The School of Alexandria: Clement, Origen, Didymus

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The School of Alexandria Clement, Origen,
Didymus

• Youth Meeting, 07/27/2007

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Purpose of the Presentation

• Salvation
• Heritage
• True Fundamentalism

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Elements of Alexandrian Theology

• The Faith as a revelation
• Dogma as an expression to the revealed
• Tradition and Scripture
• The Grace of Renewal (Deification)
• The Word of God became man just that you may
  learn from a man how it may be that man should
  become godly. (Clement, Quis Dives Salvetur 37,
  Athanasius, On the Incarnation)
• Oneness of Life
• The Christian Life is a response to divine
  revelation. We begin to know God and to move
  toward the face-to-face vision that perfects our
  fellowship with God. The dimensions of this life
  are ethical, intellectual, spiritual or mystical,
  and they involve us in the life of the church and
  in action in our world. (Rown A. Greer, Origen.
  P.28)

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Elements of Alexandrian Theology

• Soteriology
• a) Divine knowledge is connected to our
  salvation
• It is the will of God that we should attain
  the knowledge of God, which is communication of
  immortality. (Clement, Paidagogos, Book 1, Ch.2,
  Sec.6)
• b) Apostolic preaching The Messiah
• c) Athenagoras defense to Marcus Aurelius Emperor
  
• d) Salvation as practice and not as a theory
• Salvation is practical, not theoretical and
  its aim is to improve the soul, not to teach
  theories, and to train it up to a virtuous, not
  an intellectual life (only). (Carl A. Volz,
  Life and practice in the Early Church, p.103,222)
  
• e) Origen view of God the Logos
• f) Sacraments

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Saint Clement

• His legacy
• - Dean of the School of Alexandria
• Father of systematic theology (J.Patrick, Clement
  of Alexandria)
• Stimulating patristic literature (Swete,
  Patristic Study, p.48)
• His Life
• Born 150 a.d. in Alexandria
• Name suggests Roman origins
• A convert to Christianity after intensive search
  for God
• Converted at the hands of St. Pantaenus
• When I came upon the last teacher, he was
  the first in power, having pursued him in Egypt I
  found rest. He, the true, the bee gathering the
  spoil of flowers of the prophetic and apostolic
  meadow, engendered in the souls of hearers a
  deathless element of knowledge. (John Ferguson,
  Clement of Alexandria, p.14)

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Saint Clement

• - Ordained priest in Alexandria
• - Dean of the School of Alexandria around 190
  a.d.
• Left Alexandria to flee the persecution 202 a.d.
  by divine providence
• Did not return to Alexandria but undertook an
  evangelism journey to India before he died 215
  a.d.
• Disciples Origen, Gregory Thaumaturgus,
  Alexander of Jerusalem
• - Renewed interest in St. Clement among modern
  historians and theologians

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Writings of St. Clement

• Characteristics
• - Extensive in using contemporary science,
  philosophy, poems and archaeology to serve
  theology
• Pastoral work, study and faith are inseparable
  (Oneness of Life in Christ)
• Salvic in focus and emphasizes Renewal through
  TRUE Gnosticism
• The Logos is not hidden from any one. He is
  the ultimate Light who shines upon all. Therefore
  there is no darkness in the world. Let us hurry
  to attain our salvation and renewal.
  (Protrepticus 9)
• Optimistic
• Orthodox and warm in attitude against opponents
  

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Writings of St. Clement

• Some people, who thinks themselves spiritual,
  believe that one ought to have nothing to so
  either with theology or even apply oneself to the
  study of the Universe. They advocate faith pure
  and simple, as if they were to refuse to labor on
  a vine and wanted immediately to pick the grapes.
  (Stromata 19)
• Mystical meanings of scripture and numbers,
  figures in it
• Biblical to the core
• Extensive in use of minor prophets, but
  borrows from the major prophets his theological
  expressions. Uses uncanonical books as references
  but not authoritive. The New Testament is for
  Clement the fountain of virtue in the life of
  Christ and his teachings. (John Ferguson
  Clement of Alexandria, p.19)

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The Trilogy of St. Clement

• The Exhortation to the Greeks (Protrepticus
  Converter)
• The Educator (Paidagogos)
• Carpets or Miscellaneous studies (Stromata)
• The Exhortation to the Greeks
• Uses philosophy to reveal Christianity to the
  Greeks
• Criticizes superstition, crudity, eroticism of
  paganism and Greek philosophy/mythology
• Appreciates values of the Hellenistic culture
• Shows the educative nature of the Logos
  throughout history
• Inserts his experience with paganism and empty
  philosophy
• Apologetic nature regarding the godless
  accusation by the Greeks

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The Exhortation to the Greeks

• Causes of idolatry and its worship
• Deification of the body
• Deification of the fruits of the earth
• Invention of gods to explain disasters
• Representation of emotions as gods
• Derivation of gods from the texture of human life
  
• Invention of gods to explain the blessings from
  the true God
• Pride
• Ignorance
• Paganism and atheism of philosophers and
  exaltation of matter
• It is the Lord of the spirits, the Lord
  of the fire, the Maker of the universe, Him who
  lighten up the sun, that I long for. I seek God,
  not the works of God. (John Ferguson, Clement)

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The Exhortation to the Greeks

• Refutation of false traditions and embracing evil
  customs
• The work of Christ
• Freedom
• O mystic wonder ! The Lord was laid low,
  and man rose up and he who fell from Paradise
  receives as the reward of obedience something
  greater, namely heaven.
• Life of Conversion and Renewal
• Sweet is the Logos who gives us light.
  He has changed sunset into sunrise and through
  the cross brought death to life and rescued man
  from destruction.
• Receiving heavenly love
• The heavenly and truly divine love comes
  to men when in the soul itself the park of true
  goodness, kindled by the Divine Logos, is able to
  burst into flame.

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The Exhortation to the Greeks

• Adoption to God
• For us, yes us, He has adopted, and wished
  to be called the
• Father of us alone, not of the unbelievers.
• Saintly Life
• Such is our position who are attendants of
  Christ. As are mens wishes, so are their words.
  As are their words, so are their deeds. As are
  their works, such is their life. God is the whole
  love of those who have known Christ.
• Salvation
• I urge you to be saved. This Christ
  desires. In one word, He freely bestows life on
  you. He is the Word of incorruption that
  generates man by bringing him back to the truth.
  He is the good One who urges to salvation. He
  expels destruction and restores life. He builds
  up the temple of God in men that He may take up
  his abode in men.
• Without the Logos, we are no better than
  chicken fattened in darkness and destined for the
  spit.

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The Educator

• Sequel to the Exhortation to the Greek
• Written for the converts who accepted
  Christianity after his first book to deal with
  practical instructions regarding social and
  personal conduct
• Continuation and Emphasis on the role of the
  Logos as the Educator
• Who sit he Educator ? He is the son of God,
  the Immaculate Image of the Father, who became
  close to us through His human form. He is without
  sin, the ideal Model whom we must strive to
  resemble.
• Genius in picking the title
• Influenced Athanasius (On the Incarnation,
  article 15)
• Three stages to perfection Washing of sins,
  grace, illumination

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The Educator

• Being baptized, we are illuminated. Being
  illuminated, we are made perfect, and being made
  perfect, we are made immortal (Paid 16)
• Way to salvation through washing of sins
• The work of salvation is called grace, in
  which we cleanse away our sins. By grace, the
  penalties accruing to transgressions are
  remitted. (Paid 16)
• The work of the Persons of the Trinity discussed
• Functions of the Logos as the teacher
• He exhorts first to the attainment of right
  dispositions and character. He then persuades us
  to energetic practice of our duties, enjoining on
  us pure commandments and exhibiting to such after
  representations of those who formally wondered in
  error. (Paid I,1.1.4)

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The Educator

• Educator treatment of sins
• As far, however, as we can, let us try to sin
  as little as possible. For nothing is so urgent
  in the first place as deliverance from passions
  and disorders, and then getting rid of our sinful
  habits. (Paid 1,5.12.1)
• Philanthropic love
• Man is therefore justly dear to God, since he
  is His workmanship. The other works of creation
  He made by the word of command alone, but man he
  framed by Himself, by His own hands, and breathed
  into man what was peculiar to Himself. (Paid
  13)
• God love to both man and woman
• The virtue of man and woman is the same. For
  the God of both is one, and the master of both is
  also one one church one temperance, one
  modesty, respiration, sight, hearing, knowledge,
  hope, obedience, love all alike. (Paid 13)

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The Educator

• Mankinds total dependence on God
• We are children. In many ways scriptures
  celebrates us, and describes our honor in
  manifold figures of speech, giving variety to the
  simplicity of the faith. For if they call those
  who consider themselves children foolish, they
  commit blasphemy against the Lord who was pleased
  to call his saints children. (Paid 14)
• Divine Love, Rebuke, Justice and Goodness
• See how God through His love of goodness,
  seeks repentance and by means of the plan He
  pursues of threatening silently, shows His own
  love for man.

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Stromata Miscellanies

• Abandoned Plan to continue the Trilogy with a
  book about The Teacher
• Wide variety of topics dealing with fundamental
  aspect of spiritual life and dogma
• Consists of 8 books
• Book 1 The relation between philosophy and
  Christian truth
• Accordingly, before the advent of the Lord,
  philosophy was a tool for righteousness. And now
  it becomes conducive to piety, and a training o
  those who attain faith through demonstration.
• Book 2 The nature of faith
• St. Clement discusses moral responsibilities
  as well as way to salvation and truth, setting
  the right Gnostic in sharp contrast to Gnostic
  heretics.
• Book 3 The Christian marriage
• two or three gathered together Husband,
  Wife and (child)

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Stromata

• Book 4 The true Gnostic
• The true and perfect Christian has knowledge
  and depth in his conduct. The true Gnostic is not
  afraid of death as witnessed by the martyrdom of
  thousands. To deny the Lord out of fear is to
  deny oneself.
• Book 5 Faith and hope
• Book 6 Revelation and human knowledge
• Comparison between the superficial worldly
  knowledge and the Christian knowledge. A true
  Christian seeks new heights of knowledge
  inaccessible to anybody else by revelation.
• Book 7 The Christian Gnostic
• He is the true worshipper and real
  philosopher, who grows to become in the likeness
  of God
• Book 8 Investigation
• A compilation of studies and sketches but
  main body lost

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Lost or Incomplete Works of St. Clement

• Who is the rich man who is saved ?
• Hypotyposeis Allegorical interpretation of the
  OT and NT and symbolism authenticity not proved
• On the Passover Defense against accusation
  regarding the Johannine chronology
• On Fasting and evil-speaking
• On Patience A discourse to the newly baptized
• Against the Judaizers
• On Providence
• On the prophet Amos
• Letters

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Didymus The Seer

• One of the greatest ecclesiastical teachers and
  writers of Christendom
• Lost sight at the age of 4 before being educated
  in the school of Alexandria
• Was called the iron memory by his peers
• Was appointed Dean of the Alexandrian School by
  St. Athanasius when still in his 20s.
• Jerome and Rufinus were among his disciples
• Headed the prestigious school for about 50 years.
  
• Meeting with St. Anthony and the blessing
  bestowed by the Father of monasticism on Didymus
• Called the Seer by Jerome
• His writings either lost or not translated
• Inventor of the precursor of the Braille system
  

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Didymus The Seer

• He admitted to St. Anthony that the loss of his
  sight was a grief to him the saint replied I
  wonder how a wise man could regret the loss of
  that which he had in common with ants and flies
  and ants, and not rather rejoice that he
  possessed a spiritual sight like that of the
  saints and Apostles.
• Prayed not for bodily sight but rather for
  spiritual insight and illumination of the heart
• Refuted the heresies of Apollonarios, Arius and
  Macdenios
• Was disciple of Origen and his legacy suffered
  because of that
• In a short time he amassed about every science
  and knowledge in his time rhetoric, geometry,
  algebra, physics, music, logic, law, grammar and
  a perfect knowledge about scriptures
• "You cannot surely be ignorant of Didymus, unless
  you are ignorant of the great city wherein he has
  been night and day pouring out his learning for
  the good of others (Libanius)

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Didymus The Seer

• Lived and ascetic life in the greatest city in
  the World
• One day, when dwelling on the thought of Julian
  the Apostate as a persecutor, and on this account
  having taken no food, he fell asleep in his chair
  and saw white horses running in different
  directions, while a rider with two swords cried
  out, "Tell Didymus, today at the seventh hour
  Julian died arise and eat, and inform
  Athanasius, that he may also know it.
• His Theology
• A chief opponent of Arianism and Macedonianism
• One of the first writers to explain the divinity
  of the Holy Spirit and His work
• He is credit with much of the expressions used by
  Gregory the Theologian, Basil the great and
  Gregory of Nyssa.
• Didymus uses the formula treis hypostaseis, mia
  ousia, which St. Athanasius admitted in his later
  years, and which has become the orthodox
  watchword.

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Didymus The Seer

• What survived of his writings
• De Trinitate Consists of three book about the
  Trinity and the work of each Person in the
  Trinity
• A treatise against the Manicheans is almost
  complete
• Exegetical fragments on the Book of Psalms
• Treatise on the Catholic Epistles
• His style
• Uses wide allegories
• Proficient in text and grammar
• Encyclopedical in knowledge
• His legacy
• Celebrated in the Oriental circles
• Condemned by the Chalcedonian for political
  reasons