On Prayer 28.10 · Sophia Scriptura

Greek text · Koetschau 2:381

οὐκ οἶδʼ ὅπως ἑαυτοῖς τινες ἐπιτρέψαντες τὰ ὑπὲρ τὴν ἱερατικὴν ἀξίαν. τάχα μηδὲ ἀκριβοῦντες τὴν ἱερατικὴν ἐπιστήμην, αὐχοῦσιν ὡς δυνάμενοι καὶ εἰδωλολατρείας συγχωρεῖν μοιχείας τε καὶ πορνείας ἀφιέναι, ὡς διὰ τῆς εὐχῆς αὐτῶν περὶ τῶν ταῦτα τετολμηκότων λυομένης καὶ τῆς „πρὸς θάνατον“ ἁμαρτίας· οὐ γὰρ ἀναγινώσκουσι τὸ „ἔστιν ἁμαρτία πρὸς θάνατον· οὐ περὶ ἐκείνης λέγω ἵνα τις ἐρωτήσῃ.“ οὐκ ἀποσιωπητέον καὶ τὸν ἀνδρειότατον Ἰὼβ περὶ τῶν υἱῶν ἀναφέροντα θυσίαν, λέγοντα· „μή ποτε οἱ υἱοί μου ἐν τῇ διανοίᾳ αὐτῶν κακὰ ἐνενόησαν πρὸς θεόν“· περὶ γὰρ δισταζομένων εἰ ἡμάρτηται, καὶ ταῦτα οὐδὲ μέχρι τῶν χειλέων ἐφθακότων, ἀναφέρει τὴν θυσίαν.

English · Claude translation

I do not know how some, taking upon themselves what is beyond the priestly dignity, perhaps not even having exact priestly knowledge, boast that they can pardon even idolatry, and forgive adultery and sexual immorality, as though through their prayer for those who have dared these things even the sin “unto death” were loosed. For they do not read, “There is a sin unto death; I do not say that one should ask about that.” Nor must we pass over in silence the most courageous Job, who offered sacrifice for his sons, saying, “Perhaps my sons have thought evil against God in their minds”; for he offers the sacrifice about doubtful cases, whether a sin had been committed, and one that had not even reached as far as the lips.

About this passage

Source

Koetschau 2:381 · Paul Koetschau, ed., Origenes Werke 2: Buch V–VIII gegen Celsus, Die Schrift vom Gebet, GCS 3 (Leipzig: Hinrichs, 1899), 297–403 · Greek text: P. Koetschau, Origenes Werke 2 (GCS 3, 1899), digitized by the Perseus Digital Library and published by the First Thousand Years of Greek project (Open Greek and Latin), CC BY-SA 4.0

Text

As printed in Koetschau, GCS 3. Manuscript variants and the editor's apparatus are not reproduced; no textual problem is noted in this passage.

Translation

Claude translation (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 · Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Koetschau, GCS 3; made independently of existing English translations. No public-domain English translation exists; reviewed against the Greek.

Scripture

1 John 5:16 · quotation, high confidence
Job 1:5 · quotation, high confidence

Topics

Prayer, Church office

Notes

Translation notes

The quotations are 1 John 5:16 and Job 1:5. Origen's criticism is probably aimed at bishops of his time who readmitted to communion those guilty of grave sins after penance; Rome's bishop Callistus was criticized on similar grounds by Hippolytus. This is Origen's own polemical view; the church's practice on the readmission of penitents later varied and developed.

Cite this passage

Origen, Or. 28.10 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-oratione/28/10/).

Plain text

Origen, Or. 28.10 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-oratione/28/10/).