the Propagation of the Faith.

It remains relevant: "Admire and praise

the customs that merit praise . . . Do not rashly and excessively con­
demn the unworthy. Let customs that prove to be depraved be up­
rooted more by hints and by silence . . . gradually without jolting."3-5
Translated into today's language, this means: wait, listen, feel like
poets the power of symbols in people's lives. Ask questions. Ponder
the responses in a prayerful spirit. Only then offer insights. In this
way professionals can be confident that they are contributing to the
"liberation, the purification, the transfiguration" of cultures.34 At the
same time, their own faith and knowledge will be enriched, because
an exchange — inculturation — will have taken place.
» Ibid.
34 Ibid., 4 1 .

Jean Laporte

Forgiveness of Sins in Origen

There are some good studies of forgiveness in Origen, particularly

those by B. Poschmann, Κ. Rahner, and E. F. Latko.1 However, they
are too narrowly limited to the question of public penance and do
not reflect the importance of other traditional means of forgiveness.
Moreover, since they derive forgiveness too exclusively from the
power of the keys conferred by Jesus on Peter and the apostles, they
tend to ignore the continuity existing between Judaism and Chris­
tianity regarding the forgiveness of sins. More particularly, they do
not take advantage of the data found in Philo of Alexandria, who is a
major source for Origen. On the other hand, scholars such as L.
Dr Laporte is associate professor in the Department of Theology at the University of
Notre Dame. This paper was presented to a study group of the North American Acad­
emy of Liturgy meeting at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina in January 1986.
1
B. Poschmann, Penance and Anointing of the Sick, tr. and rev. by Francis Courtney
(New York: Herder and Herder 1964); K. Rahner, "La Doctrine d'Origene sur la Péni-
tence," Revue de Science Religieuse 37 (1950) 47-97, 252-286, 423-456; and E. F. Latko,
Origen's Concept of Penance (Quebec: Faculté de Théologie, Université Laval 1949).

Jean Laporte
520
Lies, R. J. Daly, and F. M. Young,2 who deal with forgiveness in
Origen from the point of view of sacrifice, have a section on Philo,
indeed, but do not make use of the Philonic models when they come
to their analysis of Origen. It seems that, dazzled by the artificiality
of the Philonic allegory and by his Platonism, modern scholarship
has not recognized, beyond his spiritualizing tendency, a specific
theological reasoning based on scriptural evidence and the identifi-
cation of practical methods of forgiveness. Philo's teaching on for-
giveness inspired Origen. This short paper proposes to interpret
Origen's teaching on forgiveness in the light of Philo.
The Philonic models which Origen develops in his theology of for-
giveness are: 1) the sacrifice for sin, particularly in theritualof Yom
Kippur (which inspired the Epistle to the Hebrews); 2) the confes-
sion of sin; 3) the word of God as a source of divine energy; 4) asceti-
cism, or the struggle against the passions; 5) divine chastisement; 6)
intercession, and the care of the community for sinners; and 7) the
"hard way" of public penance.
In Homily 2 on Leviticus Origen deals with the objection that,
whereas the ancient Israelites were more favored than the Chris-
tians in that they could obtain the forgiveness of their sins through a
sacrifice for sin performed according to the ritual of Leviticus (chs 4-
7,10), Christians had only baptism for the remission of sins. Origen
answers that seven remissions are available to the Christians: bap-
tism; almsgiving; forgiveness of offenses; the conversion of a sinner;
abundance of charity; and, finally, the hard way of penance, which
implies affliction, tears, laments, the mortification of the flesh, and
fasting.3 According to Philo, taken as a whole, the sacrifice for sin is
a process of forgiveness. It is one of the three regular forms of sacri-
fice, together with the whole-burnt offering and the sacrifice of
peace or of salvation. It includes confession and repentance; conver-
sion, that is, change for the better, and eventually reparation of
damage done to neighbor; and, finally, the sacrifice itself with the
intervention of the priest and with atonement by blood. In its mag-
nified form at Yom Kippur, the high priest made the atonement on
2
L. Lies, Wort und Eucharistie bei Orígenes. Zur Spiritualisierungstendenz des Eucharis-
tieverstandnisses Muenchen: Tyrolia-Verlag 1978); R. J. Daly, Christian Sacrifice: The
Judeo-Christian Background before Origen (Washington: Catholic University of America
1978); F. M. Young, The Use of Sacrificial Ideas in Greek Christian Writers from the New
Testament to John Chrysostom (Philadelphia: Philadelphia Patristic Foundation 1979).
3
Origen, Homily 2 on Leviticus 4, Sources Chrétiennes (SC) 286,106-112.

Forgiveness in Origen
521
 the mercy seat in the holy of holies, and the Day of Atonement
included fasting, confession, repentance, supplication, and atone-
ment with the sacrificial blood.4 According to Buechler, in the time
of Jesus and Philo sacrifices for sin were offered in large number for
the remission of moral sins and not only for Levitical sins. Pious
men of Jerusalem offered them for the remission of their smallest
sins, out of scruple.5 According to Philo, the Jews expected the
remission of their voluntary as well as involuntary sins from the cel-
ebration of Yom Kippur, and the same is true of ordinary sacrifices
for sin owing to the moral implications of this type of sacrifice.6
Origen accepts the idea that there is no second sacrifice of Christ
for the sins of baptized Christians. But, following the Epistle to the
Hebrews, he understands the death of Christ as a sacrifice for sin
according to the ritual of Yom Kippur, with Christ as the high priest
and the victim on the heavenly altar.7
Origen considered Paul to be the author of the Epistle to the
Hebrews. He notes that Paul refers to the death of Christ as a sacri-
fice for sin in 2 Cor 5:21. Origen also quotes Paul's reference to
Christ as the Passover lamb sacrificed for us, as the Suffering Ser-
vant and the slaughtered lamb of Isaiah, and John the Baptist intro-
ducing Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the
world.8
The Sacrifice for Sin as a Guide for Forgiveness. As a whole, the sacri-
fice for sin represents for Origen, as it did for Philo, a kind of guide
for the sinner seeking forgiveness. Origen mentions the following
steps in the process of forgiveness: awareness of sin, confession,
repentance, restitution, change for the better, and eventually going
to a priest in order to share in the altar.9 Sometimes, like Philo, Ori-
4
Philo, Spec Leg 1,186-193, 226-246, 267-272, Spec Leg II, 188-214 All quotations
are taken from Works with English translation by F H Colson, 11 vols , The Loeb
Classical Library
5
A Buechler, Studies in Sin and Atonement in the Rabbinic Literature of the First Cen-
tury (New York Ktav 1967), Types of Palestinian Piety from 70 BCE to 70 CE The Ancient
Pious Men (New York Ktav 1969)
6
Philo, Spec Leg II, 196
7
Origen, Horn çon Ex 1, SC 16, ρ 2o6, PG XII, 361-362, Horn 3 on Lev 1, SC 286, ρ
120, Horn 10 on Num 2, SC 209, pp 193-196, PG XII, 638-639, Horn 23 on Num 6, SC
29, ρ 448, PG XII, 752, Com on Rom 3 25-26, J Scherer, Le Commentaire d'Origene sur
Rom III 5 — V 7 (Cairo Institut Française d'Archéologie Orientale 1957) ρρ 156-162
8
Origen, Horn 3 on Lev 1, SC 286, ρ 20, Horn 23 on Num 10, SC 29, ρ 452, PG XII,
753, Horn 10 on Jer 1, SC 232, pp 396-398
9
Origen, Horn 3 on Lev 4-8, SC 286, pp 140-160, cf Horn 5

Jean Laporte
522
gen presents an interiorized version of the sacrifice for sin in the
temple of the soul and on the altar of the soul. For instance, we read
in Homily 3 on Leviticus that we offer a sacrifice for sin when we offer
a contrite heart.10 The Homily 2 on Leviticus prescribes offering the
bull of the flesh chaste and pure, reading the holy books at the
entrance of the tabernacle, offering a male rejection of concupi-
scence, laying on the offering of the soul the hand of continence and
self-mastery, performing the slaughtering of mortification, address-
ing our spiritual senses symbolized by the high priest and his sons.11
The remissions mentioned by Origen in Homily 2 on Leviticus cor-
respond to the several steps of the sacrifice for sin. In Origen as in
Philo, they can work independently from the complete process of
forgiveness which includes the sacrifice for sin or the intervention of
the priest. Thereby, they represent "other ways" of forgiveness.
Some of them, such as martyrdom and forgiveness of offenses, are
properly Christian. Following the method which we have defined in
the beginning, we shall consider these particular remissions and
their parallels in Origen under the titles of the Philonic models of
forgiveness.
The Confession of Sins. According to Philo, the confession of sins is
the affair of the moral conscience and an act of the free will. The con-
fession of sins leads to repentance and thereby to forgiveness.12
Philo insists on the importance of the moral conscience and on the
light received through the warnings of the Logos, through the
instructions of the law, and through the symbolism of the choice
and examination of the victims (for example, a lamb is chosen rather
than a pig, and among the lambs the "pure" one free of defects). The
purifications before the sacrifice also have moral implications. The
moral conscience is also given alarm by God through suffering.13
Origen repeats Philo on all these points. He insists on the idea of the
tribunal of God in our moral conscience and on the need to submit to
its judgment, not only our grievous sins, but even our frivolous
thoughts and the first stirrings of our evil inclinations.14
Meditation on Scripture. Another remission comes through medita-
10
Origen, Horn. 5 on Lev. 3, SC 286, p. 214; cf. note 100.
11
Origen, Hom.i on Lev. 5, SC 186, p. 84.
12
Philo, Som. IIf 299; Prov. 37-39.
13
Philo, Moses I, 95; Q.G. IV, 51.
14
Origen, Horn. 1 on Gen. 8, SC 7, pp. 73-75, PG XII, 152; Contra Celsum IV, 18, SC
136, pp. 224-230; Horn. 3 on Lev. 4, SC 286, pp. 140-142.

Forgiveness in Origen
523
 tion on the word of God. Both Philo and Origen insist on the idea
that the knowledge of the law provides the awareness of sin. Not
only the rulers but the people must be instructed. The manna of the
word of God, which is adjusted to every need of the soul just as the
manna in the desert which was adjusted to every taste, is offered to
all. According to Philo, the word of God has a purifying effect on the
soul and is a source of spiritual energy: it "freezes" the inflamma-
tory influence of the passions.15 Origen also recognizes the purify-
ing power of Scripture and the effect on the devil of the word, name,
and cross of Christ.16 In the eucharistie communion or through
attention paid to the word coming from the pulpit, Christ feeds our
soul with suitable food, the source of spiritual strength and, because
originating in the death of Christ, source of purification.17
Asceticism. Asceticism can be regarded as another means of remis-
sion of sins. This remission may include several means of forgive-
ness mentioned by Origen in Homily 2 on Leviticus (martyrdom,
abundance of charity, forgiveness of offenses) which are not found
in Philo but are properly Christian. In the context of the sacrifice for
sin, Philo simply requires a change for the better and the eventual
reparation of damage caused to the neighbor.18 Generally Philo
speaks of moral purification in terms of asceticism, that is, of the
struggle against the passions and of the acquisition of virtue. In
Scripture the Pasch especially, with the Exodus from Egypt (a figure
of the body and passions), and the sheep of the Passover {probation,
"sheep," is derived from probainein, "progressing"), becomes the
symbol of progress in virtue. 19
Origen repeats these images, but the crossing of the Red Sea
becomes — as it was for Paul — the symbol of baptism, which
confers the remission of sins, the redemption from the bondage of
the devil, and a new birth as a member of Christ. Sinning after bap-
tism becomes a terrible offense, a denial of Christ. The remission
connected with baptism actually was often the reward of good dis-
positions and a joyful experience. On the contrary, the forgiveness
of postbaptismal sin presupposes a radical change of heart, a deep
15
Philo, Leg. Al. Ill, 161-177.
16
Origen, Contra Celsum 16, SC 132, p. 90; /, 67-68, SC 132, pp. 266-268.
17
Origen, Horn. 12 on Ex. 3, SC 16, p. 263, PG XII, 391; in Matt. 26:26-30 Com. ser. 86,
GCS Orígenes XI, pp. 195-200.
18
Philo, Spec. Leg. I, 235-245.
19
Philo, QE14; 8-9.

Jean Laporte
524
repentance, and a painful moral effort. In the present situation, only
the "mortification of the flesh" — the acceptance of the cross, not
mere asceticism — can restore a sinner to membership in Christ.20
For this reason Origen says in De oratione 28 that a bishop cannot for-
give certain sins by means of prayer or even, perhaps, by absolu-
tion. Such a sinner, indeed, needs the internus carnis, the "death of
the flesh."
Divine Chastisement and Suffering. Philo frequently uses the images
of God or his minister as a pedagogue, a physician, a judge, or a
father, which are classical in Greek philosophy and are also found in
the Bible. He also uses his theory of the divine powers. The "divine
powers" for Philo are ways of communication between God and the
people, adjusted to our particular situation and needs. Among them
figure the merciful and the punitive powers.21 Moreover, Philo
interprets the biblical anthropomorphisms, for instance the wrath of
God, as a way for God to be heard by the people and to obtain
through fear the conversion of a hardened heart.22 According to
Philo, we must recognize suffering the adversities as flagella Dei,
divine chastisements, and welcome them as a divine warning, a
form of grace.23
The same teaching reappears in Origen, who adds to the notion of
being abandoned by God that of being delivered to Satan for the
Interitus carnis, that is, physical suffering for the purpose of conver-
sion from sin. Origen inherits this idea from Paul in 1 Cor 5:5.**
Intercession and Spiritual Ministries. Philo integrates intercession
with the process of forgiveness. The patriarchs, Moses, Aaron, the
high priest, and the Sage are intercessors for their misled sisters and
brothers. The notion of intercession also points to the idea that for-
giveness is a grace of God, not a mere result of moral effort. Origen
repeats these examples of intercession and adds to the number of
intercessors Christ, the apostles, martyrs, and the Christian commu-
nity interceding for its fallen members.25
Whereas Philo seems to know only the spiritual ministry of the
20
Origen, Horn, on fer. 13-18, SC 283, pp. 52-214.
21
Philo, Fug. 94-114; QEII, 60-68.
22
Philo, Som. I, 234-241; Deus 53-81.
23
Philo, Som. II, 277-299.
24
Origen, Contra Celsum IV, 71-73, SC 136, pp. 358-366; Horn. I on Ps. 37, 2, PG XII,
1375·
25
Origen, 1369; Horn. 10 on Num. 1-2, SC 29, pp. 192-200, PG XII, 638.

Forgiveness in Origen
525
 Sage to the fool in general terms (perhaps because he is not deeply
involved in the life of an ordinary community), Origen, because of
his experience of the local church, is well acquainted with the prac-
tice of fraternal warning and with the problems raised by the pres-
ence of sinners in the church.26 Clement of Alexandria and Didasca-
lia Apostolorum provide more information on these spiritual
ministries and on the treatment of sinners.27
The Hard Way of Public Penance. Whereas Philo seems to be more
particularly interested in the analysis of the various types of sinners
found in the books of the Law, Origen preaches penance to sinners
in his community. In the case of grievous sin which amounts to a
rejection of Christ, Origen suggests the "hard way" of penance with
tears, laments, fasting, and the mortification of the flesh.28 Some-
times the sinner ought to consult an expert in spiritual matters, a
priest or other, who may prescribe a public confession. Then the
repenting sinner commits himself or herself publicly to penance and
asks the community for intercession before God. The sinner is look-
ing for shame before the people in order to be spared shame and
condemnation before the tribunal of God in front of people and
angels.29
At this point it is obvious that this sinner abstains from commun-
ion and perhaps is excommunicated from the community as a form
of trial. However, the official practice of excommunication does not
seem to be automatic but comes into use more probably in cases of
scandal, in order to prevent the contagion as well as to frighten a
stubborn sinner.30
If we assume that excommunication does not always take place
but that repentance, a change for the better, and good deeds win the
divine mercy, we may wonder whether official reconciliation regu-
larly takes place and whether the power of the keys is always exer-
cised. Admission to communion may be sufficient; and the existence
of such other traditional ways of forgiveness as we described above
26
Origen, Horn. 6 on Exodus 9, SC 16, pp. 157-161, PG XII, 337-338; Horn. 3 on Lev. 3,
SC 286, pp. 128-136.
27
Clement, Quis dives salvetur, PG IX, 640; Didascalia Apostolorum, Chs. XIV-XV, R.
H. Connolly (Oxford: Clarendon, 1929) pp. 130-145.
28
Origen, Horn, on Jer. 13-18, SC 238, pp. 52-214; Horn. 6 on Ex. 9, SC 16, pp. 156-61,
PG XII, 337-339-
29
Origen, Homi 3 on Lev. 4, SC 286, p. 140; Horn. 2 on Ps. 37, PG XII, 1380-82; Latko,
Origen's Concept of Penance, 69-117.
30
Origen, Horn. 12 on Jer., SC 238, pp. 26-28; Hom.i on Ps. 37, PG XII, 1369-72.

Jean Laporte
526
must be accounted for. Forgiveness remains a grace of God,
received in the church, and not simply a mere human achievement.
The "sacramentality," in the usual sense of the term, remains
attached to the power of the keys. In the context of early Chris-
tianity, the notion of sacrament more directly referred to the mys-
tery of Christ and the church or to its figures in the Old Testament.
In a broader sense, the other remissions were also a gift of God to
his people, and particular aspects of a sacrifice for sin, the priest and
the victim of which was Christ.

Robert W. Hovda

The Amen Corner

REAL A N D WORSHIPFUL GENERAL INTERCESSIONS

The Lord told us that beginnings would be hard and that it is more
important to worry about today, where beginnings are supposed to
happen, than about some future date, result, or end, because the lat-
ter depends upon, follows from, the former. So an essential part of
the biblical message is that we must always be beginning, becoming
new, starting afresh, repenting, open to the possibilities toward
which the Spirit moves us. Our experience confirms the warning —
current ecclesial experience especially. The perennial task of church
reform and renewal, finally resumed on a more general scale in re-
cent decades, has now met a reaction so clear, direct and ferocious
that it frightens us into a standstill.
However, one does not overcome a paralysis by refusing to exer-
cise the rediscovered muscles. Rehabilitation requires the overcom-
ing of one's fears and the prudent and regular employment, develop-
ment, strengthening of the atrophied faculties. Such exercise
inevitably involves a certain disarray, a certain groaning and strug-
gling appropriate to creation's contingency, and appropriate also to
the faith community whose mission is to help the rest of the world
experience the same groaning and struggling (we call it pilgrimage)
and thereby conform to its purpose — making ready the way of the
Lord, the reign of God's justice and peace. History assures us that
these processes are messy and time-consuming. But in the biblical

The Amen Corner

52-7
 ^ s
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