τὸ μὲν ἀληθὲς θεὸς οἶδεν, ἡ δὲ εἰς ἡμᾶς φθάσασα ἱστορία ὑπὸ τινῶν μὲν λεγόντων ὅτι Κλήμης, ὁ γενόμενος ἐπίσκοπος Ῥωμαίων, ἔγραψεν τὴν ἐπιστολὴν, ὑπὸ τινῶν δὲ ὅτι Λουκᾶς, ὁ γράψας τὸ εὐαγγέλιον καὶ τὰς Πράξεις». ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν ὧδε ἐχέτω· 6.26.1 ἔτος δ' ἦν τοῦτο δέκατον τῆς δηλουμένης ἡγεμονίας, καθ' ὃ τὴν ἀπ' Ἀλεξανδρείας μετανάστασιν ἐπὶ τὴν Καισάρειαν ὁ Ὠριγένης ποιησάμενος, Ἡρακλᾷ τὸ τῆςκατηχήσεως τῶν αὐτόθι διδασκαλεῖον καταλείπει· οὐκ εἰς μακρὸν δὲ καὶ ∆ημήτριος ὁ τῆς Ἀλεξανδρέων ἐκκλησίας ἐπίσκοπος τελευτᾷ, ἐφ' ὅλοις ἔτεσι τρισὶ καὶ τεσσαράκοντα τῇ λειτουργίᾳ διαρκέσας· διαδέχεται δ' αὐτὸν ὁ Ἡρακλᾶς. ∆ιέπρεπεν δ' ἐν τούτῳ Φιρμιλιανός, Καισαρείας τῆς Καππαδοκῶν ἐπίσκοπος, τοσαύτην εἰσάγων περὶ τὸν Ὠριγένην σπουδήν, ὡς τοτὲ μὲν αὐτὸν ἀμφὶ τὰ κατ' αὐτὸν κλίματα εἰς τὴν τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν ὠφέλειαν ἐκκαλεῖσθαι, τοτὲ δὲ ὡς αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τὴν Ἰουδαίαν στέλλεσθαι καί τινας αὐτῷ συνδιατρίβειν χρόνους τῆς εἰς τὰ θεῖα βελτιώσεως ἕνεκα. οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ ὁ τῆς Ἱεροσολύμων προεστὼς Ἀλέξανδρος Θεόκτιστός τε ὁ κατὰ Καισάρειαν τὸν πάντα χρόνον προσανέχοντες αὐτῷ, οἷα διδασκάλῳ μόνῳ, τὰ τῆς τῶν θείων γραφῶν ἑρμηνείας καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ τοῦ ἐκκλησιαστικοῦ λόγου πράττειν συνεχώρουν. Τόν γε μὴν Ῥωμαίων αὐτοκράτορα Ἀλέξανδρον τρισὶν ἐπὶ δέκα ἔτεσιν τὴν ἀρχὴν διανύσαντα Μαξιμῖνος Καῖσαρ διαδέχεται· ὃς δὴ κατὰ κότον τὸν πρὸς τὸν Ἀλεξάνδρου οἶκον, ἐκ πλειόνων πιστῶν συνεστῶτα, διωγμὸν ἐγείρας, τοὺς τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν ἄρχοντας μόνους ὡς αἰτίους τῆς κατὰ τὸ εὐαγγέλιον διδασκαλίας ἀναιρεῖσθαι προστάττει. τότε καὶ Ὠριγένης τὸν Περὶ μαρτυρίου συντάττει, Ἀμβροσίῳ καὶ Πρωτοκτήτῳ πρεσβυτέρῳ τῆς ἐν Καισαρείᾳ παροικίας ἀναθεὶς τὸ σύγγραμμα, ὅτι δὴ ἄμφω περίστασις οὐχ ἡ τυχοῦσα ἐν τῷ διωγμῷ κατειλήφει· ἐν ᾗ καὶ διαπρέψαι κατέχει λόγος ἐν ὁμολογίᾳ τοὺς ἄνδρας, οὐ πλείονος ἢ τριετοῦς χρόνου τῷ Μαξιμίνῳ διαγενομένου. σεσημείωται δὲ τουτονὶ τοῦ διωγμοῦ τὸν καιρὸν ἔν τε τῷ δευτέρῳ καὶ εἰκοστῷ τῶν εἰς τὸ κατὰ Ἰωάννην Ἐξηγητικῶν καὶ ἐν διαφόροις ἐπιστολαῖς Ὠριγένης. Γορδιανοῦ δὲ μετὰ Μαξιμῖνον τὴν Ῥωμαίων ἡγεμονίαν διαδεξαμένου, τῆς κατὰ Ῥώμην ἐκκλησίας Ποντιανὸν ἔτεσιν ἓξ ἐπισκοπεύσαντα διαδέχεται Ἀντέρως καὶ τοῦτον Φαβιανός, ἐπὶ μῆνα τῇ λειτουργίᾳ διακονησάμενον. 6.29.2 ἐξ ἀγροῦ φασιν τὸν Φαβιανὸν μετὰ τὴν Ἀντέρωτος τελευτὴν ἅμ' ἑτέροις συνελθόντα ἐπιχωριάζειν τῇ Ῥώμῃ, ἔνθα παραδοξότατα πρὸς τῆς θείας καὶ οὐρανίου χάριτος ἐπὶ τὸν κλῆρον παρεληλυθέναι. 6.29.3 τῶν γὰρ ἀδελφῶν ἁπάντων χειροτονίας ἕνεκεν τῆς τοῦ μέλλοντος διαδέξασθαι τὴν ἐπισκοπὴν συγκεκροτημένων πλείστων τε ἐπιφανῶν καὶ ἐνδόξων ἀνδρῶν τοῖς πολλοῖς ἐν ὑπονοίᾳ ὑπαρχόντων, ὁ Φαβιανὸς παρὼν οὐδενὸς μὲν ἀνθρώπων εἰς διάνοιαν ᾔει, ὅμως δ' οὖν ἀθρόως ἐκ μετεώρου περιστερὰν καταπτᾶσαν ἐπικαθεσθῆναι τῇ αὐτοῦ κεφαλῇ μνημονεύουσιν, μίμημα ἐνδεικνυμένην τῆς ἐπὶ τὸν σωτῆρα τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος ἐν εἴδει περιστερᾶς