Background
Gregory was born around 335, probably in or near the city of Neocaesarea. His family was aristocratic and Christian - according to Gregory of Nazianzus, his mother was Emmelia of Caesarea, and his father, a rhetorician
(The resurrection of the body, perhaps more than any other...)
The resurrection of the body, perhaps more than any other Christian doctrine, requires us to face the implications of faith for our personal lives and for our understanding of the world.' This issue faced St Paul in his dealing with the early church and also troubles St Gregory of Nyssa in the fourth century AD. St Gregory, educated in the prevailing Greek philosophical system, yearned to synthesize his faith and his philosophy. Struggling with the issue of resurrection, he followed Plato's example and dramatized the interior workings of his mind in dialogue form, in which his elder sister St Macrina plays the role of teacher. The position which Gregory and Macrina eventually reach corresponds essentially to that of St Paul, namely that our bodies will rise again as bodies, but in a finer and more glorious form than we have now. Expressing this belief in terms of Greek silence, the dialogue assumes that the same physical elements which compose our present bodies much be reassembled in our resurrection bodies; otherwise our bodies would be recreated rather than raised. 'On the Soul and the Resurrection' is part of the POPULAR PATRISTIC SERIES.
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Gregory was born around 335, probably in or near the city of Neocaesarea. His family was aristocratic and Christian - according to Gregory of Nazianzus, his mother was Emmelia of Caesarea, and his father, a rhetorician
Gregory was first educated at home, by his mother Emmelia and sister Macrina. Little is known of what further education he received. It seems more likely that he continued his studies in Caesarea, where he read classical literature, philosophy and perhaps medicine.
While his brothers Basil and Naucratius lived as hermits from c. 355, Gregory initially pursued a non-ecclesiastical career as a rhetorician. He did however, act as a lector.
In 371, the Emperor Valens split Cappadocia into two new provinces, Cappadocia Prima and Cappadocia Secunda. Gregory was elected bishop of the new see of Nyssa in 372, presumably with the support of his brother Basil, who was metropolitan of Caesarea. Gregory faced opposition to his reign in Nyssa, and, in 373 Amphilochius, bishop of Iconium had to visit the city to quell discontent. In 375 Desmothenes of Pontus convened a synod at Ancyra to try Gregory on charges of embezzlement of church funds and irregular ordination of bishops. He was arrested by imperial troops in the winter of the same year, but escaped to an unknown location. The synod of Nyssa, which was convened in the spring of 376, deposed him. However, Gregory regained his see in 378, perhaps due to an amnesty promulgated by the new emperor Gratian. In the same year Basil died.
He was present at the Synod of Antioch in April 379. Gregory returned home to Nyssa to write books I and II of Against Eunomius. Gregory participated in the First Council of Constantinople (381), and perhaps gave there his famous sermon In suam ordinationem. He was chosen to eulogise at the funeral of Melitus, which occurred during the council.
(The resurrection of the body, perhaps more than any other...)
The traditional view of Gregory is that he was an orthodox Trinitarian theologian, who was influenced by the neoplatonism of Plotinus and believed in universal salvation following Origen. Gregory was one of the first theologians to argue, in opposition to Origen, that God is infinite. Gregory is revered as a saint. However, unlike the other Cappadocian fathers, he is not a Doctor of the Church.
In the Life of Moses, Gregory speaks of three stages of this spiritual growth: initial darkness of ignorance, then spiritual illumination, and finally a darkness of the mind in mystic contemplation of the God who cannot be comprehended.
Gregory's temperament is said to be quiet and meek, in contrast to his brother Basil who was known to be much more outspoken.
He is known to have married a woman named Theosebia, who is sometimes identified with Theosebia the Deaconess, venerated as a saint by Orthodox Christianity.