On Prayer 11.1
Summary: Christ is not alone in praying with us: the angels, as Raphael shows in Tobit, and the departed saints, as Jeremiah shows in 2 Maccabees, pray for us too.
Greek text · Koetschau 2:321–322
Οὐ μόνος δὲ ὁ ἀρχιερεὺς τοῖς γνησίως εὐχομένοις συνεύχεται ἀλλὰ καὶ οἱ „ἐν οὐρανῷ“ χαίροντες ἄγγελοι „ἐπὶ ἑνὶ ἁμαρτωλῷ μετανοοῦντι ἢ ἐπὶ ἐνενήκοντα ἐννέα δικαίοις, οἳ οὐ χρείαν ἔχουσι μετανοίας, “ αἵ τε τῶν προκεκοιμημένων ἁγίων ψυχαί. ἅτινα δηλοῦται. Ῥαφαὴλ μὲν προσφέροντος περὶ Τωβὴτ καὶ Σάῤῥας λογικὴν ἱερουργίαν τῷ θεῷ (μετὰ γὰρ τὴν εὐχὴν ἀμφοτέρων „εἰσηκούσθη, “ φησὶν ἡ γραφὴ, „προσευχὴ ἀμφοτέρων ἐνώπιον τῆς δόξης τοῦ μεγάλου Ῥαφαὴλ, καὶ ἀπεστάλη ἰάσασθαι τοὺς δύο“· καὶ αὐτὸς δὲ ὁ Ῥαφαὴλ, φανερῶν ἑαυτοῦ ὡς ἀγγέλου τὴν κατὰ πρόσταγμα τοῦ θεοῦ πρὸς ἀμφοτέρους οἰκονομίαν, φησί· „καὶ νῦν ὅτε προσηύξω σὺ καὶ ἡ νύμφη σου Σάῤῥα, ἐγὼ προσήγαγον τὸ μνημόσυνον τῆς προσευχῆς ὑμῶν ἐνώπιον τοῦ ἁγίου, “ καὶ μετʼ ὀλίγα· „ἐγώ εἰμι Ῥαφαὴλ, εἷς τῶν ἑπτὰ ἀγγέλων, οἳ προσαναφέρουσι τὰς προσευχὰς τῶν ἁγίων καὶ εἰσπορεύονται ἐνώπιον τῆς δόξης τοῦ ἁγίου“· κατὰ τὸν λόγον γοῦν τοῦ Ῥαφαὴλ „ἀγαθὸν προσευχὴ μετὰ νηστείας καὶ ἐλεημοσύνης καὶ δικαιοσύνης“) Ἱερεμίου δὲ, ὡς ἐν τοῖς Μακκαβαϊκοῖς ἐπιφαινομένου,. „πολιᾷ καὶ δόξῃ“ διαφέροντος, ὡς „θαυμαστήν τινα καὶ μεγαλοπρεπεστάτην εἶναι τὴν περὶ αὐτὸν ὑπεροχὴν, καὶ προτείνοντος „τὴν δεξιὰν“ παραδιδόντος τε „τῷ Ἰούδᾳ ῥομφαίαν χρυσῆν, “ ᾧ ἐμαρτύρει ἄλλος ἅγιος προκεκοιμημένος λέγων· „οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ προσευχόμενος πολλὰ περὶ τοῦ λαοῦ καὶ τῆς ἁγίας πόλεως, Ἱερεμίας ὁ τοῦ θεοῦ προφήτης.“
English · Claude translation
Not only does the High Priest pray with those who pray sincerely, but also the angels who rejoice “in heaven” “over one sinner who repents, more than over ninety-nine righteous who need no repentance,” and the souls of the saints who have already fallen asleep. This is shown when Raphael offers a rational service to God on behalf of Tobit and Sarah (for after the prayer of both, Scripture says, “The prayer of both was heard before the glory of the great Raphael, and he was sent to heal the two”; and Raphael himself, revealing his ministry as an angel toward both by God's command, says, “And now, when you prayed, you and your daughter-in-law Sarah, I brought the memorial of your prayer before the Holy One,” and a little after, “I am Raphael, one of the seven angels who present the prayers of the saints and enter before the glory of the Holy One”; at any rate, according to Raphael's word, “Prayer with fasting and almsgiving and righteousness is good”); and it is shown when Jeremiah appears, as in the books of the Maccabees, distinguished “by gray hair and glory,” so that “the dignity about him was wonderful and most majestic,” and stretches out “his right hand” and gives “to Judas a golden sword,” to whom another saint who had fallen asleep bore witness, saying, “This is he who prays much for the people and the holy city, Jeremiah the prophet of God.”
About this passage
Notes
Translation notes
- The quotations are Luke 15:7, Tob 3:16–17, 12:12, 12:15, and 12:8, and 2 Macc 15:12–16. “Daughter-in-law” renders νύμφη (Sarah was the wife of Tobit's son Tobias); Origen's text of Tob 12:12 reads “you and your daughter-in-law Sarah.”
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (missing breathing, accent, and iota subscript in the digital text): ῳ ἐμαρτύρει → ᾧ ἐμαρτύρει.
Cite this passage
Origen, Or. 11.1 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-oratione/11/1/).
Plain text
Origen, Or. 11.1 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-oratione/11/1/).
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