Heracleon on “God is spirit”: unclean claim that worshipers are homoousios
On “God is spirit” Heracleon says God’s divine nature is undefiled, pure, and invisible. I do not see how that explains how God is spirit.
Worse: he calls those who worship in spirit homoousios with the unbegotten and all-blessed nature. That is impious. Only a little earlier Heracleon himself said they had fallen — that the Samaritan woman, though of a spiritual nature, had gone out into fornication.
They do not see that what is homoousios is also capable of the same things. If she fornicated, she was no longer homoousios with God.
Greek
Εἰς μέντοι γε τό · Πνεῦμα ὁ θεός · ὁ Ἡρακλέων φησίν · ἄχραντος καὶ καθαρὰ καὶ ἀόρατος ἡ θεία φύσις αὐτοῦ. οὐκ οἶδα εἰ ἐδίδαξεν ἡμᾶς ταῦτα ἐπειπὼν πῶς ὁ θεὸς πνεῦμά ἐστιν.
τὸ δὲ τοὺς προσκυνοῦντας ἐν πνεύματι ὁμοούσιον τῇ ἀγεννήτῳ φύσει καὶ παμμακαρίᾳ λέγειν εἶναι τοὺς προσκυνοῦντας ἐν πνεύματι τῷ θεῷ ἀσεβές ἐστιν · οἷς πρὸ βραχέος αὐτὸς ὁ Ἡρακλέων ἐκπεπτωκότας ἔλεγεν, τὴν Σαμαρεῖτιν λέγων πνευματικῆς φύσεως οὖσαν ἐκπεπορνευκέναι.
ἀλλ’ οὐχ ὁρῶσιν οἱ ταῦτα λέγοντες ὅτι πᾶν ὁμοούσιον καὶ τῶν αὐτῶν δεκτικόν. εἰ δὲ ἡ Σαμαρεῖτις ἐκπεπόρνευκεν, οὐκέτι ὁμοούσιος ἦν τῷ θεῷ.
About this text
Origen’s Commentary on John, Book 13 (later tomoi). Complete on this page: §§1–64.
English follows Preuschen, Origenes Werke IV (GCS 10, 1903). Heine FOTC was not used as wording. This page is Book 13 §§1–64 of the later books (13, 19, 20, 28, 32).
Witnesses
- Copy-text Preuschen, Origenes Werke IV = GCS 10 (1903) (Greek · Book 13 §§1–64)
English is newly prepared for study from the stated edition. Open Greek on each section for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.