BENJAMÍN PAVLÍK
HUSITSKÁ TEOLOGICKÁ FAKULTA UNIVERZITY KARLOVY
HUSSITE THEOLOGICAL FACULTY OF CHARLES UNIVERSITY
GREEK CATENAE FRAGMENTS AS UNTRUSTWORTHY SOURCES OF ORIGEN’S THOUGHT
Abstract: Origen is one of the most prolific writers of antiquity. However, only fractional parts of
Origen’s literary corpus are preserved through direct tradition. Most scholars, therefore, resort to
texts belonging to the indirect tradition of Origen’s corpus, including Greek fragments preserved
in the collections of exegetical passages called “catenae.” Although the catena manuscripts
contain many textual units bearing Origen’s name, the paper argues that catena fragments are not
trustworthy sources of Origen’s thought, and their textual testimony has to be verified by other
texts independent of the “catenae” tradition.
Keywords: Origen; catenae; fragments; patristic exegesis; early Christianity
THEOLOGICAL REVIEW, Vol. 94, 2023, No. 1 – 2, Number of Article 3, p. 34 – 46.
DOI: 10.14712/12117617.94.1-2.3