St. Gregory of Nyssa (Greek: Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης; Latin: Gregorius Nyssenus; Armenian: Գրիգոր Նիւսացի; Arabic: غريغوريوس النيصي) (c 335 – after 394) was a Christian bishop and saint. He was a younger brother of Basil the Great and a good friend of Gregory Nazianzus. His significance has long been recognized in the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Roman Catholic branches of Christianity. Some historians identify Theosebia the deaconess as his wife, others hold that she, like Macrina the Younger, was actually a sister of Gregory and Basil.[1] Gregory along with his brother Basil of Caesarea and Gregory of Nazianzus are known as the Cappadocian Fathers. They attempted to establish Christian philosophy as superior to Greek philosophy. BiographyDespite reservations, he consented to become bishop of Nyssa in 372. Nyssa is in a region then called Cappadocia, in modern-day Turkey. His brother Basil appointed him bishop in Nyssa because he wanted an episcopal ally near to his metropolitan see of Caesarea. He was present at the Council of Antioch, and later at the Second Ecumenical Council (381) which took place in Constantinople. There he defended the Nicene Creed against the Arians. [edit] Theology and writingsGregory made two major contributions to Christian theology. The first is his doctrine of the Trinity, a development of the theology of Basil and their mutual friend Gregory Nazianzus. The second is his spiritual theology, which posited God as infinite and salvation as potentially universal. The traditional 19th Century Western interpretation found in older sources such as Schaff-Herzog (the Universalist historian George T. Knight, 1912) and the Catholic Encyclopedia (Pierre Batiffol, 1914) that Gregory of Nyssa taught universal salvation, or meant this by his use of the Greek term apokatastasis, is disputed by Eastern Theologians as incorrect.[2] Gregory's views on this subject are being reassessed in the West.[3] Eastern theologians also dispute the Western interpretation of Gregory as a philosopher, and specifically of the Neoplatonic variety.[4] [edit] TrinityFollowing Basil's lead, Gregory argues that the three Persons of the Trinity can be understood along the model of three members of a single class: thus, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three in the same way that Peter, Paul, and Timothy are three men. So why do we not say there are three Gods? Gregory answers that, normally, we can distinguish between different members of the same class by the fact that they have different shapes, sizes, and colors. Even if they are identical, they still occupy different points in space. But none of this is true of incorporeal beings like God. Even lesser spiritual beings can still be distinguished by their varying degrees of goodness, but this does not apply to God either. In fact, the only way to tell the three Persons apart is by their mutual relations — thus, the only difference between the Father and the Son is that the former is the Father of the latter, and the latter is the Son of the former. As Gregory puts it, it is impossible to think of one member of the Trinity without thinking of the others too: they are like a chain of three links, pulling each other along. Gregory's Trinitarian doctrine can be found in his Why there are not three Gods and in a letter to his younger brother Peter ("On the difference between ousia and hypostasis") which has been erroneously classified as Basil's 38th letter. [edit] Infinity 11th century mosaic icon of St. Gregory of Nyssa. Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, Ukraine.Gregory is the first Christian theologian to argue for the infinity of God, and one of the earliest Church Fathers to reveal some universalist tendencies. However, it isn't entirely clear what Gregory's actual position on universalism was since he displays marked non-universalist tendencies also. For instance, in Chapter 7 of Gregory's "Great Catechism" he says: "Man, like some earthen potsherd, is resolved again into the dust of the ground, in order to secure that he may part with the soil he has now contracted, and that he may, through the resurrection, be reformed anew after the original pattern; at least if in this life that now is he has preserved what belongs to that image."[5] Origen of Alexandria, a major influence on Gregory, had explicitly argued that God is limited, since to be limited is to be clearly defined and knowable. Gregory, however, argues that if God is limited he must be limited by something greater than himself. As there is nothing greater than God, He is therefore without boundaries, and thus infinite. The idea had already been developed by Neoplatonic philosophers, especially Plotinus. But he is the first Christian to defend it, apart from some hints in the work of Irenaeus of Lyons. Accordingly, Gregory argues that since God is infinite he cannot be comprehended. Origen had spoken of the spiritual journey as a progression of increasing illumination, as the mystic studies Scripture and comes to learn more about God. Nyssa taught on the other hand that God was knowable in his manifestations but that ultimately one must transcend knowledge or gnosis (since knowledge is based on reflection). Gnosis is limited and can become a barrier between man and God. If one wishes to commune with God one must enter into the Divine filial relation with God the Father through Jesus Christ, one in ousia with the Father which results in pure faith without any preconceived notions of God. Once one reaches this point one can commune with God just as Moses did in Nyssa's mystical classic, The Life of Moses. [edit] StagesGregory speaks[where?] of three stages of spiritual growth: initial darkness of ignorance, then spiritual illumination, and finally a darkness of the mind in contemplation of the God who in being or essence (ousia) cannot be comprehended. Like earlier authors, including Philo, he uses the story of Moses as an allegory for the spiritual life. Moses first meets God in the burning bush, a theophany of light and illumination, but then he meets him again in the cloud, where he realizes that God cannot be seen by the eyes. Ascending Mount Sinai, he finally comes to the "divine darkness", and realizes that God cannot be known by the mind either. It is only through not-knowing and not-seeing that God can, paradoxically, be known and seen, knowledge that can only be gained through an "ascending life of holiness." This notion would be extremely influential in both Western and Eastern spirituality, via the mystical writings of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, and later in the anonymous 14th century work, The Cloud of Unknowing. Thus he is a major figure in the history of apophatic theology and spirituality. [edit] Epektasis (constant progress) Anachronistic Medieval representation of St. Gregory.Related to this is Gregory's idea of epektasis (ἐπέκτασις) or constant progress. Platonic metaphysics holds that stability is perfection and change is for the worse. In contrast, Gregory described[where?] the ideal of human perfection as constant progress in virtue and godliness. In his theology, God himself has always been perfect and has never changed, and never will. Humanity fell from grace in the Garden of Eden, but rather than return to an unchanging state, humanity's goal is to become more and more perfect, more like God, even though humanity will never understand, much less attain, God's transcendence. This idea has had a profound influence on the Eastern Orthodox teaching regarding theosis or "divinization".[6] While the question of salvation or damnation is settled at the moment of death,[7][8] nobody is known to have been damned and so prayers are offered for absolutely all the dead, even for those who seem to have been great sinners. For this reason, Gregory of Nyssa is not listed as a Doctor of the Church, and his suspected Origenism accounts for why Gregory lacks an official liturgical commemoration in the Catholic Church.[4] Moreover, writers in the Catholic Church have been reluctant to refer to him as "Saint" Gregory of Nyssa as he is sometimes noted simply as "Blessed" Gregory of Nyssa. The Eastern Orthodox Church, on the other hand, venerates him as "Saint Gregory of Nyssa" on account of (1) his pedigree among other "Saints", chiefly his brother Basil and sister Macrina; (2) his work in the Second Great Ecumenical Council of the Church, especially in defense of the "Holy Spirit"; (3) his esteemed place among the "Cappadocian Fathers" because of his stalwart defense of the Holy Trinity; (4) the tacit veneration of St. Gregory by the 7th Great Ecumenical Council, especially the appellations "holy" and "doctor", as well as their inclusion of a biographical anecdote from Gregory's life which was used, in part, to support the Council's decision against the "iconoclasts";[9] (5) his holy life and example. [edit] Other subjectsIn his catechetical work, "An Address on Religious Instruction" Gregory explicates his thought on the theistic differentiation between Christianity, Hellenism and Judaism. While he works out his notion of the Incarnation and the Atonement in his "An Address on Religious Instruction," one is also introduced to the ransom theory of atonement. Furthermore, his spiritual writings include Life of Moses, Life of Macrina (his older sister), the Life of Gregory Thaumaturgos, and 15 homilies On the Song of Songs. A large number of letters, sermons, philosophical works and short essays on a number of topics also survive. [edit] Editions and reference works[edit] Greek textSystematic publication of his works is proceeding in a collection, Gregorii Nysseni Opera, dominated by the work of the philologist, Werner Jaeger. Several volumes of his writings have appeared in the Sources Chrétiennes collection, the first publication of which was Jean Daniélou's translation (later edition) of his Life of Moses (1941). James Herbert Strawley (ed.), The Catechetical oration of Gregory of Nyssa, Cambridge, 1903 online [edit] English translationsPhillip Schaff and Henry Wace (Ed.) Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers. Eerdmans Grand Rapids 1974 (reprint) Ascetical Works (Fathers of the Church, v. 58), trans. Virginia Woods Callahan, CUA Press, 1967 Commentary on the Song of Songs, trans. Casimir McCambley, Hellenic College Press, 1987 Contra Eunomium II, trans. Stuart G. Hall, Proceedings of the 10th International Colloquium on Gregory of Nyssa (Olomouc, September 15–18, 2004), edited by Lenka Karfíková, Scot Douglass and Johannes Zachhuber, Leiden: Brill, 2007 From glory to glory: texts from Gregory of Nyssa's mystical writings, selected and with an introd. by Jean Daniélou. Translated and edited by Herbert Musurillo. New York: Scribner, 1961. Stuart G. Hall (trans.), Gregory of Nyssa: Homilies on the Beatitudes. An English Version with Commentary and Supporting Studies. Proceedings of the Eighth International Colloquium on Gregory of Nyssa (Paderborn, 14–18 September 1998), edited by Hubertus R. Drobner and Albert Viciano Stuart G. Hall (ed. and trans.), Gregory of Nyssa: Homilies on Ecclesiastes: an English version with supporting studies, Proceedings of the Seventh International Colloquium on Gregory of Nyssa (St. Andrews, 5–10 September 1990), Berlin and New York: Walter de Gruyter, 1993 Anna M. Silvas, Gregory of Nyssa: The Letters. Introduction, Translation and Commentary, Leiden: Brill, 2006 The Life of Moses, trans. Abraham J. Malherbe and Everett Ferguson, Paulist Press, 1978 (repr. HarperCollins Spiritual Classics, 2006) The Lord's Prayer. The Beatitudes, trans. Hilda C. Graef, Newman Press, 1954 On the Soul and Resurrection, trans. Catharine P. Roth, Popular Patristics Series (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1993). Ronald Heine, ed., Gregory of Nyssa’s Treatise on the Inscriptions of the Psalms, Oxford Early Christian Studies (New York: Oxford University Press, 1995). A. Spira and C. Klock, eds., The Easter Sermons of Gregory of Nyssa: Translation and Commentary (Cambridge: Philadelphia Patristic Foundation, 1981). Containing Stuart G. Hall's translations of "In Sanctum Pascha," "De tridui spatio," and "In Sanctum et Salutare Pascha." [edit] Reference worksFriedhelm Mann (ed.), Lexicon Gregorianum: Wörterbuch zu den Schriften Gregors von Nyssa, 7 vols., Leiden: Brill, 1998–2008 Lucas Francisco Mateo-Seco and Giulio Mapser (Ed.) The Brill Dictionary of Gregory of Nyssa. Brill Leiden 2010 [edit] See also Eastern Christianity portal Cappadocian Fathers Gregory of Nazianzus Saint Basil Origen of Alexandria Eunomius of Cyzicus [edit] References1.^ See Jean Daniélou, "Le mariage de Grégoire de Nysse et la chronologie de sa vie," Revue d' Etudes Augustiniennes et Patristiques 2 (1956): 71–78. [1] 2.^ Life After Death by Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos Chapter -The views of the interpreters of the position of St. Gregory of Nyssa as to the restoration of all things [2] 3.^ Morwenna Ludlow 4.^ Life After Death by Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos "St. Gregory criticizes philosophy. He says that there is something carnal and uncircumcised in what is taught in the lessons of philosophy, and if that were removed, the pure Israelite race would remain. Then he gives several examples. Philosophy accepts that the soul is immortal but asserts that it passes from one body to another and from rational nature to irrational. Philosophy also speaks about God, but it thinks of Him as material. It speaks of God as Creator but thinks that He needs matter for creation, that is to say, He did not create the world out of nothing. He believes that God is good and powerful, but he says that He submits to the necessity of fate. Thus in philosophy there is a piety, since it is concerned with God, but at the same time it has something carnal about it."[3] 5.^ Chapter 7 of "The Great Catechism" in Series 2, Vol. 5 of Philip Shaff's Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers 6.^ Encyclopaedia Britannica Online, "Saint Gregory of Nyssa" 7.^ Encyclopaedia Britannica Online, "Purgatory" 8.^ Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-280290-3), s.v., "Purgatory" 9.^ see "The Seven Ecumenical Councils" in vol. XIV, Series 2 of Phillip Shaff's Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers [edit] External linksGregory of Nyssa Home Page includes many English translations of his writings, with introductions Alternate online source 19th century translations of most of Gregory's most important works Gregory of Nyssa Bilingual Anthology, The Making of Man (in English and Greek), Select Resources On 'Not Three Gods' Easy-to-access version St. Gregory of Nyssa from The Catholic Encyclopedia Gregory of Nyssa from "The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy" Opera Omnia by Migne, Patrologia Graeca with analytical indexes Relics of St. Gregory of Nyssa St. Gregory the Bishop of Nyssa Orthodox icon and synaxarion Saint Gregory of Nyssa Church of Trapezunta, Pontus Saint Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church San Francisco, CA Schaff's Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers (online), including the works of St. Gregory Early Church Fathers: Gregory of Nyssa en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregory_of_Nyssa