Origen'S Exegesis of the Psalms: Contributions from a Close Analysis of his Homilies on the Psalms (Codex Monacensis Graecus 314)

Project Information

Origen on the Psalms

Grant agreement ID: 797925

DOI

10.3030/797925

Project closed

EC signature date 27 March 2018

Start date 1 February 2019

End date 31 January 2021

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Total cost

€ 212 194,80

EU contribution

€ 212 194,80

Coordinated by

AARHUS UNIVERSITET
Denmark

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - Origen on the Psalms (Origen'S Exegesis of the Psalms: Contributions from a Close Analysis of his Homilies on the Psalms (Codex Monacensis Graecus 314))

Reporting period: 2019-02-01 to 2021-01-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The main problem that I addressed in this project related to the biblical interpretation of Origen of Alexandria, one of the most influential early Christian thinkers prior to Augustine of Hippo. I sought to provide a close analysis of a text discovered in 2012, which contained 29 homilies on the Psalms, which were previously unknown to scholars. It was my goal to assess what this new text added to our understanding of this important thinker's interpretation of Christian scripture. The project's overall objectives were to produce a book-length study of these issues, to analyse the Greek text of the Homilies on the Psalms in order to understand Origen’s exegetical approach to the biblical Psalter within the genre of the exegetical homily, to determine the traditions of exegesis and theology that Origen drew upon in his treatment of the Psalms, and to compare Origen’s Homilies on the Psalms with his Homilies on Jeremiah, a text we already knew. This project was important beyond it's scholarly or academic impact, because of the great influence of Origen on the development of the history of Christian thought, which, as is well known, has shaped and continues to shape Western civilization and heritage.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

In this project, I performed the following work: I received methodological training from my supervisor, I conducted a close textual and comparative analysis, and I wrote most of the monograph, which will be the primary contribution of this project. In addition, I presented preliminary research at academic conferences, invited academic and public talks, and taught some guest lectures for Master's students in my host department.


My project’s results, described below, will primarily be usefully exploited by fellow academics, students and professors, within my field and adjacent fields of study: Origen studies, early Christian exegesis and exegetical culture, early Christian homiletics, early Christian book culture, as well as early Christian spirituality and formation. I therefore made use of the following venues for dissemination (international conferences, academic journals, and eventually I will publish a monograph in a leading book series, hopefully Oxford university press). I believe the results of my project will be used by scholars of early Christianity and Late antiquity in North America, the UK, and in Europe. The resulting book and journal articles could provide supplemental reading for academic courses on early Christian exegesis, theology, book and reading culture, and possibly, Christian spirituality and formation. However, these results may also find an audience among educated lay people with an interest in the early church. I have communicated my results at several academic conferences (see section 2 below), Master’s level students in various courses at Aarhus University, at two public talks, and via scientific publications, and my social media accounts. For example, I made frequent and ongoing use of my Twitter account (@MiriamJane5), which I have connected to the Marie Curie Twitter handle @MSCActions, in order to communicate results, events, and activities associated with this research to the general public. I also made regular use of my academia.edu account, posting papers and articles I wrote, which again was open to the general public. I also kept my page of Aarhus University’s website up to date; I frequently posted information about publications, events, and funding on the site.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The main scientific achievement of my research is the provision of a study not hitherto attempted, namely, a full-scale assessment of Origen’s writings on biblical interpretation—homilies and commentaries—in Greek, in order to determine the differences and similarities between the two kinds of texts. The new material on the psalms, on which my project is primarily based, has allowed for such a project at this time. This new material allows for a fresh examination of Origen’s interpretive approach, intended audiences, and his self-understanding as a teacher of the scriptures. I therefore conducted a close analysis of key passages from the psalm homilies in comparison with similar passages in Origen’s other Greek texts, namely, the Homilies on Jeremiah, his Commentary on the Gospel of John and the Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew. This work allows scholars of Origen to move beyond the commonly held opinion that the two kinds of texts, homilies and commentaries, can be distinguished by advanced content for an advanced audience in the commentaries and less advanced content and a less advanced audience of the homilies. My analysis demonstrates that the homilies are just as “advanced” as the commentaries, and the commentaries are just as pastoral as the homilies. I have demonstrated that Origen has the same goal in both texts: to teach his audience how best to read and interpret scripture for the sake of their spiritual growth. We are now able to get out from under our dependence on the fourth-century Latin translations, which was necessary before the 2012 discovery of the text I have analyzed in this study. This study will not have a discernible socio-economic impact, and its societal implications, should there by any, remain to be seen at this stage.

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