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Gregory of Nazianzus

Gregory of Nazianzus (Greek: Γρηγόριος ὁ Ναζιανζηνός, Grēgorios ho Nazianzēnos; c. 329[4] – 25 January 390[4][5]), also known as Gregory the Theologian or Gregory Nazianzen, was a 4th-century Archbishop of Constantinople and theologian. He is widely considered the most accomplished rhetorical stylist of the patristic age.[6] As a classically trained orator and philosopher, he infused Hellenism into the early church, establishing the paradigm of Byzantine theologians and church officials.[6]


Gregory of Nazianzus
Icon of St. Gregory the Theologian
Fresco from Kariye Camii, Istanbul, Turkey
BornAD 329
Arianzus, near Nazianzus, Cappadocia
Died25 January 390 (aged 60–61)
Arianzus, near Nazianzus, Cappadocia
Venerated in
CanonizedPre-Congregation
Major shrinePatriarchal Cathedral of St. George in the Fanar
Feast
AttributesVested as a bishop, wearing an omophorion; holding a Gospel Book or scroll. Iconographically, he is depicted as balding with a bushy white beard.

Gregory made a significant impact on the shape of Trinitarian theology among both Greek and Latin-speaking theologians, and he is remembered as the "Trinitarian Theologian". Much of his theological work continues to influence modern theologians, especially in regard to the relationship among the three Persons of the Trinity. Along with the brothers Basil the Great and Gregory of Nyssa, he is known as one of the Cappadocian Fathers.

Gregory of Nazianzus is a saint in both Eastern and Western Christianity. In the Catholic Church he is numbered among the Doctors of the Church; in the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches he is revered as one of the Three Holy Hierarchs, along with Basil the Great and John Chrysostom. He is considered one of the Great Fathers in both Eastern and Western Christianity. He was considered the patron saint of Kotromanić dynasty and medieval Bosnia during the first half of the 15th century, while Saint George, the miracle-worker, has been the patron saint since at least mid-13th century, although confirmed by the papacy much later in 1461. St. Gregory the Great was also considered the patron of both the state and dynasty in the late 15th century.[7][8]

He is also one of only three men in the life of the Orthodox Church who have been officially designated "Theologian" by epithet,[9] the other two being John the Theologian (the Evangelist), and Symeon the New Theologian.

Biography Edit

Early life and education Edit

Gregory was born to Greek parents[10] in the family estate of Karbala outside the village of Arianzus, near Nazianzus, in southwest Cappadocia.[11]: 18  His parents, Gregory and Nonna, were wealthy land-owners. In AD 325 Nonna converted her husband, a Hypsistarian, to Christianity; he was subsequently ordained as bishop of Nazianzus in 328 or 329.[6]: vii  The young Gregory and his brother, Caesarius, first studied at home with their uncle Amphylokhios. Gregory went on to study advanced rhetoric and philosophy in Nazianzus, Caesarea, Alexandria, and Athens. On the way to Athens his ship encountered a violent storm, and the terrified Gregory prayed to Christ that if He would deliver him, he would dedicate his life to His service.[6]: 28  While at Athens, he developed a close friendship with his fellow student Basil of Caesarea, and also made the acquaintance of Flavius Claudius Julianus, who would later become the emperor known as Julian the Apostate.[11]: 19, 25  In Athens, Gregory studied under the famous rhetoricians Himerius and Proaeresius.[12] He may have been baptized there, or shortly after his return to Cappadocia.[13]

Priesthood Edit

In 361 Gregory returned to Nazianzus and was ordained a presbyter by his father's wish, who wanted him to assist with caring for local Christians.[6]: 99–102  The younger Gregory, who had been considering a monastic existence, resented his father's decision to force him to choose between priestly services and a solitary existence, calling it an "act of tyranny".[11]: 32 [14] Leaving home after a few days, he met his friend Basil at Annesoi, where the two lived as ascetics.[6]: 102  However, Basil urged him to return home to assist his father, which he did for the next year. Arriving at Nazianzus, Gregory found the local Christian community split by theological differences and his father accused of heresy by local monks.[6]: 107  Gregory helped to heal the division through a combination of personal diplomacy and oratory.[citation needed]

By this time Emperor Julian had publicly declared himself in opposition to Christianity.[6]: 115  In response to the emperor's rejection of the Christian faith, Gregory composed his Invectives Against Julian between 362 and 363. Invectives asserts that Christianity will overcome imperfect rulers such as Julian through love and patience. This process as described by Gregory is the public manifestation of the process of deification (theosis), which leads to a spiritual elevation and mystical union with God.[6]: 121  Julian resolved, in late 362, to vigorously prosecute Gregory and his other Christian critics; however, the emperor perished the following year during a campaign against the Persians.[6]: 125–6  With the death of the emperor, Gregory and the Eastern churches were no longer under the threat of persecution, as the new emperor Jovian was an avowed Christian and supporter of the church.[6]: 130 

Gregory spent the next few years combating Arianism, which threatened to divide the region of Cappadocia. In this tense environment, Gregory interceded on behalf of his friend Basil with Bishop Eusebius of Caesarea (Mazaca).[6]: 138–42  The two friends then entered a period of close fraternal cooperation as they participated in a great rhetorical contest of the Caesarean church precipitated by the arrival of accomplished Arian theologians and rhetors.[6]: 143  In the subsequent public debates, presided over by agents of the Emperor Valens, Gregory and Basil emerged triumphant. This success confirmed for both Gregory and Basil that their futures lay in administration of the Church.[6]: 143  Basil, who had long displayed inclinations to the episcopacy, was elected bishop of the see of Caesarea in Cappadocia in 370.[citation needed]

Episcopate in Sasima and Nazianzus Edit

Gregory was ordained Bishop of Sasima in 372 by Basil.[6]: 190–5  Basil created this see in order to strengthen his position in his dispute with Anthimus, bishop of Tyana.[12] The ambitions of Gregory's father to have his son rise in the Church hierarchy and the insistence of his friend Basil convinced Gregory to accept this position despite his reservations. Gregory would later refer to his episcopal ordination as forced upon him by his strong-willed father and Basil.[6]: 187–92  Describing his new bishopric, Gregory lamented how it was nothing more than an "utterly dreadful, pokey little hole; a paltry horse-stop on the main road ... devoid of water, vegetation, or the company of gentlemen ... this was my Church of Sasima!"[15] He made little effort to administer his new diocese, complaining to Basil that he preferred instead to pursue a contemplative life.[11]: 38–9 

By late 372 Gregory returned to Nazianzus to assist his dying father with the administration of his diocese.[6]: 199  This strained his relationship with Basil, who insisted that Gregory resume his post at Sasima. Gregory retorted that he had no intention to continue to play the role of pawn to advance Basil's interests.[16] He instead focused his attention on his new duties as coadjutor of Nazianzus. It was here that Gregory preached the first of his great episcopal orations.[citation needed]

Following the deaths of his mother and father in 374, Gregory continued to administer the Diocese of Nazianzus but refused to be named bishop. Donating most of his inheritance to the needy, he lived an austere existence.[12] At the end of 375 he withdrew to a monastery at Seleukia, living there for three years. Near the end of this period his friend Basil died. Although Gregory's health did not permit him to attend the funeral, he wrote a heartfelt letter of condolence to Basil's brother, Gregory of Nyssa, and composed twelve memorial poems dedicated to the memory of his departed friend. (The Greek Anthology, book I epigram 86 and book VIII epigrams 2–11).

Gregory at Constantinople Edit

Upon the death of Emperor Valens in 378, the accession of Theodosius I, a steadfast supporter of Nicene orthodoxy, was good news to those who wished to purge Constantinople of Arian and Apollinarian domination.[6]: 235  The exiled Nicene party gradually returned to the city. From his deathbed, Basil reminded them of Gregory's capabilities and likely recommended his friend to champion the Trinitarian cause in Constantinople.[6]: 235–6 [17]

In 379, the Antioch synod and its archbishop, Meletios, asked Gregory to go to Constantinople to lead a theological campaign to win over that city to Nicene orthodoxy.[11]: 42  After much hesitation, Gregory agreed. His cousin Theodosia offered him a villa for his residence; Gregory immediately transformed much of it into a church, naming it Anastasia, "a scene for the resurrection of the faith".[6]: 241 [18] From this little chapel he delivered five powerful discourses on Nicene doctrine, explaining the nature of the Trinity and the unity of the Godhead.[12] Refuting the Eunomion denial of the Holy Spirit's divinity, Gregory offered this argument:

Look at these facts: Christ is born, the Holy Spirit is His Forerunner. Christ is baptized, the Spirit bears witness to this ... Christ works miracles, the Spirit accompanies them. Christ ascends, the Spirit takes His place. What great things are there in the idea of God which are not in His power? What titles appertaining to God do not apply also to Him, except for Unbegotten and Begotten? I tremble when I think of such an abundance of titles, and how many Names they blaspheme, those who revolt against the Spirit![19]

Gregory's homilies were well received and attracted ever-growing crowds to Anastasia. Fearing his popularity, his opponents decided to strike. On the vigil of Easter in 379, an Arian mob burst into his church during worship services, wounding Gregory and killing another bishop. Escaping the mob, Gregory next found himself betrayed by his erstwhile friend, the philosopher Maximus the Cynic. Maximus, who was in secret alliance with Peter, bishop of Alexandria, attempted to seize Gregory's position and have himself ordained bishop of Constantinople.[11]: 43  Shocked, Gregory decided to resign his office, but the faction faithful to him induced him to stay and ejected Maximus. This episode left Gregory embarrassed, and exposed him to criticism as a provincial simpleton unable to cope with the intrigues of the imperial city.[11]: 43 

Affairs in Constantinople remained confused as Gregory's position was still unofficial, and Arian priests yet occupied many important churches. The arrival of the emperor Theodosius in 380 settled matters in Gregory's favor. The emperor, determined to eliminate Arianism, expelled Bishop Demophilus. Gregory was subsequently enthroned as bishop of Constantinople at the Basilica of the Apostles, replacing Demophilus.[11]: 45 

Second Ecumenical Council and retirement to Nazianzus Edit

 
A Byzantine-style icon depicting the Three Holy Hierarchs: (left to right:) Basil the Great, John Chrysostom and Gregory the Theologian.

Theodosius wanted to further unify the entire empire behind the orthodox position and decided to convene a church council to resolve matters of faith and discipline.[11]: 45  Gregory was of similar mind in wishing to unify Christianity. In the spring of 381 they convened the Second Ecumenical Council in Constantinople, which was attended by 150 Eastern bishops. After the death of the presiding bishop, Meletius of Antioch, Gregory was selected to lead the council. Hoping to reconcile the West with the East, he offered to recognize Paulinus as Patriarch of Antioch. The Egyptian and Macedonian bishops who had supported Maximus's ordination arrived late for the council. Once there, they refused to recognise Gregory's position as head of the church of Constantinople, arguing that his transfer from the See of Sasima was canonically illegitimate.[6]: 358–9 

Gregory was physically exhausted and worried that he was losing the confidence of the bishops and the emperor.[6]: 359  Rather than press his case and risk further division, he decided to resign his office: "Let me be as the Prophet Jonah! I was responsible for the storm, but I would sacrifice myself for the salvation of the ship. Seize me and throw me ... I was not happy when I ascended the throne, and gladly would I descend it."[20] He shocked the council with his surprise resignation and then delivered a dramatic speech to Theodosius asking to be released from his offices. The emperor, moved by his words, applauded, commended his labor, and granted his resignation. The Council asked him to appear once more for a farewell ritual and celebratory orations. Gregory used this occasion to deliver a final address (Or. 42) and then departed.[6]: 361 

Returning to his homeland of Cappadocia, Gregory once again resumed his position as bishop of Nazianzus. He spent the next year combating the local Apollinarian heretics and struggling with periodic illness. He also began composing De Vita Sua, his autobiographical poem.[11]: 50  By the end of 383 he found his health too feeble to cope with episcopal duties. Gregory established Eulalius as bishop of Nazianzus and then withdrew into the solitude of Arianzum. After enjoying six peaceful years in retirement at his family estate, he died on 25 January in 390.[citation needed]

Gregory faced stark choices throughout his life: Should he pursue studies as a rhetor or philosopher? Would a monastic life be more appropriate than public ministry? Was it better to blaze his own path or follow the course mapped for him by his father and Basil? Gregory's writings illuminate the conflicts which both tormented and motivated him. Biographers suggest that it was this dialectic which defined him, forged his character, and inspired his search for meaning and truth.[11]: 54 

Legacy Edit

 
Andrei Rublev, Gregory the Theologian (1408), Dormition Cathedral, Vladimir.

Theological and other works Edit

Gregory's most significant theological contributions arose from his defense of the doctrine of the Trinity. He is especially noted for his contributions to the field of pneumatology—that is, theology concerning the nature of the Holy Spirit.[21] In this regard, Gregory is the first to use the idea of procession to describe the relationship between the Spirit and the Godhead: "The Holy Spirit is truly Spirit, coming forth from the Father indeed but not after the manner of the Son, for it is not by generation but by procession, since I must coin a word for the sake of clearness."[22] Although Gregory does not fully develop the concept, the idea of procession would shape most later thought about the Holy Spirit.[23]

He emphasized that Jesus did not cease to be God when he became a man, nor did he lose any of his divine attributes when he took on human nature. Furthermore, Gregory asserted that Christ was fully human, including a full human soul. He also proclaimed the eternality of the Holy Spirit, saying that the Holy Spirit's actions were somewhat hidden in the Old Testament but much clearer since the ascension of Jesus into Heaven and the descent of the Holy Spirit at the feast of Pentecost.[24]

In contrast to the Neo-Arian belief that the Son is anomoios, or "unlike" the Father, and with the Semi-Arian assertion that the Son is homoiousios, or "like" the Father, Gregory and his fellow Cappadocians maintained the Nicaean doctrine of homoousia, or consubstantiality of the Son with the Father.[25]: 9, 10  The Cappadocian Fathers asserted that God's nature is unknowable to man; helped to develop the framework of hypostases, or three persons united in a single Godhead; illustrated how Jesus is the eikon of the Father; and explained the concept of theosis, the belief that all Christians can be assimilated with God in "imitation of the incarnate Son as the divine model."[25]: 10 

Some of Gregory's theological writings suggest that, like his friend Gregory of Nyssa, he may have supported some form of the doctrine of apocatastasis, the belief that God will bring all of creation into harmony with the Kingdom of Heaven.[26] This led Philip Schaff and late-nineteenth century Christian universalists such as J. W. Hanson to describe Gregory's theology as universalist.[27] This view of Gregory is also held by some modern theologians such as John Sachs, who said that Gregory had "leanings" toward apocatastasis, but in a "cautious, undogmatic" way.[28] However, it is not clear or universally accepted that Gregory held to the doctrine of apocatastasis.[29]

Apart from the several theological discourses, Gregory was also one of the most important early Christian men of letters, a very accomplished orator, even perhaps one of the greatest of his time.[25]: 21  Gregory was also a very prolific poet who wrote theological, moral, and biographical poems.[citation needed] The book VIII of the Greek Anthology contains exclusively 254 epigrams of his.[citation needed]

Influence Edit

Gregory's great nephew Nichobulos served as his literary executor, preserving and editing many of his writings. A cousin, Eulalios, published several of Gregory's more noteworthy works in 391.[6]: xi  By 400, Rufinius began translating his orations into Latin. As Gregory's works circulated throughout the empire they influenced theological thought. His orations were cited as authoritative by the First Council of Ephesus in 431. By 451 he was designated Theologus, or Theologian by the Council of Chalcedon[6]: xi  – a title held by no others save John the Apostle[12] and Symeon the New Theologian (949–1022 AD). He is widely quoted by Eastern Orthodox theologians and highly regarded as a defender of the Christian faith. His contributions to Trinitarian theology are also influential and often cited in the Western churches.[30] Paul Tillich credits Gregory of Nazianzus for having "created the definitive formulae for the doctrine of the trinity".[31] Additionally, the Liturgy of St Gregory the Theologian in use by the Coptic Church is named after him.[32]

Relics Edit

Following his death, Gregory was buried at Nazianzus. His relics, consisting of portions of his body and clothing, were transferred to Constantinople in 950, into the Church of the Holy Apostles. Part of the relics were taken from Constantinople by Crusaders during the Fourth Crusade, in 1204, and ended up in Rome. On 27 November 2004, those relics, along with those of John Chrysostom, were returned to Constantinople (now Istanbul) by Pope John Paul II, with the Vatican retaining a small portion of both. The relics are now enshrined in the Patriarchal Cathedral of St. George in the Fanar.[33]

Death Edit

During the six years of life which remained to him after his final retirement to his birthplace, Gregory composed the greater part of his copious poetical works. These include a valuable autobiographical poem of nearly 2,000 lines; about one hundred other shorter poems relating to his past career; and a large number of epitaphs, epigrams, and epistles to well-known people during that era. The poems that he wrote that dealt with his personal affairs refer to the continuous illness and severe sufferings (physical and spiritual) which assailed him during his last years. In the tiny plot of ground at Arianzus, all that remained to him of his rich inheritance was by a fountain near which there was a shady walk. Gregory retired here to spend his days as a hermit. It was during this time that he decided to write theological discourses and poetry of both a religious and an autobiographical nature.[34] He would receive occasional visits from intimate friends, as well as visits from strangers who were attracted to his retreat by his large reputation for sanctity and learning. He died about 25 January 390, although the exact date of his death is unknown.[35]

Feast days Edit

Gregory of Nazianzus is celebrated on different days across Christianity.

See also Edit

References Edit

Citations Edit

  1. ^ a b Saint Gregory of Nazianzus at the Encyclopædia Britannica
  2. ^ "The Calendar". Church of England. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
  3. ^ . Archived from the original on 26 September 2021. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  4. ^ a b Liturgy of the Hours Volume I, Proper of Saints, 2 January.
  5. ^ "Ορθόδοξος Συναξαριστής :: Άγιος Γρηγόριος ο Θεολόγος". Saint.gr. 25 January 2016. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y McGuckin, John (2001) Saint Gregory of Nazianzus: An Intellectual Biography, Crestwood, NY.
  7. ^ Lovrenović, Dubravko (2008). "Sv. Grgur čudotvorac – zaštitnik Kotromanića i srednjovjekovne Bosne". In Karamatić, Fra Marko (ed.). Zbornik o Marku Dobretiću (pdf) (in Serbo-Croatian). Sarajevo: Franjevačka teologija. pp. 9–32. ISBN 978-9958-9026-0-4. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  8. ^ Housley, Norman (17 June 2016). The Crusade in the Fifteenth Century: Converging and competing cultures. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-03688-3. Retrieved 3 March 2019 – via Google Books.
  9. ^ Great Synaxaristes: (in Greek) Ὁ Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος ὁ Θεολόγος Ἀρχιεπίσκοπος Κωνσταντινουπόλεως. 25 Ιανουαρίου. ΜΕΓΑΣ ΣΥΝΑΞΑΡΙΣΤΗΣ.
  10. ^ The Riverside Dictionary of Biography. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 2005. p. 336. ISBN 9780618493371. Gregory of Nazianzus or Nazianzen, St c. 330-c. 389 AD •Greek prelate and theologian- Born of Greek parents in Cappadocia, he was educated in Caesarea, Alexandria and Athens.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Ruether, Rosemary Radford (1969), Gregory of Nazianzus: Rhetor and Philosopher, Oxford University Press
  12. ^ a b c d e Hunter-Blair, DO (1910), "Gregory of Nazianzus", The Catholic Encyclopedia, Robert Appleton
  13. ^ Daley, Brian (2012). Gregory of Nazianzus. The Early Church Fathers. Routledge. pp. 7–9. ISBN 9781134807277.
  14. ^ Migne, J.P. (ed), Patrologiae Graecae (PG), (1857–66), 37.1053, Carm. de vita sua, l.345
  15. ^ Gregory, as quoted in PG 37.1059–60, De Vita Sua, vv. 439–46.
  16. ^ Gallay, P. (1964), Grégoire de Nazianze (in French), Paris, p. 61{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link); quoting from Ep. 48, PG 37.97.
  17. ^ Orat. 43.2, PG 36.497.
  18. ^ 2 Kings 4:8 and Orat. 26.17, PG 35.1249.
  19. ^ Nazianzus, Gregory of, Or, The Orthodox Church of America, p. 31:29, retrieved 2 May 2007
  20. ^ PG, 37.1157–9, Carm. de vita sua, ll 1828–55.
  21. ^ Michael O'Carroll, "Gregory of Nazianzus" in Trinitas (Wilmington, DE: Michael Glazier, 1987).
  22. ^ Gregory of Nazianzus, Five Theological Orations, oration five. This fifth oration deals entirely with the Holy Spirit.
  23. ^ HEW Turner and Francis Young, "Procession(s)" in The Westminster Dictionary of Christian Theology, ed. A. Richardson & J. Bowden (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1983). Through Augustine, the idea would develop in the West into "double-procession", resulting in the Filioque clause and the split between Eastern and Western Christianity.
  24. ^ MEINEL, FABIAN (2009). "GREGORY OF NAZIANZUS' POEMATA ARCANA: ἄρρητα AND CHRISTIAN PERSUASION". The Cambridge Classical Journal. 55: 71–96. doi:10.1017/S1750270500000208. ISSN 1750-2705. JSTOR 44688044. S2CID 170730880.
  25. ^ a b c Børtnes (2006), Gregory of Nazianzus: Images and Reflections
  26. ^ "Apocatastasis". New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, Vol. I.
  27. ^ Hanson, JW Universalism: The Prevailing Doctrine Of The Christian Church During Its First Five Hundred Years. Chapter XV: Gregory Nazianzen. Boston and Chicago Universalist Publishing House, 1899.
  28. ^ Sachs, John R. "Apocatastasis in Patristic Theology." Theological Studies. 54 (December 1993), p. 632.
  29. ^ David L. Balas, "Apokatastasis" in The Encyclopedia of Early Christianity, second edition, ed. Everett Ferguson (New York: Garland Publishing, 1997), details Gregory of Nyssa's adherence to the doctrine, while making no mention of Nazianzan.
  30. ^ See how the 1992 edition of the Catechism of the Catholic Church cites a variety of Gregory's orations
  31. ^ Tillich, Paul. A History of Christian Thought (Simon and Schuster, 1968), p. 76.
  32. ^ Chaillot, Christine (2006), "The Ancient Oriental Churches", in Wainwright, Geoffrey (ed.), The Oxford history of Christian worship, Oxford New York: Oxford University Press, p. 139, ISBN 978-0-19-513886-3
  33. ^ Fisher, Ian (28 November 2004), "Pope returns remains of 2 Orthodox patriarchs", , archived from the original on 29 August 2007, retrieved 24 October 2012
  34. ^ "Saint Gregory of Nazianzen". 3 January 2009.
  35. ^ "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: St. Gregory of Nazianzus". Newadvent.org. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
  36. ^ "Join us in Daily Prayer – The Church of England". www.churchofengland.org.
  37. ^ Lutheranism 101, CPH, St. Louis, 2010, p. 277
  38. ^ "St Gregory the Theologian the Archbishop of Constantinople". OCA Online Feast Days. Orthodox Church in America. Retrieved 26 September 2009.
  39. ^ "Synaxis of the Ecumenical Teachers and Hierarchs: Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, and John Chrysostom". OCA Online Feast Days. Orthodox Church in America. Retrieved 26 September 2009.
  40. ^ Lesser Feasts and Fasts 2018. Church Publishing, Inc. 1 December 2019. ISBN 978-1-64065-234-7.
  41. ^ "Commemoration of the Twelve Archimandrites – STS. Retheos, Dionisios, Selbestros, Athanas, Cyril of Jerusalem, Ephrem Khourie Assyrian, Vasil (Barsegh) of Caesaria, Gregory of Nyssa, Gregory the Theoloegian, Epiphan of Cyprus, John Chrysostom and Cyril".
  42. ^ "St. Gregory the Theologian and the Expansive Intellectual World of Armenian Commentaries – VEMKAR".

Sources Edit

  • Børtnes, Jostein; Hägg, Tomas (2006), Gregory of Nazianzus: Images and Reflections, Copenhagen: Museum Tusculanum Press, ISBN 978-87-635-0386-0
  • Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "St. Gregory of Nazianzus" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  • McGuckin, John A. St. Gregory of Nazianzus: An Intellectual Biography. Crestwood, NY: 2001, St. Vladimir's Seminar Press. ISBN 0-88141-222-8
  • Migne, J.P. (General Editor). Cursus Completus Patrologiae Graecae. Volumes 35–38. Paris: 1857–66.
  • The Orthodox Church of America website article on St. Gregory the Theologian. Retrieved 2 May 2007.
  • Ruether, Rosemary Radford. Gregory of Nazianzus. Oxford: 1969, Oxford University Press.
  • Turner, H.E.W. and Francis Young, "Procession(s)" in The Westminster Dictionary of Christian Theology, ed. A. Richardson & J. Bowden. Philadelphia: 1983, Westminster Press, 1983.
  • Gregory of Nazianzus, translated by Martha Vinson, Select Orations, Catholic University of America Press, 2003. Link.

Further reading Edit

  • Michael Azkoul, "St. Gregory the Theologian: Poetry and Faith," Patristic and Byzantine Review 14.1–3 (1995): 59–68.
  • Beeley, Christopher A. (2007). "Divine Causality and the Monarchy of God the Father in Gregory of Nazianzus". The Harvard Theological Review. 100 (2): 199–214. doi:10.1017/S001781600700154X. JSTOR 4495113. S2CID 170113325.
  • Brian Daley, ed., Gregory Nazianzen. Early Church Fathers. London: Routledge, an imprint of Taylor & Francis Books, 2005. ISBN 0-415-12181-7, pp. 192.
  • K. Demoen, "Biblical vs. Non-Biblical Vocabulary in Gregorius Nazianzenus; a Quantitative Approach," Informatique 2 (1988–89): 243–53.
  • Elena Ene D-Vasilescu, "Generation (γενεά) in Gregory Nazianzen's poem on the Son", Akropolis, vol. 1 (2017), pp. 169–184.
  • J. Egan, "Gregory of Nazianzus and the Logos Doctrine," J. Plevnic, ed., Word and Spirit: Essays in Honor of David Michael Stanley. Willowdale, ON: 1975. pp. 281–322.
  • Anna-Stina Ellverson, The Dual Nature of Man: A Study in the Theological Anthropology of Gregory of Nazianzus. Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis, 1981. ISBN 91-554-1206-8. {Amazon.com}
  • Gerald Fitzpatrick, "St Gregory Nazianzen: Education for Salvation," Patristic and Byzantine Review 10.1–2 (1991): 47–55.
  • R.C. Gregg, Consolation Philosophy: Greek and Christian Paideia in Basil and the Two Gregories. Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 1975. ISBN 0-8132-1000-3. {Amazon.com}
  • Edward R. Hardy, ed. Christology of the Later Fathers, J. Baillie et al., eds. Library of Christian Classics, Vol. 3. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1995. Pbk. ISBN 0-664-24152-2
  • Carol Harrison & Brian Daley (Editor). Gregory Nazianzen. Routledge, 1999. ISBN 0-415-12181-7
  • V. Harrison, "Some Aspects of Saint Gregory (Nazianzen) the Theologian's Soteriology," Greek Orthodox Theological Review 34 (1989): 19–43/11–8.
  • Susan R. Holman, "Healing the Social Leper in Gregory of Nyssa's and Gregory of Nazianzus's peri philoptochias," Harvard Theological Review 92.3 (1999): 283–309.
  • M. Edmund Hussey,"The Theology of the Holy Spirit in the Writings of St. Gregory of Nazianzus," Diakonia 14.3 (1979): 224–233.
  • Anne Karahan, "The Impact of Cappadocian Theology on Byzantine Aesthetics: Gregory of Nazianzus on the Unity and Singularity of Christ". In: The Ecumenical Legacy of the Cappadocians, pp. 159–184. Ed. N. Dumitraşcu. New York: Palgrave Macmillan 2015. ISBN 978-1-137-51394-6.
  • George A. Kennedy, Greek Rhetoric Under Christian Emperors. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1983. ISBN 0-691-03565-2. pp. 215–239. {Amazon.com}
  • Vasiliki Limberis, ."'Religion' as the Cipher for Identity: The Cases of Emperor Julian, Libanius, and Gregory Nazianzus," Harvard Theological Review 93.4 (2000): 373–400.
  • N.B. McLynn, "The Other Olympias: Gregory of Nazianzen and the Family of Vitalianus," ZAC 2 (1998): 227–46.
  • Ruth Majercik, "A Reminiscence of the Chaldean Oracles at Gregory of Nazianzus, Or. 29,2," Vigiliae Christianae 52.3 (1998): 286–292.
  • P.J. Maritz, "Logos Articulation in Gregory of Nazianzus," Acta Patristica et Byzantina 6 (1995): 99–108.
  • E.P. Meijuring, "The Doctrine of the Will and the Trinity in the Orations of Gregory of Nazianzus," Nederlands Theologisch Tijdschrift 27.3 (1973): 224–34.
  • Celica Milovanovic-Barham, "Gregory of Nazianzus: Ars Poetica (In suos versus: Carmen 2.1.39)," Journal of Early Christian Studies 5.4 (1997): 497–510.
  • H. Musurillo, "The Poetry of Gregory of Nazianzus," Thought 45 (1970): 45–55.
  • T.A. Noble, "Gregory Nazianzen's Use of Scripture in Defence of the Deity of the Spirit," Tyndale Bulletin 39 (1988): 101–23.
  • F.W. Norris, "Of Thorns and Roses: The Logic of Belief in Gregory of Nazianzen," Church History, Vol. 53 (1984): 455–64.
  • F.W. Norris, "The Tetragrammaton in Gregory Nazianzen (Or. 30.17)," Vigiliae Christianae 43 (1989): 339–44.
  • F.W. Norris, Faith Gives Fullness to Reasoning: The Five Theological Orations of Gregory Nazianzen. Supplements to Vigiliae Christianae, Vol 13. Leiden: Brill, 1990. ISBN 90-04-09253-6. p. 314. {Amazon.com}
  • Jay Wesley Richards, "Can a Male Savior Save Women?: Gregory of Nazianzus on the Logos' Assumption of Human Nature," Christian Scholar's Review 28.1 (1998): 42–57.
  • K. Skurat, "St. Gregory of Nazianzus on Philosophy and Knowledge of God," Journal of Moscow Patriarchate 10 (October 1989): 57–62.
  • B. K. Storin, Self-Portrait in Three Colors: Gregory of Nazianzus's Epistolary Autobiography, Christianity in Late Antiquity 6 (Oakland: University of California Press, 2019).
  • B. K. Storin, trans. Gregory of Nazianzus's Letter Collection: The Complete Translation, Christianity in Late Antiquity 7 (Oakland: University of California Press, 2019).
  • Frank Thielman, "," Tyndale Bulletin 49.1 (1998): 155–7.
  • Steven Peter Tsichlis, "The Nature of Theology in the Theological Orations of St. Gregory Nazianzus," Diakonia 16.3 (1981): 238–46.
  • Raymond Van Dam, "Self-Representation in the Will of Gregory of Nazianzus," Journal of Theological Studies 46.1 (1995): 118–48.
  • Kenneth Paul Wesche, "The Union of God and Man in Jesus Christ in the Thought of Gregory of Nazianzus," St. Vladimir's Theological Quarterly 28.2 (1984): 83–98.
  • Donald F. Winslow, "Gregory of Nazianzus and Love for the Poor," Anglican Theological Review 47 (1965): 348–59.
  • Donald F. Winslow, The Dynamics of Salvation: A Study in Gregory of Nazianzus. Cambridge, MA: North American Patristic Society, 1979. ISBN 0-915646-06-4.

External links Edit

  • "Gregory, St, of Nazianzus" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 12 (11th ed.). 1911. p. 563.
  • Works of Gregory Nazianzus translated into English
  • NAZIANZOS: Centre for the study of Gregory of Nazianzus at the Université catholique de Louvain
  • Colonnade Statue in St Peter's Square
  • Works by or about Gregory of Nazianzus at Internet Archive
  • Works by Gregory of Nazianzus at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)  

gregory, nazianzus, father, elder, greek, Γρηγόριος, Ναζιανζηνός, grēgorios, nazianzēnos, january, also, known, gregory, theologian, gregory, nazianzen, century, archbishop, constantinople, theologian, widely, considered, most, accomplished, rhetorical, stylis. For his father see Gregory of Nazianzus the Elder Gregory of Nazianzus Greek Grhgorios ὁ Nazianzhnos Gregorios ho Nazianzenos c 329 4 25 January 390 4 5 also known as Gregory the Theologian or Gregory Nazianzen was a 4th century Archbishop of Constantinople and theologian He is widely considered the most accomplished rhetorical stylist of the patristic age 6 As a classically trained orator and philosopher he infused Hellenism into the early church establishing the paradigm of Byzantine theologians and church officials 6 SaintGregory of NazianzusIcon of St Gregory the TheologianFresco from Kariye Camii Istanbul TurkeyTheologianDoctor of the ChurchGreat HierarchCappadocian FatherEcumenical TeacherBornAD 329Arianzus near Nazianzus CappadociaDied25 January 390 aged 60 61 Arianzus near Nazianzus CappadociaVenerated inCatholic ChurchEastern Orthodox ChurchOriental OrthodoxyAnglican CommunionLutheranismCanonizedPre CongregationMajor shrinePatriarchal Cathedral of St George in the FanarFeastCatholic Church General Roman Calendar 2 January 1 General Roman Calendar of 1960 9 MayEastern Orthodox Church 25 January primary feast day 30 January Three Great Hierarchs Anglican Communion 2 January 2 Lutheran Church 10 January LCMS 14 June ELCA Armenian Apostolic Church Saturday before the fourth Sunday of the Transfiguration or Saturday before the third Sunday of the Nativity 3 AttributesVested as a bishop wearing an omophorion holding a Gospel Book or scroll Iconographically he is depicted as balding with a bushy white beard Gregory the TheologianTheological workEraPatristic ageLanguageGreek languageTradition or movementNicene ChristianityCataphatic theologyPneumatologyNotable ideasTrinityhomoousiaconsubstantialitytheosishypostasisGregory made a significant impact on the shape of Trinitarian theology among both Greek and Latin speaking theologians and he is remembered as the Trinitarian Theologian Much of his theological work continues to influence modern theologians especially in regard to the relationship among the three Persons of the Trinity Along with the brothers Basil the Great and Gregory of Nyssa he is known as one of the Cappadocian Fathers Gregory of Nazianzus is a saint in both Eastern and Western Christianity In the Catholic Church he is numbered among the Doctors of the Church in the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches he is revered as one of the Three Holy Hierarchs along with Basil the Great and John Chrysostom He is considered one of the Great Fathers in both Eastern and Western Christianity He was considered the patron saint of Kotromanic dynasty and medieval Bosnia during the first half of the 15th century while Saint George the miracle worker has been the patron saint since at least mid 13th century although confirmed by the papacy much later in 1461 St Gregory the Great was also considered the patron of both the state and dynasty in the late 15th century 7 8 He is also one of only three men in the life of the Orthodox Church who have been officially designated Theologian by epithet 9 the other two being John the Theologian the Evangelist and Symeon the New Theologian Contents 1 Biography 1 1 Early life and education 1 2 Priesthood 1 3 Episcopate in Sasima and Nazianzus 1 4 Gregory at Constantinople 1 5 Second Ecumenical Council and retirement to Nazianzus 2 Legacy 2 1 Theological and other works 2 2 Influence 2 3 Relics 2 4 Death 3 Feast days 4 See also 5 References 5 1 Citations 5 2 Sources 6 Further reading 7 External linksBiography EditEarly life and education Edit Gregory was born to Greek parents 10 in the family estate of Karbala outside the village of Arianzus near Nazianzus in southwest Cappadocia 11 18 His parents Gregory and Nonna were wealthy land owners In AD 325 Nonna converted her husband a Hypsistarian to Christianity he was subsequently ordained as bishop of Nazianzus in 328 or 329 6 vii The young Gregory and his brother Caesarius first studied at home with their uncle Amphylokhios Gregory went on to study advanced rhetoric and philosophy in Nazianzus Caesarea Alexandria and Athens On the way to Athens his ship encountered a violent storm and the terrified Gregory prayed to Christ that if He would deliver him he would dedicate his life to His service 6 28 While at Athens he developed a close friendship with his fellow student Basil of Caesarea and also made the acquaintance of Flavius Claudius Julianus who would later become the emperor known as Julian the Apostate 11 19 25 In Athens Gregory studied under the famous rhetoricians Himerius and Proaeresius 12 He may have been baptized there or shortly after his return to Cappadocia 13 Priesthood Edit In 361 Gregory returned to Nazianzus and was ordained a presbyter by his father s wish who wanted him to assist with caring for local Christians 6 99 102 The younger Gregory who had been considering a monastic existence resented his father s decision to force him to choose between priestly services and a solitary existence calling it an act of tyranny 11 32 14 Leaving home after a few days he met his friend Basil at Annesoi where the two lived as ascetics 6 102 However Basil urged him to return home to assist his father which he did for the next year Arriving at Nazianzus Gregory found the local Christian community split by theological differences and his father accused of heresy by local monks 6 107 Gregory helped to heal the division through a combination of personal diplomacy and oratory citation needed By this time Emperor Julian had publicly declared himself in opposition to Christianity 6 115 In response to the emperor s rejection of the Christian faith Gregory composed his Invectives Against Julian between 362 and 363 Invectives asserts that Christianity will overcome imperfect rulers such as Julian through love and patience This process as described by Gregory is the public manifestation of the process of deification theosis which leads to a spiritual elevation and mystical union with God 6 121 Julian resolved in late 362 to vigorously prosecute Gregory and his other Christian critics however the emperor perished the following year during a campaign against the Persians 6 125 6 With the death of the emperor Gregory and the Eastern churches were no longer under the threat of persecution as the new emperor Jovian was an avowed Christian and supporter of the church 6 130 Gregory spent the next few years combating Arianism which threatened to divide the region of Cappadocia In this tense environment Gregory interceded on behalf of his friend Basil with Bishop Eusebius of Caesarea Mazaca 6 138 42 The two friends then entered a period of close fraternal cooperation as they participated in a great rhetorical contest of the Caesarean church precipitated by the arrival of accomplished Arian theologians and rhetors 6 143 In the subsequent public debates presided over by agents of the Emperor Valens Gregory and Basil emerged triumphant This success confirmed for both Gregory and Basil that their futures lay in administration of the Church 6 143 Basil who had long displayed inclinations to the episcopacy was elected bishop of the see of Caesarea in Cappadocia in 370 citation needed Episcopate in Sasima and Nazianzus Edit Gregory was ordained Bishop of Sasima in 372 by Basil 6 190 5 Basil created this see in order to strengthen his position in his dispute with Anthimus bishop of Tyana 12 The ambitions of Gregory s father to have his son rise in the Church hierarchy and the insistence of his friend Basil convinced Gregory to accept this position despite his reservations Gregory would later refer to his episcopal ordination as forced upon him by his strong willed father and Basil 6 187 92 Describing his new bishopric Gregory lamented how it was nothing more than an utterly dreadful pokey little hole a paltry horse stop on the main road devoid of water vegetation or the company of gentlemen this was my Church of Sasima 15 He made little effort to administer his new diocese complaining to Basil that he preferred instead to pursue a contemplative life 11 38 9 By late 372 Gregory returned to Nazianzus to assist his dying father with the administration of his diocese 6 199 This strained his relationship with Basil who insisted that Gregory resume his post at Sasima Gregory retorted that he had no intention to continue to play the role of pawn to advance Basil s interests 16 He instead focused his attention on his new duties as coadjutor of Nazianzus It was here that Gregory preached the first of his great episcopal orations citation needed Following the deaths of his mother and father in 374 Gregory continued to administer the Diocese of Nazianzus but refused to be named bishop Donating most of his inheritance to the needy he lived an austere existence 12 At the end of 375 he withdrew to a monastery at Seleukia living there for three years Near the end of this period his friend Basil died Although Gregory s health did not permit him to attend the funeral he wrote a heartfelt letter of condolence to Basil s brother Gregory of Nyssa and composed twelve memorial poems dedicated to the memory of his departed friend The Greek Anthology book I epigram 86 and book VIII epigrams 2 11 Gregory at Constantinople Edit Upon the death of Emperor Valens in 378 the accession of Theodosius I a steadfast supporter of Nicene orthodoxy was good news to those who wished to purge Constantinople of Arian and Apollinarian domination 6 235 The exiled Nicene party gradually returned to the city From his deathbed Basil reminded them of Gregory s capabilities and likely recommended his friend to champion the Trinitarian cause in Constantinople 6 235 6 17 In 379 the Antioch synod and its archbishop Meletios asked Gregory to go to Constantinople to lead a theological campaign to win over that city to Nicene orthodoxy 11 42 After much hesitation Gregory agreed His cousin Theodosia offered him a villa for his residence Gregory immediately transformed much of it into a church naming it Anastasia a scene for the resurrection of the faith 6 241 18 From this little chapel he delivered five powerful discourses on Nicene doctrine explaining the nature of the Trinity and the unity of the Godhead 12 Refuting the Eunomion denial of the Holy Spirit s divinity Gregory offered this argument Look at these facts Christ is born the Holy Spirit is His Forerunner Christ is baptized the Spirit bears witness to this Christ works miracles the Spirit accompanies them Christ ascends the Spirit takes His place What great things are there in the idea of God which are not in His power What titles appertaining to God do not apply also to Him except for Unbegotten and Begotten I tremble when I think of such an abundance of titles and how many Names they blaspheme those who revolt against the Spirit 19 Gregory s homilies were well received and attracted ever growing crowds to Anastasia Fearing his popularity his opponents decided to strike On the vigil of Easter in 379 an Arian mob burst into his church during worship services wounding Gregory and killing another bishop Escaping the mob Gregory next found himself betrayed by his erstwhile friend the philosopher Maximus the Cynic Maximus who was in secret alliance with Peter bishop of Alexandria attempted to seize Gregory s position and have himself ordained bishop of Constantinople 11 43 Shocked Gregory decided to resign his office but the faction faithful to him induced him to stay and ejected Maximus This episode left Gregory embarrassed and exposed him to criticism as a provincial simpleton unable to cope with the intrigues of the imperial city 11 43 Affairs in Constantinople remained confused as Gregory s position was still unofficial and Arian priests yet occupied many important churches The arrival of the emperor Theodosius in 380 settled matters in Gregory s favor The emperor determined to eliminate Arianism expelled Bishop Demophilus Gregory was subsequently enthroned as bishop of Constantinople at the Basilica of the Apostles replacing Demophilus 11 45 Second Ecumenical Council and retirement to Nazianzus Edit nbsp A Byzantine style icon depicting the Three Holy Hierarchs left to right Basil the Great John Chrysostom and Gregory the Theologian Theodosius wanted to further unify the entire empire behind the orthodox position and decided to convene a church council to resolve matters of faith and discipline 11 45 Gregory was of similar mind in wishing to unify Christianity In the spring of 381 they convened the Second Ecumenical Council in Constantinople which was attended by 150 Eastern bishops After the death of the presiding bishop Meletius of Antioch Gregory was selected to lead the council Hoping to reconcile the West with the East he offered to recognize Paulinus as Patriarch of Antioch The Egyptian and Macedonian bishops who had supported Maximus s ordination arrived late for the council Once there they refused to recognise Gregory s position as head of the church of Constantinople arguing that his transfer from the See of Sasima was canonically illegitimate 6 358 9 Gregory was physically exhausted and worried that he was losing the confidence of the bishops and the emperor 6 359 Rather than press his case and risk further division he decided to resign his office Let me be as the Prophet Jonah I was responsible for the storm but I would sacrifice myself for the salvation of the ship Seize me and throw me I was not happy when I ascended the throne and gladly would I descend it 20 He shocked the council with his surprise resignation and then delivered a dramatic speech to Theodosius asking to be released from his offices The emperor moved by his words applauded commended his labor and granted his resignation The Council asked him to appear once more for a farewell ritual and celebratory orations Gregory used this occasion to deliver a final address Or 42 and then departed 6 361 Returning to his homeland of Cappadocia Gregory once again resumed his position as bishop of Nazianzus He spent the next year combating the local Apollinarian heretics and struggling with periodic illness He also began composing De Vita Sua his autobiographical poem 11 50 By the end of 383 he found his health too feeble to cope with episcopal duties Gregory established Eulalius as bishop of Nazianzus and then withdrew into the solitude of Arianzum After enjoying six peaceful years in retirement at his family estate he died on 25 January in 390 citation needed Gregory faced stark choices throughout his life Should he pursue studies as a rhetor or philosopher Would a monastic life be more appropriate than public ministry Was it better to blaze his own path or follow the course mapped for him by his father and Basil Gregory s writings illuminate the conflicts which both tormented and motivated him Biographers suggest that it was this dialectic which defined him forged his character and inspired his search for meaning and truth 11 54 Legacy Edit nbsp Andrei Rublev Gregory the Theologian 1408 Dormition Cathedral Vladimir Theological and other works Edit Gregory s most significant theological contributions arose from his defense of the doctrine of the Trinity He is especially noted for his contributions to the field of pneumatology that is theology concerning the nature of the Holy Spirit 21 In this regard Gregory is the first to use the idea of procession to describe the relationship between the Spirit and the Godhead The Holy Spirit is truly Spirit coming forth from the Father indeed but not after the manner of the Son for it is not by generation but by procession since I must coin a word for the sake of clearness 22 Although Gregory does not fully develop the concept the idea of procession would shape most later thought about the Holy Spirit 23 He emphasized that Jesus did not cease to be God when he became a man nor did he lose any of his divine attributes when he took on human nature Furthermore Gregory asserted that Christ was fully human including a full human soul He also proclaimed the eternality of the Holy Spirit saying that the Holy Spirit s actions were somewhat hidden in the Old Testament but much clearer since the ascension of Jesus into Heaven and the descent of the Holy Spirit at the feast of Pentecost 24 In contrast to the Neo Arian belief that the Son is anomoios or unlike the Father and with the Semi Arian assertion that the Son is homoiousios or like the Father Gregory and his fellow Cappadocians maintained the Nicaean doctrine of homoousia or consubstantiality of the Son with the Father 25 9 10 The Cappadocian Fathers asserted that God s nature is unknowable to man helped to develop the framework of hypostases or three persons united in a single Godhead illustrated how Jesus is the eikon of the Father and explained the concept of theosis the belief that all Christians can be assimilated with God in imitation of the incarnate Son as the divine model 25 10 Some of Gregory s theological writings suggest that like his friend Gregory of Nyssa he may have supported some form of the doctrine of apocatastasis the belief that God will bring all of creation into harmony with the Kingdom of Heaven 26 This led Philip Schaff and late nineteenth century Christian universalists such as J W Hanson to describe Gregory s theology as universalist 27 This view of Gregory is also held by some modern theologians such as John Sachs who said that Gregory had leanings toward apocatastasis but in a cautious undogmatic way 28 However it is not clear or universally accepted that Gregory held to the doctrine of apocatastasis 29 Apart from the several theological discourses Gregory was also one of the most important early Christian men of letters a very accomplished orator even perhaps one of the greatest of his time 25 21 Gregory was also a very prolific poet who wrote theological moral and biographical poems citation needed The book VIII of the Greek Anthology contains exclusively 254 epigrams of his citation needed Influence Edit Gregory s great nephew Nichobulos served as his literary executor preserving and editing many of his writings A cousin Eulalios published several of Gregory s more noteworthy works in 391 6 xi By 400 Rufinius began translating his orations into Latin As Gregory s works circulated throughout the empire they influenced theological thought His orations were cited as authoritative by the First Council of Ephesus in 431 By 451 he was designated Theologus or Theologian by the Council of Chalcedon 6 xi a title held by no others save John the Apostle 12 and Symeon the New Theologian 949 1022 AD He is widely quoted by Eastern Orthodox theologians and highly regarded as a defender of the Christian faith His contributions to Trinitarian theology are also influential and often cited in the Western churches 30 Paul Tillich credits Gregory of Nazianzus for having created the definitive formulae for the doctrine of the trinity 31 Additionally the Liturgy of St Gregory the Theologian in use by the Coptic Church is named after him 32 Relics Edit Following his death Gregory was buried at Nazianzus His relics consisting of portions of his body and clothing were transferred to Constantinople in 950 into the Church of the Holy Apostles Part of the relics were taken from Constantinople by Crusaders during the Fourth Crusade in 1204 and ended up in Rome On 27 November 2004 those relics along with those of John Chrysostom were returned to Constantinople now Istanbul by Pope John Paul II with the Vatican retaining a small portion of both The relics are now enshrined in the Patriarchal Cathedral of St George in the Fanar 33 Death Edit During the six years of life which remained to him after his final retirement to his birthplace Gregory composed the greater part of his copious poetical works These include a valuable autobiographical poem of nearly 2 000 lines about one hundred other shorter poems relating to his past career and a large number of epitaphs epigrams and epistles to well known people during that era The poems that he wrote that dealt with his personal affairs refer to the continuous illness and severe sufferings physical and spiritual which assailed him during his last years In the tiny plot of ground at Arianzus all that remained to him of his rich inheritance was by a fountain near which there was a shady walk Gregory retired here to spend his days as a hermit It was during this time that he decided to write theological discourses and poetry of both a religious and an autobiographical nature 34 He would receive occasional visits from intimate friends as well as visits from strangers who were attracted to his retreat by his large reputation for sanctity and learning He died about 25 January 390 although the exact date of his death is unknown 35 Feast days EditGregory of Nazianzus is celebrated on different days across Christianity 2 Jan The Catholic Church and the Church of England celebrate Gregory s feast on 2 Jan 1 36 10 Jan The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod commemorates Gregory along with Basil the Great and Gregory of Nyssa the Cappadocian Fathers on 10 January 37 25 amp 30 Jan The Eastern Orthodox Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches celebrate two feast days in Gregory s honor 25 January is his primary feast 30 January known as the feast of the Three Great Hierarchs commemorates him along with John Chrysostom and Basil of Caesarea 38 39 9 May The Episcopal Church celebrates Gregory s feast on 9 May 40 14 June The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America commemorates Gregory of Nazianzus together with his friends Basil the Great and Gregory of Nyssa on 14 June citation needed Armenian Dates The Armenian Apostolic Church devotes two days each year to Gregory He is commemorated together with eleven other doctors of the Church on the Saturday before the feast of the Discovery of the Holy Cross which is observed on the Sunday closest to 26 October 41 The Armenian Church calendar also has a feast day dedicated solely to Gregory This falls either on the Saturday before the fourth Sunday of the Transfiguration or if that day falls during the feast of the Assumption on the Saturday before the third Sunday after the Nativity 42 See also EditList of Ecumenical Patriarchs of Constantinople Ecumenical Patriarch of ConstantinopleReferences EditCitations Edit a b Saint Gregory of Nazianzus at the Encyclopaedia Britannica The Calendar Church of England Retrieved 2 January 2020 Commemoration of St Gregory the Theologian Archived from the original on 26 September 2021 Retrieved 31 July 2021 a b Liturgy of the Hours Volume I Proper of Saints 2 January Or8odo3os Syna3arisths Agios Grhgorios o 8eologos Saint gr 25 January 2016 Retrieved 1 November 2016 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y McGuckin John 2001 Saint Gregory of Nazianzus An Intellectual Biography Crestwood NY Lovrenovic Dubravko 2008 Sv Grgur cudotvorac zastitnik Kotromanica i srednjovjekovne Bosne In Karamatic Fra Marko ed Zbornik o Marku Dobreticu pdf in Serbo Croatian Sarajevo Franjevacka teologija pp 9 32 ISBN 978 9958 9026 0 4 Retrieved 17 May 2021 Housley Norman 17 June 2016 The Crusade in the Fifteenth Century Converging and competing cultures Routledge ISBN 978 1 317 03688 3 Retrieved 3 March 2019 via Google Books Great Synaxaristes in Greek Ὁ Ἅgios Grhgorios ὁ 8eologos Ἀrxiepiskopos Kwnstantinoypolews 25 Ianoyarioy MEGAS SYNA3ARISTHS The Riverside Dictionary of Biography Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 2005 p 336 ISBN 9780618493371 Gregory of Nazianzus or Nazianzen St c 330 c 389 AD Greek prelate and theologian Born of Greek parents in Cappadocia he was educated in Caesarea Alexandria and Athens a b c d e f g h i j k Ruether Rosemary Radford 1969 Gregory of Nazianzus Rhetor and Philosopher Oxford University Press a b c d e Hunter Blair DO 1910 Gregory of Nazianzus The Catholic Encyclopedia Robert Appleton Daley Brian 2012 Gregory of Nazianzus The Early Church Fathers Routledge pp 7 9 ISBN 9781134807277 Migne J P ed Patrologiae Graecae PG 1857 66 37 1053 Carm de vita sua l 345 Gregory as quoted in PG 37 1059 60 De Vita Sua vv 439 46 Gallay P 1964 Gregoire de Nazianze in French Paris p 61 a href Template Citation html title Template Citation citation a CS1 maint location missing publisher link quoting from Ep 48 PG 37 97 Orat 43 2 PG 36 497 2 Kings 4 8 and Orat 26 17 PG 35 1249 Nazianzus Gregory of Or The Orthodox Church of America p 31 29 retrieved 2 May 2007 PG 37 1157 9 Carm de vita sua ll 1828 55 Michael O Carroll Gregory of Nazianzus in Trinitas Wilmington DE Michael Glazier 1987 Gregory of Nazianzus Five Theological Orations oration five This fifth oration deals entirely with the Holy Spirit HEW Turner and Francis Young Procession s in The Westminster Dictionary of Christian Theology ed A Richardson amp J Bowden Philadelphia Westminster Press 1983 Through Augustine the idea would develop in the West into double procession resulting in the Filioque clause and the split between Eastern and Western Christianity MEINEL FABIAN 2009 GREGORY OF NAZIANZUS POEMATA ARCANA ἄrrhta AND CHRISTIAN PERSUASION The Cambridge Classical Journal 55 71 96 doi 10 1017 S1750270500000208 ISSN 1750 2705 JSTOR 44688044 S2CID 170730880 a b c Bortnes 2006 Gregory of Nazianzus Images and Reflections Apocatastasis New Schaff Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge Vol I Hanson JW Universalism The Prevailing Doctrine Of The Christian Church During Its First Five Hundred Years Chapter XV Gregory Nazianzen Boston and Chicago Universalist Publishing House 1899 Sachs John R Apocatastasis in Patristic Theology Theological Studies 54 December 1993 p 632 David L Balas Apokatastasis in The Encyclopedia of Early Christianity second edition ed Everett Ferguson New York Garland Publishing 1997 details Gregory of Nyssa s adherence to the doctrine while making no mention of Nazianzan See how the 1992 edition of the Catechism of the Catholic Church cites a variety of Gregory s orations Tillich Paul A History of Christian Thought Simon and Schuster 1968 p 76 Chaillot Christine 2006 The Ancient Oriental Churches in Wainwright Geoffrey ed The Oxford history of Christian worship Oxford New York Oxford University Press p 139 ISBN 978 0 19 513886 3 Fisher Ian 28 November 2004 Pope returns remains of 2 Orthodox patriarchs San Diego Union Tribune archived from the original on 29 August 2007 retrieved 24 October 2012 Saint Gregory of Nazianzen 3 January 2009 CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA St Gregory of Nazianzus Newadvent org Retrieved 1 November 2016 Join us in Daily Prayer The Church of England www churchofengland org Lutheranism 101 CPH St Louis 2010 p 277 St Gregory the Theologian the Archbishop of Constantinople OCA Online Feast Days Orthodox Church in America Retrieved 26 September 2009 Synaxis of the Ecumenical Teachers and Hierarchs Basil the Great Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom OCA Online Feast Days Orthodox Church in America Retrieved 26 September 2009 Lesser Feasts and Fasts 2018 Church Publishing Inc 1 December 2019 ISBN 978 1 64065 234 7 Commemoration of the Twelve Archimandrites STS Retheos Dionisios Selbestros Athanas Cyril of Jerusalem Ephrem Khourie Assyrian Vasil Barsegh of Caesaria Gregory of Nyssa Gregory the Theoloegian Epiphan of Cyprus John Chrysostom and Cyril St Gregory the Theologian and the Expansive Intellectual World of Armenian Commentaries VEMKAR Sources Edit Bortnes Jostein Hagg Tomas 2006 Gregory of Nazianzus Images and Reflections Copenhagen Museum Tusculanum Press ISBN 978 87 635 0386 0 Herbermann Charles ed 1913 St Gregory of Nazianzus Catholic Encyclopedia New York Robert Appleton Company McGuckin John A St Gregory of Nazianzus An Intellectual Biography Crestwood NY 2001 St Vladimir s Seminar Press ISBN 0 88141 222 8 Migne J P General Editor Cursus Completus Patrologiae Graecae Volumes 35 38 Paris 1857 66 The Orthodox Church of America website article on St Gregory the Theologian Retrieved 2 May 2007 Ruether Rosemary Radford Gregory of Nazianzus Oxford 1969 Oxford University Press Turner H E W and Francis Young Procession s in The Westminster Dictionary of Christian Theology ed A Richardson amp J Bowden Philadelphia 1983 Westminster Press 1983 Gregory of Nazianzus translated by Martha Vinson Select Orations Catholic University of America Press 2003 Link Further reading EditMichael Azkoul St Gregory the Theologian Poetry and Faith Patristic and Byzantine Review 14 1 3 1995 59 68 Beeley Christopher A 2007 Divine Causality and the Monarchy of God the Father in Gregory of Nazianzus The Harvard Theological Review 100 2 199 214 doi 10 1017 S001781600700154X JSTOR 4495113 S2CID 170113325 Brian Daley ed Gregory Nazianzen Early Church Fathers London Routledge an imprint of Taylor amp Francis Books 2005 ISBN 0 415 12181 7 pp 192 K Demoen Biblical vs Non Biblical Vocabulary in Gregorius Nazianzenus a Quantitative Approach Informatique 2 1988 89 243 53 Elena Ene D Vasilescu Generation genea in Gregory Nazianzen s poem on the Son Akropolis vol 1 2017 pp 169 184 J Egan Gregory of Nazianzus and the Logos Doctrine J Plevnic ed Word and Spirit Essays in Honor of David Michael Stanley Willowdale ON 1975 pp 281 322 Anna Stina Ellverson The Dual Nature of Man A Study in the Theological Anthropology of Gregory of Nazianzus Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis 1981 ISBN 91 554 1206 8 Amazon com Gerald Fitzpatrick St Gregory Nazianzen Education for Salvation Patristic and Byzantine Review 10 1 2 1991 47 55 R C Gregg Consolation Philosophy Greek and Christian Paideia in Basil and the Two Gregories Washington DC Catholic University of America Press 1975 ISBN 0 8132 1000 3 Amazon com Edward R Hardy ed Christology of the Later Fathers J Baillie et al eds Library of Christian Classics Vol 3 Philadelphia Westminster 1995 Pbk ISBN 0 664 24152 2 Carol Harrison amp Brian Daley Editor Gregory Nazianzen Routledge 1999 ISBN 0 415 12181 7 V Harrison Some Aspects of Saint Gregory Nazianzen the Theologian s Soteriology Greek Orthodox Theological Review 34 1989 19 43 11 8 Susan R Holman Healing the Social Leper in Gregory of Nyssa s and Gregory of Nazianzus s peri philoptochias Harvard Theological Review 92 3 1999 283 309 M Edmund Hussey The Theology of the Holy Spirit in the Writings of St Gregory of Nazianzus Diakonia 14 3 1979 224 233 Anne Karahan The Impact of Cappadocian Theology on Byzantine Aesthetics Gregory of Nazianzus on the Unity and Singularity of Christ In The Ecumenical Legacy of the Cappadocians pp 159 184 Ed N Dumitrascu New York Palgrave Macmillan 2015 ISBN 978 1 137 51394 6 George A Kennedy Greek Rhetoric Under Christian Emperors Princeton Princeton University Press 1983 ISBN 0 691 03565 2 pp 215 239 Amazon com Vasiliki Limberis Religion as the Cipher for Identity The Cases of Emperor Julian Libanius and Gregory Nazianzus Harvard Theological Review 93 4 2000 373 400 N B McLynn The Other Olympias Gregory of Nazianzen and the Family of Vitalianus ZAC 2 1998 227 46 Ruth Majercik A Reminiscence of the Chaldean Oracles at Gregory of Nazianzus Or 29 2 Vigiliae Christianae 52 3 1998 286 292 P J Maritz Logos Articulation in Gregory of Nazianzus Acta Patristica et Byzantina 6 1995 99 108 E P Meijuring The Doctrine of the Will and the Trinity in the Orations of Gregory of Nazianzus Nederlands Theologisch Tijdschrift 27 3 1973 224 34 Celica Milovanovic Barham Gregory of Nazianzus Ars Poetica In suos versus Carmen 2 1 39 Journal of Early Christian Studies 5 4 1997 497 510 H Musurillo The Poetry of Gregory of Nazianzus Thought 45 1970 45 55 T A Noble Gregory Nazianzen s Use of Scripture in Defence of the Deity of the Spirit Tyndale Bulletin 39 1988 101 23 F W Norris Of Thorns and Roses The Logic of Belief in Gregory of Nazianzen Church History Vol 53 1984 455 64 F W Norris The Tetragrammaton in Gregory Nazianzen Or 30 17 Vigiliae Christianae 43 1989 339 44 F W Norris Faith Gives Fullness to Reasoning The Five Theological Orations of Gregory Nazianzen Supplements to Vigiliae Christianae Vol 13 Leiden Brill 1990 ISBN 90 04 09253 6 p 314 Amazon com Jay Wesley Richards Can a Male Savior Save Women Gregory of Nazianzus on the Logos Assumption of Human Nature Christian Scholar s Review 28 1 1998 42 57 K Skurat St Gregory of Nazianzus on Philosophy and Knowledge of God Journal of Moscow Patriarchate 10 October 1989 57 62 B K Storin Self Portrait in Three Colors Gregory of Nazianzus s Epistolary Autobiography Christianity in Late Antiquity 6 Oakland University of California Press 2019 B K Storin trans Gregory of Nazianzus s Letter Collection The Complete Translation Christianity in Late Antiquity 7 Oakland University of California Press 2019 Frank Thielman The Place of the Apocalypse in the Canon of St Gregory Nazianzen Tyndale Bulletin 49 1 1998 155 7 Steven Peter Tsichlis The Nature of Theology in the Theological Orations of St Gregory Nazianzus Diakonia 16 3 1981 238 46 Raymond Van Dam Self Representation in the Will of Gregory of Nazianzus Journal of Theological Studies 46 1 1995 118 48 Kenneth Paul Wesche The Union of God and Man in Jesus Christ in the Thought of Gregory of Nazianzus St Vladimir s Theological Quarterly 28 2 1984 83 98 Donald F Winslow Gregory of Nazianzus and Love for the Poor Anglican Theological Review 47 1965 348 59 Donald F Winslow The Dynamics of Salvation A Study in Gregory of Nazianzus Cambridge MA North American Patristic Society 1979 ISBN 0 915646 06 4 External links Edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gregory of Nazianzus nbsp Wikiquote has quotations related to Gregory of Nazianzus nbsp Wikisource has original works by or about Gregory of Nazianzus nbsp Greek Wikisource has original text related to this article Grhgorios Nazianzhnos Gregory St of Nazianzus Encyclopaedia Britannica Vol 12 11th ed 1911 p 563 Works of Gregory Nazianzus translated into English NAZIANZOS Centre for the study of Gregory of Nazianzus at the Universite catholique de Louvain Colonnade Statue in St Peter s Square Works by or about Gregory of Nazianzus at Internet Archive Works by Gregory of Nazianzus at LibriVox public domain audiobooks nbsp Titles of the Great Christian ChurchPreceded byDemophilus or Evagrius Archbishop of ConstantinopleDisputed by Maximus379 381 Succeeded byNectarius Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Gregory of Nazianzus amp oldid 1170060822, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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