Didymus the Blind

Didymus the Blind (alternatively spelled Dedimus or Didymous) (313 - 398) was a Christian theologian in the Church of Alexandria, where he taught for about half a century. He was a student of Origen, and, after the Second Council of Constantinople condemned Origen, Didymus's works were not copied. Many of his writings are lost, but some of his commentaries and essays survive. He was seen as intelligent and a good teacher. Didymus became blind at the age of four, before he had learned to read. He was a loyal follower of Origen, and opposed Arian and Macedonian teachings. Despite his blindness, Didymus excelled in scholarship because of his incredible memory. He found ways to help blind people to read, experimenting with carved wooden letters similar to Braille systems used by the blind today. He recalled and contemplated information while others slept. According to Rufinus, Didymus was "a teacher in the Church school", who was "approved by Bishop Athanasius" and other learned churchmen. Later scholars believed he was the head of the Catechetical School of Alexandria. However, the Catechetical School of Alexandria may not have existed in Didymus' time, and Rufinus may have been referring to a different school. Didymus remained a layman all his life and became one of the most learned ascetics of his time. He was the first Alexandrian Christian who made use of Hermetica as pagan prophecy of the coming of the Christ. Palladius, Rufinus, and Jerome were among his pupils. Rufinus was Didymus's pupil for eight years. When he translated Origen's De principiis into Latin, he referenced Didymus's commentary on it. Jerome mentions Didymus's contributions to his ideas in the prefaces of many of his books, and called Didymus "Didymus the Seer." Rufinus remained loyal to Didymus after Jerome condemned Didymus and Origen. Didymus was viewed as an orthodox Christian teacher and was greatly respected and admired up until at least 553. Socrates of Constantinople compared Didymus's faithfulness to the Nicene Creed to Basil of Caesarea and Gregory of Nazianzus.