Origen - The Song of Songs: Commentary and Homilies

Origen’s Commentary on the Song of Songs is a daring ascent into the heart of divine desire. In this early masterpiece of Christian mystical interpretation of the Scriptures, Origen treats the biblical love poem as the drama of the soul wooed by Christ, the Logos. Every kiss, fragrance, and garden becomes a symbol of the soul’s purification, illumination, and eventual union with God. The commentary moves with Origen’s characteristic blend of philosophical subtlety and spiritual audacity: the text is both a map of interior transformation and a theological claim that Scripture itself invites the reader into an ever‑deepening intimacy with the divine, as Christ the Bridegroom educates the soul in desire, chastening it, drawing it, and finally revealing the mystery of deification. The result is a work that helped shape centuries of Christian mysticism, offering readers not just an interpretation of Scripture but a vision of the spiritual life as a romance of ever‑expanding longing.