ire of Bishop Demetrius of Alexandria who demanded Origen’s return to
Egypt.
Fifteen years later, Origen again passed through Caesarea, and in order to
pre-empt any objections to his preaching, Bishops Theoctistus and
Alexander ordained him to the priesthood. This was in violation of the
canons and thoroughly enraged Bishop Demetrius, who then convoked two
synods in Alexandria in 230 and 231 that deposed, degraded and
excommunicated Origen. Bishop Demetrius then sent special letters to all
the other major churches notifying them of the measures taken.
Banished from Alexandria, Origen then moved to Caesarea where he
founded and ran a school in the style of that of Alexandria for over twenty
years. One of his famous pupils there was St. Gregory Thaumaturgus.
Origen survived the persecution of Emperor Thrax (235-237) but during the
Decian persecution he was arrested, imprisoned and tortured, dying as a
result of his sufferings in Tyre in 253 or 254 at the age of 69.
During his lifetime, Origen was never suspected of heresy. He was always
acknowledged as a great scholar and theologian who always endeavored to
be faithful to Catholic teaching. The controversies that arose over his
writings occurred on three separate occasions at the beginning of the fourth,
fifth and sixth centuries. Origen was subsequently declared to have taught
error and certain propositions of his declared formally heretical. This
accounts for the large-scale destruction and loss of many of his writings, as
well as many other expurgations, interpolations and retranslations. We
now possess a little more than one-hundredth of what he produced, and this
of poor quality and preservation.
Another great, and the final head of the Catechetical School was Didymus
the Blind. Didymus was born in Alexandria around the year 313. Although
becoming blind at the age of four, he never prayed for the return of his
sight but for illumination of the heart. Didymus developed an insatiable
desire for knowledge and through an indomitable will became one of the
most learned men of his time.
Appointed head of the Catechetical School by the great St. Athanasius,
Didymus had as his more famous students and hearers St. Antony of the
Desert, Palladius, Evargrius Ponticus, St. Jerome and Rufinus of Aquilaea.
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