Letter of Origen to St. Gregory the Wonderworker

St. Gregory, at parting with Origen, made a speech of gratitude and, probably, soon after that he left Caesarea in Palestine for his homeland, not yet knowing what type of life he would choose. Origen’s thoughts were not separated from his student and, apparently, he was very worried about the question of what such a devoted admirer would apply his rich talents and knowledge to. The result of these concerns of Origen was his letter to Gregory the Wonderworker, written after the final separation from Gregory 1, in which Origen convinces him, without being carried away by the opportunity to become a famous philosopher or lawyer, to devote his talents to the service of Christianity, taking advantage of the pagan sciences that can be useful for a Christian figure. With evidence from the Holy Scriptures, Origen, on the one hand, proves the possibility and legality of such use of the acquisitions of pagan science, and on the other, he warns against being overly carried away by them, since turning to pagan science is not useful for everyone. In conclusion, Origen urges Gregory to carefully study the Holy Scriptures and pray for help to understand the divine, so as not to say or think anything about it too hastily. One might think that these admonitions are in connection with some expressions of Gregory’s speech of gratitude. Thus, Gregory in his speech (§ 180), explaining the saying of the Holy Scriptures that only the one who closes can open, calls Origen the interpreter of divine words to people (§ 181). Origen at the end speaks out against such a one-sided exaggeration, coupled with Gregory’s renunciation of independent research, and supplements the interpretation of the saying cited by Gregory in this way: “and it will be revealed to you by the doorkeeper,” etc., and points out to his student that it is not enough to knock and seek, but prayer is also necessary. Also, the words of the letter, that Origen dared to write this letter to Gregory because of his fatherly love for him, recall that Gregory in his speech calls Origen his true father (§ 189). Origen's letter was preserved in the exegetical Christomathy, which was compiled from the works of the Alexandrian teacher St. Basil the Great and Gregory the Theologian during the Pontic retreat and which is called Ὀριγένους, Φιλοϰαλία, in chapter 13, with the inscription: Πότε ϰαὶ τίσι τά ἀπό ? μετὰ γραϕιϰῆς μαρτυρίας 2. For the translation below, the Greek text is taken from P. Koetschau, Des Gregorius Thaumaturgos Dankrede an Origenes, als Anhang der Brief des Origenes an Gregorios Thaumaturgos. Freiburg und Leipzig 1894. S. 40–44. P. Koetschau borrowed the letter from I. A. Robinson’s edition, but for him H. Achelis made a new check of the text (S. XXXV). Joh. Dräseke (in "Jahrb. f. prot. Theol." VII [1881], S. 113 ff. and in "Der Brief an Diognetos, nebst Beiträgen zur Gesohichte des Lebens und der Schriften des Gregorios von Neocaesarea", Leipzig, 1881, S. 155 ff.) proves that the message was written in 235 or 236, during a break in Origen’s studies on the occasion of the persecution of Maximin, when Origen went to Cappadocia, and Gregory went to Egypt to continue his education, which, in his opinion, is indicated by the historical relationships hidden in Origen’s text, which determined the choice of examples from the Holy Scriptures; in addition, Origen’s admonitions in the letter seem to contradict Gregory’s own expressions in his speech of gratitude. However, this theory cannot be considered valid (see P. Koetschau, Des Gregorios Thaumaturgus Dankrede an Origenes. Freiburg u. Leipzig, 1894, S. XV-XVII) for the sole reason that in this case, in the thank-you speech, as written after the letter, the supposed Joh. Draeseke, the forced break in classes would have found some kind of reflection, which in fact is not at all the case. Newest edition by J. A. Robinson, The Philocalia of Origenes, the Test revised with a eritical Introduction and Indices. Cambridge 1893.