Homilies on Psalms 36-38 (Fathers of the Church Patristic Series)

✍ Scribed by Origen

• Publisher: The Catholic University of America Press
• Year: 2023
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 273
• Edition: Translation
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

This volume provides the first English translation of the nine extant homilies on Psalms 36[37]–38[39] preached by Origen (d. 253/4) to his congregation at Caesarea as arranged and translated for Latin readers by his admirer, Rufinus of Aquileia (d. 411). These homilies are among the earliest extant examples of patristic preaching on the Psalter. The interpretation offered throughout these homilies, which is almost wholly moral, reflects Origen's understanding of the "soul" of the scriptural text. These homilies provide a glimpse of Origen's account of scriptural meaning, outlined in De principiis 4, in pastoral practice. In his preaching, Origen offers a vision of the Christian life as centered on the soul's continuing conversion, growth, and progress, with particular reference to and within the context of the Church. The life of the believer is one of combat and struggle with powers opposed to Christ. It is Christ, as the divine Physician, who offers healing to the one who is wounded and ailing from sin, and it is Christ, as Wisdom and Word of God, who instructs and educates the believer in the life of the Spirit. These homilies reveal the substantial coherence of Origen's thought, as expressed in the more speculative De principiis and as revealed in the more elaborate, nuptial theology found in his Commentary on the Canticle. This volume includes a robust introduction and complements the work of Joseph Trigg, whose translation from the original Greek of the cache of homilies discovered in Codex Monacensis 314 has recently appeared in this series.

✦ Table of Contents

Contents
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Select Bibliography
Introduction
Introduction
The Nine Homilies on Psalms 36–38
Dating the Homilies on the Psalms
Psalmody in Early Christian Life
The Translation of Rufinus
The Assessment of Erasmus
The Preface of Rufinus
Origen on Scripture and Anthropology
The Moral Sense in Practice
Origen’s Teaching in the Homilies on the Psalms
The Agonistic / Military Model
The Medicinal / Therapeutic Model
The Educational / Pedagogical Model
Future Judgment
The Epinoiai of Christ
Conclusion
A Note on the Translation
Homilies On Psalms 36–38
The Preface of Rufinus
First Homily on Psalm 36 [37]
Second Homily on Psalm 36 [37]
Third Homily on Psalm 36 [37]
Fourth Homily on Psalm 36 [37]
Fifth Homily on Psalm 36 [37]
First Homily on Psalm 37 [38]
Second Homily on Psalm 37 [38]
First Homily on Psalm 38 [39]
Second Homily on Psalm 38 [39]
Indices
General Index
Index of Holy Scripture