Why Did the Origenist Controversy Begin? Re-thinking the Standard Narratives

The Origenist controversy at the end of the fourth century was largely played out within a monastic context, and had, moreover, an immediate and extensive impact on the movement. In spite of this, studies of the controversy and its causes have mainly focused on the dogmatic issues foregrounded in the controversy, neglecting the more fundamental issues about why the legacy of Origen was important, but also considered dangerous, to the monastic tradition. In my contribution I draw on suggestions by Rowan Williams and Sarah Coakley on a growing tension between the monastic tradition with its emphasis on individual spiritual growth, and the gradually institutionalized church under the bishops with an emphasis on the society. I question previous approaches and propose an analysis of how the work of Origen related to the early monastic movement. Instead of a presumed inner-monastic conflict between ‘Origenists’ and ‘non-Origenists’, for which there is little evidence, I suggest that the legacy of Origen, being an essential element in the Christian transformation of classical paideia, was fundamental to the making of monasticism. Based on recent work on early Egyptian monasticism as basically an educational movement in its broadest sense, I argue that Origen’s views on how and why to read the Scriptures, and how reading relates to prayer and the work of the Holy Spirit, were crucial in early monastic tradition and clearly mirrored in our fourth-century monastic sources.