ORIGEN --- AND --- ( OTHERS ) --- BELIEVED CHRIST & THE HOLY SPIRIT WERE ANGELS (I.E., SERAPHIM)
LATIN
TEXT ACCORDING TO RUFINUS: “...Dicebat autem et Hebraeus
magister quod duo illa seraphim, quae in Esaia senis alis
describuntur clamatia adinvicem et dicenta: “Sanctus sanctus
sanctus Dominus Sabaoth,” de unigentio filio dei et de spiritu
sancto esset intellegendum. Nos vero putamus etiam illud, quod in
canico Ambacum dictum est: “In medio duorum animalium (vel duarum
vitarum) cognosceris,” de Christo et de spiritu sancto sentiri
debere...” - (De Principiis 1.3.4 [GCS Orig. 5:52-3], Text
according to Rufinus' Latin Translation : Page 144-145, Footnote 18,
Chapter 11, “Jerome Keeping Silent: Origen and his Exegesis of
Isaiah,” Alfons Furst, in “Jerome of Stridon: His Life, Writings
and Legacy,” By Andrew Cain, Josef Lössl 2009.)
ORIGEN
OF ALEXANDRIA (circa. 182-251 C.E.): “...My [Gk.,
( ho Ebraios ) Ltn., (
Hebraeus )] Hebrew master used to say that the two six-winged seraphim in
Isaiah who cry one to another and say: “Holy, holy, holy is the
Lord of Hosts,” [Isaiah 6:3] [Gk.,
( ton monogene einai tou
theou kai to pnuma to hagion
)] ( WERE THE ONLY-BEGOTTEN SON OF GOD AND THE HOLY SPIRIT ).
And ( we ourselves ) think that the expression in the song of
Habkkuk: “In the midst of ( THE
TWO LIVING CREATURES ) THOU SHALT BE KNOWN,” [Habakkuk 3:2] ( IS
SPOKEN OF CHRIST AND THE HOLY SPIRIT )...” - (De
Principiis 1.3.4 [GCS Orig. 5:52-3], “On First Principles,”
Translated by B. G. Butterworth, Page 32, London 1936 ; quoted on
Pages 144-145, Footnote 18, Chapter 11, “Jerome Keeping Silent:
Origen and his Exegesis of Isaiah,” Alfons Furst, in “Jerome of
Stridon: His Life, Writings and Legacy,” By Andrew Cain, Josef
Lössl 2009.)
ORIGEN OF
ALEXANDRIA (circa. 182-251 C.E.): “...My Hebrew master also
used to say that those TWO SERAPHIM
IN ISAIAH, which are described as having each six wings, and
calling to one another, and saying, "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God
of hosts," WERE TO BE
UNDERSTOOD OF THE ONLY-BEGOTTEN SON OF GOD AND OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.
AND WE THINK THAT THAT EXPRESSION
ALSO which occurs in the hymn of Habakkuk (3:2), "In the
midst either of the two living things," or 'of the two lives,'
"you will be known," OUGHT
TO BE UNDERSTOOD OF CHRIST AND OF THE HOLY SPIRIT...” -
(1.3.4, “Peri Archon,” or “De Principiis,” or “On First
Principles,” Translated [From the Latin Version of
Rufinus] by Frederick Crombie. From Ante-Nicene Fathers,
Vol. 4. Edited by Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A.
Cleveland Coxe. (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co.,
1885.)
LATIN
TEXT: “...Scriptum vero est: “Stabant in circuitu eius, sex
alae uni et sex alae alteri ; et duabus quidem velabant faciem et
duabus velabant pedes, et duabus volabant ; et clamabant alter ad
alterum.” [Isaiah 6:2-3.] Verum haec “Seraphim,” quae
circa Deum sunt, quae sola cognitione dicunt: “Sanctus, Sanctus,
Sanctus!” [Isaiah 6:3], propter hoc servant mysterium
Trinitatis, quia et ipsa sunt sancta ; his enim in omnibus, quae
sunt, sanctius nihil est. Et non leviter dicunt “alter ad alterum”
: “Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus!” sed salutarem omnibus confessionem
clamore pronuntiant. ( Quae ) sunt ista duo “Seraphim?” ( Dominus
meus Iesus et Spiritus sanctus ). Nec putes Trinitatis dissidere
naturam, si nominum servantur officia...” - (In Es. Hom. 1.2
[GCS Orig. 8:244-5], Footnote 17, Page 144, Chapter 11, “Jerome
Keeping Silent: Origen and his Exegesis of Isaiah,” Alfons Furst,
in “Jerome of Stridon: His Life, Writings and Legacy,” By Andrew
Cain, Josef Lössl 2009.)
[FOOTNOTE
18]: Greek Fragment = Justinian, Ep. ad. Menam [ACO 3:210].
ORIGEN
OF ALEXANDRIA (circa. 182-251 C.E.): “...Scripture, however,
says: “( They ) stood around him, each with six wings ; with two
they covered ( his ) face, with two they covered ( his ) feet and
with two they were flying ; and they were calling to one another.”
[Isaiah 6:2-3.] It is, in fact, in a solely spiritual fashion
that the seraphim surrounding God are saying: “Holy, holy, holy!”
[Isaiah 6:3.] They are guarding the secret of the Trinity,
because they, too, are holy. Indeed, there is nothing in all there is
that is holier. And it is not without reason that they are “calling
to one another: 'Holy, holy, holy!” but rather they are crying out
( a creed ) salutary to all people. (
WHO ) ARE THOSE TWO SERAPHIM? ( THE LORD, MY JESUS, AND THE HOLY
SPIRIT ). And do not assume the essence of the Trinity to fall
apart if we look at the roles connected with these names{17}...”
- (In Es. Hom. 1.2, Page 144, Chapter 11, “Jerome Keeping Silent: Origen and his
Exegesis of Isaiah,” Alfons Furst, in “Jerome of Stridon: His
Life, Writings and Legacy,” By Andrew Cain, Josef Lössl 2009.)
http://books.google.co.nz/books?id=__uiF8CVWVkC&pg=PA149&lpg=PA149&dq=Origen+of+Alexandria+called+the+holy+spirit+one+of+the+seraphim&source=bl&ots=ro4JgiWzeC&sig=oMLPp2c_7LxSZaMybBVRmEfHBfM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=rheGUN6oKsnzmAXdxICgCw&ved=0CDgQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=Origen%20of%20Alexandria%20called%20the%20holy%20spirit%20one%20of%20the%20seraphim&f=false
Here is Jeromes
testimony that Origen was not alone in this belief, but that others
who were considered “...( very ) learned men...” also held the same
belief:
JEROME
/ EUSEBIUS SOPHRONIUS HIERONYMUS (circa.
347-420 C.E.): “...( Certain one(s) who ) have interpreted this
passage before me, ( Greek(s) as well as Roman(s) ){22} have
declared that the Lord sitting upon a throne is God the Father and
THE TWO SERAPHIM WHICH ARE SAID TO
BE STANDING ONE AT EACH SIDE ARE OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST AND THE HOLY
SPIRIT. I do not agree with ( their ) opinion, though ( they are
very learned men )...” - (De Seraphim Page 145, Chapter 11,
“Jerome Keeping Silent: Origen and his Exegesis of Isaiah,”
Alfons Furst, in “Jerome of Stridon: His Life, Writings and
Legacy,” By Andrew Cain, Josef Lössl 2009.)
[FOOTNOTE
22]: Besides, Origen, Jerome may have had in mind Victorinus of
Pettau who , in commenting on the Bible, followed Origen, as Jerome
states in Epistle 61.2 (CSEL 54:577).
[PERSONAL
FOOTNOTE]: Compare In Isa. Bk. 3, c. 6: “...Thus a certain
person impiously understands the two Seraphim as Son and Holy
Spirit...” (PL 24:94 C) Compare Epist. 18 n. 4 (l, 75-8); In Isa.
6, 1-7 (An. Mar., 3, P. 3, 119-21).
LATIN
TEXT: “...Impie ergo quidam duo seraphim Filium et Spiritum
sanctum intellegit...” - ([Jeromes Commentary] In Es. 3.4
[VL.AGLB 23:315], Footnote 30, Pages 147, Chapter 11, “Jerome
Keeping Silent: Origen and his Exegesis of Isaiah,” Alfons Furst,
in “Jerome of Stridon: His Life, Writings and Legacy,” By Andrew
Cain, Josef Lössl 2009.)
JEROME
/ EUSEBIUS SOPHRONIUS HIERONYMUS (circa.
347-420 C.E.): “...It was impious of a certain person [i.e.,
Origen] to UNDERSTAND THE TWO
SERAPHIM TO BE THE SON AND THE HOLY SPIRIT...” - (Jeromes
Commentary In Isaiah 3.4, Pages 147, Chapter 11, “Jerome Keeping
Silent: Origen and his Exegesis of Isaiah,” Alfons Furst, in
“Jerome of Stridon: His Life, Writings and Legacy,” By Andrew
Cain, Josef Lössl 2009.)
LATIN
TEXT: “...Dixi eum purgasse in Latina translatione si qua illa
offendicula fidei videbantur in Graeco, et non immerito : ita tamen
ut eadem etiam a me conprobem gesta. Nam sicut ille in omeliis de
Esaia duo Seraphim Filium et Spiritum Sanctum esse interpretatus est,
et addens de suo: “Nemo aestimet in Trinitate naturae esse
differentiam, cum nominum discernuntur officia,” per ho curare se
credit offendicula potuisse, ita nos, vel ademptis vel immutatis
quibusdam vel additis, sensum auctoris adducere conati sumus ad
intellegentiae tramitem rectiorem. Quid hic diversum aut quid
contrarium aut quid non idem fecimus?...” - (Rufinus Apol. c.
Hier. 2.50 [CCSL 20:122], Footnote 34, Pages 149, Chapter 11, “Jerome
Keeping Silent: Origen and his Exegesis of Isaiah,” Alfons Furst,
in “Jerome of Stridon: His Life, Writings and Legacy,” By Andrew
Cain, Josef Lössl 2009.)
RUFINUS
OF AQUELEIA (circa. 345-410): “...( I ) said that when grounds
of offence appeared in the Greek [i.e., Origen's Peri Archon] ( he )
[i.e., Jerome] had cleared them away in ( his ) Latin translation ;
and not wrongly ; but ( he ) had done this just in the same sense as
I have done it. For instance, in the Homilies on Isaiah, (
HE ) EXPLAINS THE TWO SERAPHIM AS MEANING THE SON AND THE HOLY GHOST,
and ( he ) adds this of is own: “Let no one think that there is a
difference of nature in the Trinity when the offices of the Persons
are distinguished” ; and by this ( he ) thinks that ( he ) has been
able to remedy the grounds of offense. ( I ) in a similar way
occasionally removed, altered or added a few words, in an attempt to
draw the meaning of the writer into better accordance with the
straight path of the faith. What did ( I ) do in this which was
different or contrary to ( our friend's ) system? What which was not
identical with it?...” - (Rufinus Apol. c. Hier. 2.50 [CCSL
20:122], Pages 149, Chapter 11, English Translation from II/3, 481;
“Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers,” Freemantle, quoted in “Jerome
Keeping Silent: Origen and his Exegesis of Isaiah,” Alfons Furst,
in “Jerome of Stridon: His Life, Writings and Legacy,” By Andrew
Cain, Josef Lössl 2009.)
ANTI-ORIGENIST TRACT (circa. 400 C.E.): “...And if ( his ) audacity had gone to this point, we might still endure ( his ) [ie., Origne's] insanity ; now, however, ( his ) blasphemey concerns larger issues, and ( his ) impiety reaches God himself. FOR HE CALLS THE SON AND THE HOLY SPIRIT, AS THOUGH HE WERE SOME CREATOR OF NEW IDOLS AND IMAGES OF THE GODS, ( TWO SERAPHIM ) ; and he does not hesitate to burst out sacrilegiously that: “the seraphim receive their shape in holiness from Him who is holy in a principal way...” - (Page 149, Chapter 11, English Translation from II/3, 481; “Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers,” Fremantle, quoted in “Jerome Keeping Silent: Origen and his Exegesis of Isaiah,” Alfons Furst, in “Jerome of Stridon: His Life, Writings and Legacy,” By Andrew Cain, Josef Lössl 2009.)
[FOOTNOTE
35]: Editio princeps: S. Hieronymi Stridonensis presbyteri
tractatus contra Origenem de visione Esaiae, quem nunc primum ex
codd. Mss. Casinensibus A. M. Amelli in lucem edidit et illustravit
(Monte Cassino, 1901). Emended edition: G. Morin, Anecdota
Maredsolana III/3 (Maredsous and Oxford, 1903) xviii-xix, 103-22.
http://books.google.co.nz/books?id=__uiF8CVWVkC&pg=PA149&lpg=PA149&dq=Origen+of+Alexandria+called+the+holy+spirit+one+of+the+seraphim&source=bl&ots=ro4JgiWzeC&sig=oMLPp2c_7LxSZaMybBVRmEfHBfM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=rheGUN6oKsnzmAXdxICgCw&ved=0CDgQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=Origen%20of%20Alexandria%20called%20the%20holy%20spirit%20one%20of%20the%20seraphim&f=false
LATIN
TEXT: “...Origenes haereticus : quid ad me, qui illum in
plerisque hereticum non ergo? Erravit de resurrectione corporis ;
erravit de animarum statu, de diaboli paenitentia et – quod his
maius est – Filium et Spiritum sanctum seraphin esse testatus
est...” - (Epistle 61.2, [CSEL 54:577], Footnote 40, Page 151,
Chapter 11, “Jerome Keeping Silent: Origen and his Exegesis of
Isaiah,” Alfons Furst, in “Jerome of Stridon: His Life, Writings
and Legacy,” By Andrew Cain, Josef Lössl 2009.)
JEROME
/ EUSEBIUS SOPHRONIUS HIERONYMUS (circa.
347-420 C.E.): “...Origen is a heretic, true ; but what does
that take from me who do not deny that on very many points he is
heretical? He has erred concerning the resurrection of the body, he
has erred concerning the condition of souls, he has erred supposing
it possible that the devil may repent, and – an error more
important than these – he has declared in his commentary upon
Isaiah THAT THE SERAPHIM MENTIONED
BY THE PROPHET ARE THE DIVINE SON AND THE HOLY GHOST...” -
(Epistle 61.2, [CSEL 54:577], Page 151, Chapter 11, English
Translation ; “Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers,” Fremantle, quoted
in “Jerome Keeping Silent: Origen and his Exegesis of Isaiah,”
Alfons Furst, in “Jerome of Stridon: His Life, Writings and
Legacy,” By Andrew Cain, Josef Lössl 2009.)
[FOOTNOTE
40]: Compare Epistle 84.3 [CSEL 55:123-4].
JEROME
/ EUSEBIUS SOPHRONIUS HIERONYMUS (circa.
347-420 C.E.): “...He [i.e., Origen] is wrong about the
resurection of the body, he is wrong about the condition of souls and
the repentance of the Devil, and more grave than all this, HE
TESTIFIES THAT ( THE SON ) AND THE HOLY SPIRIT ( ARE SERAPHIM )...”
- (Page 52, Epist. 71, Ad Vigilant. As quoted in “Christ in
Christian Tradition: From the Apostolic Age to Chalcedon (451),” By
Aloys Grillmeier, John Bowden, John )
[FOOTNOTE]:
Origens subordination: “...We may not pray to him who himself
prays...” - (De Orat. 15.2, GCS II, 234.19.
[FOOTNOTE]:
See also “In Isa. Hom,” GCS VIII, 244:22-28; De Principiis I.3.4,
GCS V, 52:17-53:4; for Origen calling them “Seraphim.”
LATIN
TEXT: “...In lectione Esaiae, in qua duo seraphin clamantia
describuntur, illo interpretante Filium et Spiritum sanctum nonne ego
detestandam expositionem in dio testamenta mutavi?...” -
(Epistle 84.3 [CSEL 55:123-4], Footnote 40, Page 151, Chapter 11,
“Jerome Keeping Silent: Origen and his Exegesis of Isaiah,”
Alfons Furst, in “Jerome of Stridon: His Life, Writings and
Legacy,” By Andrew Cain, Josef Lössl 2009.)
JEROME
/ EUSEBIUS SOPHRONIUS HIERONYMUS (circa.
347-420 C.E.): “...In the portion of Isaiah which describes the
crying of the two seraphim HE
EXPLAINS THESE TO BE THE SON AND THE HOLY GHOST ; but have not
I altered this hateful explanation into a reference to the two
testaments?...” - (Epistle 84.3 [CSEL 55:123-4], Footnote 40,
Page 151, Chapter 11, English Translation from ; “Nicene and
Post-Nicene Fathers,” Fremantle, II/6, 176, quoted in “Jerome
Keeping Silent: Origen and his Exegesis of Isaiah,” Alfons Furst,
in “Jerome of Stridon: His Life, Writings and Legacy,” By Andrew
Cain, Josef Lössl 2009.)
http://books.google.co.nz/books?id=__uiF8CVWVkC&pg=PA149&lpg=PA149&dq=Origen+of+Alexandria+called+the+holy+spirit+one+of+the+seraphim&source=bl&ots=ro4JgiWzeC&sig=oMLPp2c_7LxSZaMybBVRmEfHBfM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=rheGUN6oKsnzmAXdxICgCw&ved=0CDgQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=Origen%20of%20Alexandria%20called%20the%20holy%20spirit%20one%20of%20the%20seraphim&f=false
I
personally do not agree with everything Origen taught, but, it is
still historical evidence and testimony to the fact that Jesus was
believed to be an Angel in one way or another by the early Christians in the first three
centuries of our common era.
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