stephan huller

I saw this sentence in the Cambridge History of Christianity (or via: amazon.co.uk) Volume 4 p. 304 (http://books.google.com/books?id=6UT...ary%22&f=false):

There is a footnote to W H C Frend's Martyrdom and Persecution in the Early Church (or via: amazon.co.uk) p. 397. I don't have this book. There is no Google preview. I had never heard that Origen may have identified the location of the catechetical school. Anyone know anything more about this?

andrewcriddle

Hi Stephan

Looking through Frend's Martyrdom and Persecution in the Early Church I think the Cambridge History is misunderstanding what Frend says on page 391 near the beginning of the chapter on Decius.

Frend quotes Origen as saying Persecutions were suffered and churches were burnt. Footnotes explain that the reference is to the Ancient Latin translation of Origen's Commentary on Matthew section 39 Ut qui erant impii extra fide causam terrae motus dicerent christianos, propter quod et persecutiones passae sunt ecclesiae et incensae sunt. (I have checked the passage in Migne.)

However, there is no explicit mention of Egypt or Alexandria and Frend understands the passage as referring to a local persecution in Cappadocia under Maximin Thrax which is also referred to by Firmilian. (It can't refer to the persecution under Decius which is later than the Commentary on Matthew. )


Andrew Criddle

stephan huller

Thank you so much Andrew. This sort of thing happens more than you think. I was reading Oden's book on the Libyan church where he made some outlandish claim that Victor and a member of Septimius Severus's household were friends were friends because they were both from Libya (I forget the exact details). It was complete nonsense. These things can become viral pretty quickly.

Appreciate this very much

Stephan