Vigiliae Christianae Volume 28 Issue 1 1975 [Doi 10.1163%2F157007275x00114] Van Winden, J.C.M. --...

ORIGEN'S DEFINITION OF EYXAPIΣTIA IN DE ORATIONE 14,2 BY J. C. M. VAN WINDEN In 1 Tim. 2,1 saint Paul sums up four kinds of prayer: ôÉl1crtç, Euxfi, Evisu?t5, E6xapicIia. Discussing this Pauline text Origen gives a definition of each of these terms. That of suxapwiia is difficult to under- stand and has led the interpretors in several directions, as it appears from their translations. The text runs as follows: Elxapicliav 8e (rjyouuat 8?v(u) Ifiv È1tt To T8Teu?EV(u åyaaffiv 6x6 9EOU psi' suxwv ava0go- ÀÓYl1crlV, 6vIEiXqyy§vou roC 6v8oyoXoyouy§vou Io0 pEyE9ous lj To 8U8py8Tr)9evTi yEy§80ug (patvonevou sis abr6v Y&Y&Vl1IlÉVl1Ç &6&p7&aiag. The difficulty lies, of course, in the participle construction 6vIEiXq yy§vou ... euepy8<7(a<;. O'Meara (Ancient Christian Writers, 19, London 1954) translates: "and thankgiving is the prayer with acknowledgement to God for favours received from God: either the one who acknowledges, understands the greatness of the favour done him, or he who has received it attaches such greatness to it." Obviously this interpretor discerns two genitivi absoluti separated by the disjunctive fi. In the first one ToO 6v8oyoXoyouy£vou is subject of åV&tÀl1IlIlÉVOO, which hasToi5 ?&yÉ30uç ... E6EpyEciag) as its object. To put it into a clause: 6TF- (or 6 dv8oyoXoyoJyEvog àVt&íÀl11ttat Tob psyE9ou5 ... This makes a very good sense: "when (or because) he who acknowledges has understood the greatness of the favour." But does the second genitive absolute fit in with this inter- pretation ? Here yEy£80ug would be the subject of <PatVOIlÉVOU, or to put it into a clause again 11 y£yE8og (paiV&TCEI To &Ù&py&tl1aÉvn. One would at least expect an article before p,sy£9ouS, but even then the construction is awkward, I would dare to say impossible. It opposes, moreover, two things which are not really opposites of each other "either he understands the greatness of the favour ... or he attaches such greatness to it". Koetschau (Bibliothek der Kirchenvater, Munchen 1926) translates: "endlich 'Danksagung' (E6xapicIia) die mit Gebet verbundene Be-

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Transcript of Vigiliae Christianae Volume 28 Issue 1 1975 [Doi 10.1163%2F157007275x00114] Van Winden, J.C.M. --...

ORIGEN'S DEFINITION OF EYXAPITIA IN DE ORATIONE 14,2

BY

J. C. M. VAN WINDEN

In 1 Tim. 2,1 saint Paul sums up four kinds of prayer: l1crt, Euxfi, Evisu?t5, E6xapicIia. Discussing this Pauline text Origen gives a definition of each of these terms. That of suxapwiia is difficult to under- stand and has led the interpretors in several directions, as it appears from their translations. The text runs as follows: Elxapicliav 8e (rjyouuat 8?v(u) Ifiv 1tt To T8Teu?EV(u yaaffiv 6x6 9EOU psi' suxwv ava0go- Yl1crlV, 6vIEiXqyyvou roC 6v8oyoXoyouyvou Io0 pEyE9ous lj To 8U8py8Tr)9evTi yEy80ug (patvonevou sis abr6v Y&Y&Vl1IlVl1 &6&p7&aiag. The difficulty lies, of course, in the participle construction 6vIEiXq yyvou ... euepy8
140

stdtigung des Empfdngers, dass er Gfter von Gott erhalten hat, indem der Empfdnger die Grdsse der ihm gewordenen Wohltat e? fasst, oder diese dem Beschenkten als gross erscheint." This translation is based on the same analysis of the text as that of O'Meara.

Jay (Origen's Treatise on Prayer, London 1954) explains the construc- tion as follows: "Av8oyoXoyouyvou is here passive in meaning; cob 6v8oyoXoyouyvou iou psyE9ouS is the subject of vt&tl1??vou, with which is understood 'by God'. The genitive tf ... suspyE6iaS depends on the first rob yEy80ug, the clause 11 10 ...