- was one of the most learned and most original Christian teachers of our time - he served as a teacher of the Catechumens in the church in Alexandria - he was the most prolific writer of the pre-Nicene church - he dictated around 2,000 works - Origen produced doctrinal and apologetic works as well as commentaries on most of the books in the Bible - he traveled a lot allowing him to become well known among the Christian leaders of the world - his writings reflect brilliant spiritual insights, however some show unsound theological speculations - it is believed that Origen was excommunicated from the church as a heretic - a person who holds a belief that is different from that of the church - but evidence does not support that claim - what is known was that he was expelled from Alexandria by his Bishop, Demetrius - not because of his teaching of heresy, but because the bishop was jealous of Origen’s effect on others - Origen was therefore only a layman, but was the most celebrated Christian teacher of his time and better known then Demetrius, his Bishop - the high point of Demetrius’ jealousy came when Origen was ordained as a presbyter by the Bishop of Caesarea, during his travels -an elder in the early Christian Church - this caused Origen to be unable to serve in the Church of Alexandria - the remainder of his life was spent as a presbyter at Caesarea, which is located in Palestine - there he taught, preached, and defended the church against heretics and Pagan accusers - he was very well known for his scholarly achievements - it was said that either friend or enemy could escape Origen’s influence - no other author made such a controversy during Christian times long ago - many followed in his footsteps and appealed to him - Origen wanted to be an Orthodox Christian which is proven from the fact that he attaches such importance to the doctrinal teaching of the church and considers an error of doctrine...
