Against Celsus 3.30
Summary: Origen compares the churches of Athens, Corinth, and Alexandria, and their councils and leaders, with the civic assemblies and magistrates of those cities, finding the church's members, even the weaker ones, morally superior.
Greek text · Koetschau 1:227–228
Ἐκκλησία μὲν γὰρ τοῦ θεοῦ, φέρʼ εἰπεῖν, ἡ Ἀθήνῃσι πρᾳεῖά τις καὶ εὐσταθὴς, ἅτε θεῷ ἀρέσκειν τῷ ἐπὶ πᾶσι βουλομένη· ἡ δʼ Ἀθηναίων ἐκκλησία στασιώδης καὶ οὐδαμῶς παραβαλλομένη τῇ ἐκεῖ ἐκκλησίᾳ τοῦ θεοῦ. τὸ δʼ αὐτὸ ἐρεῖς περὶ ἐκκλησίας τοῦ θεοῦ τῆς ἐν Κορίνθῳ καὶ τῆς ἐκκλησίας τοῦ δήμου Κορινθίων καὶ, φέρʼ εἰπεῖν, περὶ ἐκκλησίας τοῦ θεοῦ τῆς ἐν Ἀλεξανδρείᾳ καὶ ἐκκλησίας τοῦ Ἀλεξανδρέων δήμου. καὶ ἐὰν εὐγνώμων ᾖ ὁ τούτου ἀκούων καὶ φιλαλήθως ἐξετάζῃ τὰ πράγματα, θαυμάσεται τὸν καὶ βουλευσάμενον καὶ ἀνύσαι δυνηθέντα πανταχοῦ συστήσασθαι ἐκκλησίας τοῦ θεοῦ, παροικούσας ἐκκλησίαις τῶν καθʼ ἑκάστην πόλιν δήμων. οὕτω δὲ καὶ βουλὴν ἐκκλησίας θεοῦ βουλῇ τῇ καθʼ ἑκάστην πόλιν συνεξετάζων εὕροις ἂν, τίνες μὲν τῆς ἐκκλησίας βουλευταὶ ἄξιοί εἰσιν, εἴ τις ἐστὶν ἐν τῷ παντὶ πόλις τοῦ θεοῦ, ἐν ἐκείνῃ πολιτεύεσθαι· οἱ δὲ πανταχοῦ βουλευταὶ οὐδὲν ἄξιον τῆς ἐκ κατατάξεως ὑπεροχῆς, ἣν ὑπερέχειν δοκοῦσι τῶν πολιτῶν, φέρουσιν ἐν τοῖς ἑαυτῶν ἤθεσιν. οὕτω δὲ καὶ ἄρχοντα ἐκκλησίας ἑκάστης πόλεως ἄρχοντι τῶν ἐν τῇ πόλει συγκριτέον· ἵνα κατανοήσῃς ὅτι καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν σφόδρα ἀποτυγχανομένων βουλευτῶν καὶ ἀρχόντων ἐκκλησίας θεοῦ καὶ ῥᾳθυμότερον παρὰ τοὺς εὐτονωτέρως βιούντων οὐδὲν ἧττον ἔστιν εὑρεῖν ὡς ἐπίπαν ὑπεροχὴν τὴν ἐν τῇ ἐπὶ τὰς ἀρετὰς προκοπῇ παρὰ τὰ ἤθη τῶν ἐν ταῖς πόλεσι βουλευόντων καὶ ἀρχόντων.
English · Claude translation
For the church of God, say, at Athens is gentle and orderly, since it wishes to please the God over all; but the assembly of the Athenians is factious and in no way comparable with the church of God there. You will say the same about the church of God at Corinth and the assembly of the people of Corinth, and, say, about the church of God at Alexandria and the assembly of the people of Alexandria. And if one who hears this is fair-minded and examines things with love of truth, he will marvel at the one who both planned and was able to establish everywhere churches of God, living as sojourners beside the assemblies of the peoples in each city. So too, comparing the council of the church of God with the council in each city, you would find that some councillors of the church are worthy, if there is a city of God anywhere in the universe, to be citizens of it, while the councillors everywhere else display in their characters nothing worthy of the pre-eminence of rank by which they seem to surpass their fellow citizens. So too the ruler of the church in each city should be compared with the ruler of those in the city, so that you may perceive that even among the councillors and rulers of the church of God who fall far short and live more carelessly than the more vigorous, one can nonetheless generally find a superiority in progress toward the virtues compared with the characters of the councillors and rulers in the cities.
About this passage
Notes
Translation notes
- “Council” (βουλή) and “ruler” (ἄρχων) of the church probably refer to the presbyters and the bishop; Origen uses civic terms for the comparison. “City of God” echoes Heb 11:10 and 12:22.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (unread character in the digital text; the word (οὐδὲν ἧττον, “nonetheless”) is certain from context): (??)ττον → ἧττον.
Cite this passage
Origen, Cels. 3.30 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-celsum/3/30/).
Plain text
Origen, Cels. 3.30 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-celsum/3/30/).
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