Origen summary

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Origen , orig. Oregenes Adamantius, (born c. 185, probably Alexandria, Egypt—died c. 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.

Christianity Summary

Christianity, major religion stemming from the life, teachings, and death of Jesus of Nazareth (the Christ, or the Anointed One of God) in the 1st century ce. It has become the largest of the world’s religions and, geographically, the most widely diffused of all faiths. It has a constituency of

prayer Summary

Prayer, an act of communication by humans with the sacred or holy—God, the gods, the transcendent realm, or supernatural powers. Found in all religions in all times, prayer may be a corporate or personal act utilizing various forms and techniques. Prayer has been described in its sublimity as “an

apologetics Summary

Apologetics, in Christianity, the intellectual defense of the truth of the Christian religion, usually considered a branch of theology. In Protestant usage, apologetics can be distinguished from polemics, in which the beliefs of a particular Christian church are defended. Roman Catholics, however,

theology Summary

Theology, philosophically oriented discipline of religious speculation and apologetics that is traditionally restricted, because of its origins and format, to Christianity but that may also encompass, because of its themes, other religions, including especially Islam and Judaism. The themes of