The Concept of the Logos in Philo of Alexandria, Clement of Alexandria, and Origen

Abstract

The text offers an account of the concepts of the Logos in Philo of Alexandria, Clement of Alexandria, and Origen, in an attempt to show the abundance of the ontological‐religious conceptions of different theories. The Logos in Philo is analyzed as being multi‐named (Word of God, utterance, image of God, angel, Son, Wisdom), as well as being immanent, through which God (as transcendent and unknowable) exteriorizes into the world. The Christological theory of Clement of Alexandria is shown through the prism of understanding the generation of the Logos; through adherence to the thesis of a one‐stage or two(fold)‐stage of generation; and, through the concept of the Logos as first principle and creator of the cosmos, a first physical and ethical principle. The Logos in Origen is briefly analyzed through several approaches, according to its quality as Wisdom, First‐born, Wisdom of God, or God’s reflection. Also, some attention is paid to the similarity to the ontology of Numenius, and the question of whether it is possible to speak of a second God, as well as on the relation between God and Logos (and Christ, as Logos incarnate), which touches upon the problem of shared essence or substance.