| Title: | Teacher of Holiness: The Holy Spirit in Origen's Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans |
| Series: | Gorgias Dissertations in Early Christian Studies GD 17, ECS 4 |
| Availability: | In Print |
| Publisher: | Gorgias Press |
Origen's Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans illustrates the centrality of the Holy Spirit for his theological project. As both God's exitus into the world and humanity's reditus to God, the Spirit forms the crucial link between Origen's doctrine of God and his spiritual anthropology.
Origen's images for the Holy Spirit, understood in the context of second century concepts of "spirit," convey the intersection of theology and anthropology in his thought. His picture of the Holy Spirit as the Teacher of the saints, in particular, draws from Origen's own pedagogical experience a way of expressing both the Spirit's patient love for humanity and the active human involvement in the Spirit's work in the world.
This book explores Origen's understanding of the multiplicity of spirits found in the Scriptures, with particular emphasis on the Holy Spirit, the loftiest of all spirit-beings, who emerges as the unique pedagogical center of Origen's Spirit-School. As such, the Spirit is pivotal to God's outreach into the world, necessarily involved in the human soul of Jesus Christ and in that of every human being healed by Jesus. Interpreted through the scriptural language of Cherub, Ring, and Teacher, the Holy Spirit is the sign both of God's love and of human love, and the mutual edification of the Christian community. Origen's pneumatology serves as an inspiration for theologians today who seek to integrate the Spirit fully into their work, rather than just paying lip-service to the Spirit's Person and action.
Maureen Beyer Moser has an A.B. in Latin Classics and Religious Studies from Yale University, an M.A. in Theology from Boston College, and a Ph.D. in Theology from Duquesne University. She works as an independent research scholar in New York City, where she lives with her husband and children.
Reviews"Maureen Beyer Moser deserves to be recognized as a leading expert on Origen's Commentary on Romans. The present monograph is an exemplary model for advancing scholarly research on Origen."--Thomas P. Scheck, University of Notre Dame
"The present book excellently fills a gap in scholarship."--Ilaria L.E. Ramelli, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milan.
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- The Spirits of the Commentary on Romans
- The Holy Spirit and God's Exitus into the World
- The Holy Spirit in the Human Reditus to God
- An Evaluation of Origen's Pneumatology
