Sophia Scriptura

On Prayer 26.5

Origen · On Prayer · ca. 233–234 · Caesarea · Read in context

Summary: Evil spirits are not truly “in heaven,” because where one belongs depends on the will, not on place; the saints on earth are heavenly, and the demons, though in the heavens, are earthly.

Greek text · Koetschau 2:362

μὴ λύοντος δέ πω τοῦ δευτέρου τὰ ἠπορημένα περὶ τοῦ πῶς „τὸ θέλημα“ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστιν „ἐν οὐρανῷ, “ τῶν „ἐν τοῖς ἐπουρανίοις“ πνευματικῶν „τῆς πονηρίας“ ἀντιπαλαιόντων τοῖς „ἐπὶ γῆς, “ ἐκεῖθεν ἐνέσται λύειν οὕτως τὸ ζητούμενον· ὅτι, ὥσπερ οὐ διὰ τὸν τόπον ἀλλὰ διὰ τὴν προαίρεσιν ὁ ἔτι ὢν „ἐπὶ γῆς, “ „πολίτευμα“ ἔχων „ἐν οὐρανοῖς“ καὶ θησαυρίζων „ἐν οὐρανῷ, “ τὴν καρδίαν ἔχων „ἐν οὐρανῷ, “ „τὴν εἰκόνα τοῦ ἐπουρανίου“ φορῶν, οὐκέτι ἐστὶν „ἐκ τῆς γῆς“ οὐδὲ „τοῦ“ „κάτω“ „κόσμου“ ἀλλʼ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ „τοῦ“ κρείττονος „τούτου“ οὐρανίου „κόσμου“· οὕτως καὶ „τὰ“ ἔτι „ἐν τοῖς (ἐπ)ουρανίοις“ διατρίβοντα „πνευματικὰ τῆς πονηρίας, “ „τὸ πολίτευμα“ ἔχοντα „ἐπὶ γῆς“ καὶ διʼ ὧν ἀντιπαλαίει ἐπιβουλεύοντα ἀνθρώποις, θησαυρίζοντα „ἐπὶ γῆς, “ „εἰκόνα τοῦ χοϊκοῦ“ φοροῦντα, ὅστις „ἐστὶν ἀρχὴ πλάσματος κυρίου, πεποιημένος ἐγκαταπαίζεσθαι ὑπὸ τῶν ἀγγέλων, “ οὐκ ἔστιν ἐπουράνια οὐδὲ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς διὰ τὴν μοχθηρὰν διάθεσιν οἰκεῖ. ἐπὰν οὖν λέγηται· „γενηθήτω τὸ θέλημά σου ὡς ἐν οὐρανῷ καὶ ἐπὶ γῆς, “ ἐκείνους οὐδὲ „ἐν οὐρανῷ“ εἶναι λογιστέον, τῷ φρονήματι μετὰ τοῦ πεσόντος ἐξ „οὐρανοῦ“ δίκην ἀστραπῆς πεπτωκότας.

English · Claude translation

But since the second interpretation does not yet solve the difficulty of how “the will” of God is “in heaven” when the spiritual forces “of wickedness” “in the heavenly places” wrestle against those “on earth,” one can solve the question in this way. Just as the one still “on earth,” not because of place but because of his choice, having his “citizenship in heaven,” laying up treasure “in heaven,” having his heart “in heaven,” bearing “the image of the heavenly,” is no longer “of the earth,” nor “of” the “world” “below,” but of heaven and of “this” better heavenly “world”; so also “the spiritual forces of wickedness” still dwelling “in the heavenly places,” having their “citizenship” “on earth,” and plotting against men by the means through which they wrestle, laying up treasure “on earth,” bearing “the image of the man of dust”—who “is the beginning of the Lord's creation, made to be mocked by the angels”—are not heavenly, nor do they dwell in the heavens, because of their wicked disposition. When, then, it is said, “Your will be done, as in heaven so also on earth,” we must consider that they are not even “in heaven,” having fallen in their mind with the one who fell from “heaven” like lightning.

About this passage

Source
Koetschau 2:362 · Paul Koetschau, ed., Origenes Werke 2: Buch V–VIII gegen Celsus, Die Schrift vom Gebet, GCS 3 (Leipzig: Hinrichs, 1899), 297–403 · Greek text: P. Koetschau, Origenes Werke 2 (GCS 3, 1899), digitized by the Perseus Digital Library and published by the First Thousand Years of Greek project (Open Greek and Latin), CC BY-SA 4.0
Text
As printed in Koetschau, GCS 3. Manuscript variants and the editor's apparatus are not reproduced; no textual problem is noted in this passage.
Translation
Claude translation (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 · Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Koetschau, GCS 3; made independently of existing English translations. No public-domain English translation exists; reviewed against the Greek.
Scripture
Topics
Prayer

Notes

Translation notes

  • The quotations and allusions are Eph 6:12, Phil 3:20, Matt 6:20–21, 1 Cor 15:47–49, John 8:23, Job 40:19 (LXX, said of the great beast, here applied to the devil), and Luke 10:18.

Cite this passage

Origen, Or. 26.5 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-oratione/26/5/).

Plain text
Origen, Or. 26.5 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-oratione/26/5/).

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