orig. Oregenes Adamantius
born 0441; 185, probably Alexandria, Egypt
died 0441; 254, Tyre, Phoenicia
Greek theologian, one of the Fathers of the Church.
Probably the son of a Christian martyr, Origen studied philosophy in Alexandria and served as head of its catechetical school for 20 years. He later settled in Palestine and founded a school of philosophy and theology. He traveled widely as a preacher; he was imprisoned and tortured during the persecutions of the emperor Decius in 250 but survived to die several years later. His greatest work, the Hexapla , is a synopsis of six versions of the Hebrew scriptures. His writings, influenced by Neoplatonism and Stoicism , stress that providence seeks to restore all souls to their original blessedness and emphasize the centrality of the Word ( Logos ) in the cosmos. He held that even Satan was not beyond repentance and salvation, a view for which he was condemned. Although attacked as a heretic, Origen remained an influential thinker throughout late antiquity and the Middle Ages.