Origen on Role and Rank of Interpreter of Scripture: Is Wise Interpreter an Instructor of Instructors or a Disciple of Disciples?
Origen of Alexandria, the great Christian theologian and interpreter of Holy Scripture, is justly considered a fervent partisan of the allegorical method of exegesis. This method was strongly criticized by Origen’s opponents as arbitrary and based on a false pretension to possess an exclusive knowledge of a secret meaning of sacred text, intended by its Divine Author. Whether, in fact, Origen claims that he has received the supreme wisdom to instruct presbyters and elders of the church on the only right method of understanding Scripture and revealing its deepest truths?