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Gregory was one of the youngest of a family of ten, five brothers and five sisters, nearly all of whom, including their parents, are honoured as saints. His eldest sister, St Macrina the younger (19 July), had a great influence on him. A discussion he had with her as he attended at her deathbed and she looked forward to what lay ahead was later expanded by Gregory into an important treatise entitled "On the soul and the resurrection". Two other brothers/saints were bishops, Basil of Caesarea (2 January) and Peter of Sebaste. Another Naucratius was a monk. Gregory is a theologian and spiritual writer of great authority. Patrick Duffy outlines his life.
A professor of rhetoric
Gregory was born at Caesarea in Cappadocia (south-eastern Turkey), the third son and one of five brothers and five sisters. His father was a rhetorician and his mother Emmelia an earnest Christian and woman of great personal charm. His elder brother Basil became bishop of Caesarea. Gregory had an excellent education as a rhetorician at Athens. He may have married a lady called Theosebeia, possibly the sister of his friend Gregory of Nazianzus, who wrote to him a letter to console him on her loss. For a long time he may remained unbaptised. After some years he became disillusioned with his career as a professor of rhetoric.
In the service of the Church
St Gregory of Nazianzus prevailed on Gregory to devote himself to the service of the Church. He was ordained in 362; it is not known whether his wife died or became a nun. He was ordained a priest in 362 and gave himself to the study of the Scripture and the works of Origen.
Bishop of Nyssa
In 371 Gregory was installed as bishop of Nyssa, a small township in Lower Armenia, by his brother Basil. However, a financial scandal where he appeared too easy-going caused him to be excluded from his see for two years, but he was reinstated in 378. It was only after Basil's death in 379 that his gifts as a theologian and writer developed. He became the mainstay of orthodoxy against the Arians throughout Cappadocia and was one of the champions of orthodoxy at the Council of Constantinople (381). And by the time he died he was a greatly respected figure in the Eastern Church. He was also in favour with the emperor Theodosius, who asked him to preach at the funeral of his daughter Pulcheria. He died in the same year as Theodosius 395 AD.
His writings
Many of Gregory's writings ares extant. In theme, they resemble the writings of the other Cappadocian fathers - Basil and Gregory Naziazen - asserting the divinity of Jesus and the Holy Spirit against different forms of Arianism and Macedonianism - but probably have a greater clarity and depth. Among the Greeks he was nick-named The theologian and The father of the Fathers. |
