In the third century, a number of divines—most of them connected with Egypt and the intellectual tradition of Origen—enjoyed considerable reputation in their own day, though time has left us only scant fragments of their writings. Their names form part of the rich tapestry of early Christian scholarship, pastoral leadership, and theological debate, even where their personal influence has faded into obscurity.
Heraclas and Plutarch: Early Pupils of Origen
Heraclas and his brother Plutarch, the latter later crowned with martyrdom, were among the earliest notable converts under Origen, and, indeed, older than their teacher. Before meeting Origen, Heraclas studied New-Platonic philosophy under Ammonius Saccas. Appointed as Origen’s assistant in the Catechetical School of Alexandria, he eventually succeeded him.
Upon the death of Demetrius—Origen’s jealous opponent—Heraclas became bishop of Alexandria, serving from AD 233 to 248. Of his episcopal administration nothing is recorded, nor do we possess his writings. Whether he shared Origen’s speculative theology is uncertain; he certainly did nothing to reverse his master’s exile. Eusebius describes him as “devoted to the study of the Scriptures and a most learned man, not unacquainted with philosophy,” yet omits any mention of his treatment of Origen during or after the latter’s trial.
Theognostus: An Obscure Successor
Following Heraclas and Dionysius in the Catechetical School came Theognostus, absent from Eusebius’ record but mentioned by Athanasius and Photius. Only a brief fragment on the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit survives, along with a few extracts from his Hypotyposeis (“Adumbrations”). These suggest a mind shaped by Alexandrian allegorical method, though the scope of his thought is largely lost to us.
Pierius: The Younger Origen
Pierius likely succeeded Theognostus during the episcopate of Theonas (d. 300) and lived beyond the Diocletian persecution. Renowned for his voluntary poverty, philosophical knowledge, and skill in public exposition of Scripture, he was the teacher of Pamphilus and was nicknamed “the younger Origen.” Jerome refers to a lengthy treatise of his on the prophecies of Hosea; Photius calls him an interpreter of Pamphilus. His combination of philosophical acumen and scriptural insight made him a central figure in late third-century Alexandrian theology.
Pamphilus: Patron of Christian Learning
Pamphilus, a presbyter of Caesarea in Palestine and an ardent admirer of Origen, was not a prolific author but a great benefactor of theological study. His enduring contribution was the founding of a theological school and the assembling of a large library, from which Eusebius, Jerome, and many others drew extensively. He personally transcribed valuable works, including the Septuagint from Origen’s Hexapla, and provided resources for impoverished students.
While imprisoned during the persecution under Maximinus (309), he composed—together with Eusebius—a defense of Origen in six books (only the first survives, in Rufinus’ Latin). This work aimed to demonstrate, from Origen’s own writings, his orthodoxy on the Trinity and the person of Christ, and was addressed to confessors laboring in the mines of Palestine.
Peter of Alexandria: Martyr Bishop
Peter, pupil and successor of Theonas, became bishop of Alexandria in AD 300. His tenure coincided with the Diocletian persecution, during which he was ultimately beheaded by order of Maximinus in 311. Known for moderate views regarding the restoration of the lapsed, he became embroiled in the Meletian schism when Meletius of Lycopolis intruded into his diocese during Peter’s temporary flight and claimed primacy over Egypt.
Peter left fifteen disciplinary canons and several homiletical fragments. In one sermon he rejected Origen’s doctrine of the pre-existence and pre-temporal fall of souls as pagan and unscriptural, aligning himself against this aspect of Origen’s thought. Nevertheless, Eusebius praises him for piety, scriptural knowledge, and wise governance.
Hieracas: The Ascetic Visionary
Hieracas (Hierax) of Leontopolis, active toward the century’s end, stands somewhat apart from the Alexandrian school and may have had no formal connection to it. Epiphanius ranks him among the Manichaean heretics, yet he appears as an independent, original figure—learned in both Greek and Egyptian, skilled in allegorical interpretation, gifted as a poet, and marked by extreme asceticism.
He denied the historical reality of the Fall, rejected the resurrection of the body, and exalted celibacy as the sole certain path to salvation—or at least to the highest blessedness. His followers, the Hieracitae, carried forward his distinctive mix of rigorous asceticism and unconventional theology.
Shadows of a School
These minor figures, though now little more than names in ecclesiastical annals, illustrate the diverse legacy of the Alexandrian tradition in the third century. From scriptural expositors and philosophical theologians to patrons of learning and uncompromising ascetics, they contributed—directly or indirectly—to the preservation, dissemination, and development of Christian thought during one of its most formative and turbulent periods.
