Thursday, April 20, 2023

Hans von Campenhausen on Origen's Rejection of the Personal Sinlessness of Mary

  

In exegetical contexts Origen sometimes, of course, has occasion to speak about Mary. Although his exposition is sometimes very wide, it does not for the most part go more deeply into the biographical relationships but in general passes quickly over into the symbolic and allegorical. In this connection Mary is scarcely preferred to other biblical figures. The exposition of the Song of Solomon is still in no way orientated ‘Mariologically’, nor does the title ‘bride’ appear as yet for Mary. Similarly Origen is far from thinking of crediting Mary with personal sinlessness. Joseph and Mary—the sequence is characteristic—have been obliged in the course of Jesus’ life to go through a development in their faith and in their understanding of salvation. In this respect the exposition of Simeon’s prophecy specially characteristic; this has been repeated times without number—sometimes with qualifications—in the writings of later Greek fathers and is again echoed in John of Damascus. The ‘sword’ that is to pierce Mary’s soul denotes, according to this, the doubt by which even she must be overtaken at the sight of the passion. But we cannot assume, says Origen, that she alone was immune from being ‘offended’ at that time, when even the apostles and Peter himself were ‘offended’ because of Jesus. If Mary had then been exempt from all temptation, Christ would not have died for her sins; for ‘all have sinned’ and need redemption through him. (Hans von Campenhausen, The Virgin Birth in the Theology of the Ancient Church [trans. Frank Clarke; Eugene, Oreg.: Wipf and Stock, 2011; repr., London: SCM Press, 1954], 60-61)

 

In a footnote to the above, we have the following of the Latin of Origen’s Homilies on Luke, 17:

 

Hom. Luc. XVII (Rauer, p. 106): 'ergo scandalizati sunt universi in tantum, ut Petrus quoque, apostolorum princepts, tertio denegarit, quid putamus, quod scandalizatis apostolis mater domini a scandalo fuerit immunis? si scandalum in domini passione non passa est, non est mortuus Iesus pro peccatis ejus, si autem omnes peccauerunt et indigent gloria dei, iustifacti gratia eius et redempti (Rom. 3:23), utique et maria illo tempore scandalizata est' . . .(Ibid., 61 n. 2)