September 25, 2022 - "Saint Gregory Nazianzus"

I am continuing the series on the Doctors of the Church.  This week I am writing about Saint Gregory Nazianzus (ca. 330-ca.390), who was one of three children.  His father was a bishop of the same name. Later it would become the practice that bishops in the Eastern Church would be chosen from men who were widowers or monks.  I don’t know if Gregory Nazianzus the Elder was a widower at the time he became a bishop.  At any rate Gregory Nazianzus the Younger (about whom I am writing today) studied in Caesaria in Cappadocia (modern day Kayseri, Turkey), Alexandria, and finally in Athens.  Gregory met Basil of Caesarea (Basil the Great) when they were both studying in Athens.  They became fast friends at that time.  Upon returning to Cappadocia after completing his studies, Gregory first spent some time in prayerful solitude.  Then he joined Basil.  Together they edited an anthology of Origen’s writings, the Philocalia.  Thereafter Gregory was baptized and then, against his will, he was ordained a priest by his father.  In reaction to his ordination Gregory fled from Nazianzus.  Eventually he returned, explaining his actions in an oration that he entitled On His Flight (one of the first treatises that we have on the priesthood).  He lived a somewhat secluded life, serving his father as a priest until Basil (at this point the metropolitan—or archbishop—of Caesarea) appointed him as bishop of an obscure town, Sasima.  Gregory did allow himself to be ordained a bishop but never went to Sasima.  Once again he had to explain his actions.  He was eventually elected bishop of a small community in Constantinople that accepted the teachings of the Council of Nicaea.  There he took over a small chapel, named the Anastasia where he preached a famous series of sermons that are known as the Five Theological Orations.  At that time Constantinople was almost entirely Arian.  Theodosius became the emperor.  He determined to bring the capital back to accepting the teaching of the Council of Nicaea.  In 381, a council was convoked for Constantinople, and Gregory was elected its president.  Gregory was challenged straightway by strong opposition, to the point that his position became untenable.  The hostilities he endured must have been very difficult for him since he was a sensitive soul. After a few weeks he resigned his office, left the council, and returned to his home.  He spent the remaining years writing poetry, including a famous autobiographical poem, On His Own Life.
 
It is clear that Gregory had a complex and introverted personality.  At the same time he was a famous writer and orator of his day—known for distinct style.  It is only in recent years that his distinct gifts have been appreciated more fully.  His literary compositions included a collection of orations, the body of his poetry, as well as an extensive collection of letters.  Some of the best known of Gregory’s orations include his funeral orations, notably one for his father, for his brother Caesarius, for his sister Gorgonia, and particularly for Saint Basil the Great.  He also delivered a famous oration On the Great Athanasius.  The Five Theological Orations (mentioned above) became an extensively annotated textbook of theology during the Middle Ages in the Easter Church. 

Gregory also delivered noteworthy sermons for Easter, Pentecost, the Epiphany, and the first Greek sermon on Christmas.  Rufinus of Aquileia translated some of his sermons into Latin, and Saint Augustine made use of them.  Gregory was a mysterious character who was overshadowed by Basil the Great and Basil’s brother Gregory of Nyssa.  Nevertheless, Gregory Nazianzus had a decisive influence on the formulation of the doctrine of the Trinity.
 
Pope Benedict XVI devoted two of his Wednesday audiences to the life and teaching of Gregory Nazianzus.  I want to close this column with these comments by Pope Benedict on Gregory’s teaching on prayer:
 
“Gregory teaches us first and foremost the importance and the necessity of prayer.  He says:  “It is necessary to remember God more often than one breathes,” because prayer is the encounter of God’s thirst with our thirst.  God is thirsting for us to thirst for him.
 
“In prayer, we must turn our hearts to God, to consign ourselves to him as an offering to be purified and transformed.  In prayer we see all things in the light of Christ, we let our masks fall and immerse ourselves in the truth and in listening to God, feeding the fire of love.”
 
Until next week……..Fr. John