Why do many of Origen’s biblical writings survive only in Latin translations or fragments?

Many of Origen’s biblical writings survive only in Latin translations or fragments due to the intense theological controversies surrounding his work and the subsequent efforts to suppress his perceived heresies.

Following his death, Origen’s teachings—particularly those regarding the preexistence of souls, the nature of the Trinity, and the resurrection—faced mounting opposition from church leaders. This led to a climate where his original Greek texts were often neglected, lost, or actively destroyed.12

The survival of much of his work is largely due to the efforts of translators like Tyrannius Rufinus, who translated many of Origen’s homilies and commentaries into Latin. However, these translations are often incomplete or unreliable because translators like Rufinus frequently paraphrased, abbreviated, or altered the original Greek to remove passages they suspected were unorthodox. Additionally, many surviving Greek portions exist only as fragments within catenae (anthologies of biblical commentary) or as reconstructed texts based on the polemical writings of his critics, such as Jerome and Justinian I, who often quoted him to demonstrate his alleged errors.32