Christ as the Persona Speaking according to Origen’s First Homily on Psalm 15(16)

Abstract

The discovery of Origen’s commentaries on Psalms in 2012 was an event for patristic studies. These commentaries are prepared in the form of homilies. It is said that Origen published them at the end of his life. In preparing his homilies, he applied the allegorical method as he used to do in many of his works. The implied author of Psalm 15(16) speaks in the first person. For Origen, it was evident that the persona speaking in Psalm 15(16) was Christ. Indeed, this Psalm belongs to the messianic Psalms. The article draws attention to three points: 1) Christ as the persona which has seen no corruption after the death in body; 2) Christ speaking about the Church; 3) Christ’s double inheritance corresponding to His double nature: Divine and human. The Son of God (eternal Logos) is connected ontologically to the Father. He is also connected to the people, especially to Christians. The Son of God acts for Christians in the Church. When the Son prays for protection, He prays for Himself and for the faithful. In his commentary on Psalm 15(16), Origen wanted to expose the unity of the Old Testament with the New Testament: God’s Son, Logos, Messiah and Christ is the center of both Testaments.