Mapping the Spiritual Journey of the Soul: A Close Analysis of Origen’s First Homily on Psalm 77

Abstract

The goal of the article consists in an investigation of the key ideas, characteristic features, and structure of Origen’s First Homily on Psalm 77, discovered in 2012 within the Codex Monacensis Graecus 314. This homily presents a detailed exegesis of the first two vers­ es of the Psalm 77 (Ps. 77:1—Pay attention, my people, to my law. Bend your ear to the utter- ances of my mouth; Ps. 77:2—I will open my mouth in parables; I will proclaim problems from the beginning). Through a sophisticated and scholarly account of the first two verses of the Psalm 77, Origen deals with the progress of the soul on the spiritual journey toward the highest knowledge of God. To progress on the Christian journey, one must stick to a specific sequence of steps. For instance, Origen recommends that a Christian tempted by Gnosticism should first marvel at the beauty of the created world before exploring questions having to do with a more mystic and contemplative experience of God. Interpreting Ps. 77:1–2, Origen does not give spe­ cific moral exhortations to edify his congregation but puts a stress on the scholarly dimension of Christian instruction, which should be acquired by means of a proper method. The scholarly approach to exegesis is demonstrated by Origen through the use of a wide range of textual and literary tools, which he borrows from the Alexandrian scholarly tradition, such as prosopolog­ ical exegesis, textual criticism, the search for parallel passages within a corpus, and the study of the inner structure of the text. Whereas Origen’s homily fits into Stock’s three-step process of textual communities that has been applied to Origen’s Fourth Homily on Psalm 77, the struc­ ture Origen conveys to his exegesis in the First Homily on Psalm 77 only partially reflects the structure Karen Torjesen identified in the Latin translations of Origen’s Psalm homilies.