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96-527: In a second sense, the Genesis creation narrative inspired a didactic genre of Jewish and Christian literature known as the Hexaemeral literature. Literary treatments in this genre are called Hexaemeron. This literature was dedicated to the composition of commentaries, homilies , and treatises concerned with the exegesis of the biblical creation narrative through ancient and medieval times and with expounding

192-467: A beginning in Christ and a temporal beginning. The statement in Genesis about the creation of the heaven and Earth for Basil was about the creation of an invisible realm to benefit all beings that love God followed by the creation of a visible realm whereby human affairs could take place. Ambrose agreed that a spiritual realm already existed at the time that the physical one was created. By contrast, Ephrem

288-489: A darkness of the mind in mystic contemplation of the God who cannot be comprehended. Gregory was one of the earlier proponents of Christian universalism . Gregory argues that when Paul says that God will be "all in all" (1 Cor. 15:28), this means that though some may need to undergo a long period of purification, eventually "no being will remain outside the number of the saved" and that "no being created by God will fall outside

384-649: A homily is usually given during Mass ( Divine Liturgy or Holy Qurbana for Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, and Divine Service for the Lutheran Church) at the end of the Liturgy of the Word. Many people consider it synonymous with a sermon . The English word homily is derived from the Ancient Greek word ὁμιλία homilia , which means intercourse or interaction with other people (derived from

480-411: A long duration. John Chrysostom believed God was the one who primarily brought for plants that could be eaten per this verse, as opposed to the workings of the sun (which would be created on the following day) or the actions of farmers. In the fourth day, God creates the heavenly luminaries: the sun, moon, and stars. Philo sought to understand this in terms of the greater order, whereby the sun came after

576-452: A reflection of Christ. Gregory, in stark contrast to most thinkers of his age, saw great beauty in the Fall : from Adam's sin from two perfect humans would eventually arise myriad. Gregory was the first voice in the ancient world known to write against all forms of slavery, declaring the institution inherently sinful. If [man] is in the likeness of God, ... who is his buyer, tell me? Who

672-554: A reputation as an unconventional thinker whose thought arguably prefigures postmodernism . Major figures in contemporary research include Sarah Coakley , John Zizioulas and Robert Jenson. In 2003, theologian David Bentley Hart published a book seemingly influenced by Gregory. In 787 AD, the Second Council of Nicea , the seventh Ecumenical Council of the Church , honored Gregory of Nyssa: Let us then, consider who were

768-572: A revival of the study and translation of Greek patristic works. Against this background, some of Gregory of Nyssa’s works which remained unknown to the West during the medieval centuries received their first Latin translations by leading representatives of Italian and Byzantine culture." These include the early Renaissance translations of De vita Moysis by George of Trebizond in 1446, of De vita Macrinae and De anima et resurrectione by Pietro Balbi between 1465 and 1473, and of De oratione dominica by

864-478: A stay of several months, a substitute was found—possibly Gregory's brother Peter, who was bishop of Sebaste from 381—and 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 Meletius, which occurred during

960-546: Is controversial, however, and other commentators suggest that Theosebia the Deaconess was one of Gregory's sisters. In 371, the Emperor Valens split Cappadocia into two new provinces, Cappadocia Prima and Cappadocia Secunda. This resulted in complex changes in ecclesiastical boundaries, during which several new bishoprics were created. Gregory was elected bishop of the new see of Nyssa in 372, presumably with

1056-427: Is his seller? To God alone belongs this power; or rather, not even to God himself. [...] God would not therefore reduce the human race to slavery, since [God] himself, when we had been enslaved to sin, spontaneously recalled us to freedom. But if God does not enslave what is free, who is he that sets his own power above God's? Gregory used Plato's definition of virtue as ‘something that admits of no master [ἀδέσποτον]’ in

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1152-560: Is no further reference to Cappadocia in the rest of the New Testament . Early Christianity arose in Cappadocia relatively late, with no evidence of a Christian community before the late second century AD. Alexander of Jerusalem was the first bishop of the province in the early to mid third century, a period in which Christians suffered persecution from the local Roman authorities. The community remained very small throughout

1248-533: Is observed on 10 January. The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod commemorates Gregory along with the other Cappadocian Fathers on 10 January. Gregory is remembered (with Macrina ) in the Church of England with a lesser festival on 19 July. Gregory is revered as a saint. However, unlike the other Cappadocian fathers, he is not a Doctor of the Church . He is venerated chiefly in the East. His relics were held by

1344-584: Is often due to the lack of systematic structure and the presence of terminological inconsistencies in Gregory's work. Gregory, following Basil, defined the Trinity as "one essence [ οὐσία ] in three persons [ ὑποστάσεις ]", the formula adopted by the Council of Constantinople in 381. Like the other Cappadocian Fathers, he was a homoousian , and Against Eunomius affirms the truth of the consubstantiality of

1440-463: Is that he was an orthodox Trinitarian theologian , who was influenced by the Neoplatonism of Plotinus and believed in universal salvation following Origen . However, as a highly original and sophisticated thinker, Gregory is difficult to classify, and many aspects of his theology are contentious among both conservative Eastern Orthodox theologians and Western academic scholarship. This

1536-539: Is the Good is also Beauty. Eastern Orthodox theologians are generally critical of the theory that Gregory was influenced by neoplatonism. For example, Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos argues in Life After Death that Gregory opposed all philosophical (as opposed to theological) endeavour as tainted with worldliness. This view is supported by Against Eunomius , where Gregory denounces Eunomius for placing

1632-472: Is the more appropriate word in these cases. Gregory of Nyssa Autocephaly recognized by some autocephalous Churches de jure : Autocephaly and canonicity recognized by Constantinople and 3 other autocephalous Churches: Spiritual independence recognized by Georgian Orthodox Church: Semi-Autonomous: Gregory of Nyssa , also known as Gregory Nyssen ( ‹See Tfd› Greek : Γρηγόριος Νύσσης or Γρηγόριος Νυσσηνός; c. 335 – c. 394),

1728-454: Is to be preferred to that which has existed in such sin. For, as to the latter, on account of the depth of the ingrained evil, the chastisement in the way of purgation will be extended into infinity". However, Ramelli renders the original Greek "εἰς ἄπειρον παρατείνεται ἡ διὰ τῆς καθάρσεως κόλασις" as "the punishment provided for the purpose of purification will tend to an indefinite duration." Additional sources are needed to interpret correctly

1824-595: Is what Gregory believed and taught is affirmed by most scholars. A minority of scholars have argued that Gregory only affirmed the universal resurrection. In the Life of Moses , Gregory writes that just as the darkness left the Egyptians after three days, perhaps redemption [ ἀποκατάστασις ] will be extended to those suffering in hell [ γέεννα ]. This salvation may not only extend to humans; following Origen , there are passages where he seems to suggest (albeit through

1920-481: The Great Catechism , Gregory suggests that while every human will be resurrected , salvation will only be accorded to the baptised , although he also states that others driven by their passions can be saved after being purified by fire. While he believes that there will be no more evil in the hereafter, it is arguable that this does not preclude a belief that God might justly damn sinners for eternity. Thus,

2016-456: The Greek roots hexa- , meaning "six", and hemer- , meaning "day". The word hexaemeric refers to that which pertains to a hexaemeron , and this is to be distinguished from hexaemeral , that which occurs in six parts. In Latinized writing, the spelling Hexameron can also be found. The first extant witness was Philo of Alexandria 's De opificio mundi , though he was not the founder of

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2112-474: The Latin Fathers , Ambrose and Augustine of Hippo wrote some of the earliest extant hexaemeral literature. Ambrose's Hexaemeron is heavily influenced by Basil's work of the same name. In contrast, Augustine wrote several works that serve as commentaries on the Genesis narrative, including the final section of The Confessions and De Genesi ad litteram (published in 416). The first Hexaemeron in

2208-469: The School of Antioch , the six days were a straightforward and literal historical reference. Various ideas were circulated as to why God would create over the course of six days instead of instantaneously: a common one hinged on the necessity of gradual creation. The Book of Genesis opens with the statement that "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth" (Gen 1:1). Many Christians linked this to

2304-505: The Sepmaines of Du Bartas , and Paradise Lost by John Milton . According to Alban Forcione the late sixteenth and early seventeenth century saw ‘hexameral theatre’, and in particular the visionary holism represented by the De la creación del mundo (1615) of Alonso de Acevedo . There is a cusp between Du Bartas, very influential in his time, and Milton: Milton's different approach marks

2400-686: The Syriac language was the Hexaemeron of Jacob of Serugh in the early sixth century, including one homily dedicated to each of the creation days. Later, the prolific Syriac theologian Jacob of Edessa wrote his own Hexaemeron in the first years of the eighth century as his final work. Many Hexaemeral works were composed during the Middle Ages , including by Bede (7th century), Peter Abelard (12th century), and Robert Grosseteste (13th century). The genre extended into early modern times with

2496-545: The Vatican until 2000, when a portion of them were translated to the Greek Orthodox church of St. Gregory of Nyssa, San Diego , California . Professor of theology, Natalie Carnes wrote: "One reason Gregory was not taken up into the theological stream in the West is that he was little translated into Latin. John Scotus Eriugena (c. 800–c. 877) should be greatly credited for the influence Gregory did have. Not only

2592-503: The stoics never questioned the institution of slavery, which was considered an ordinary part of daily life in the ancient world; and other ancient philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle also supported slavery. Gregory of Nyssa's critique was the first and only sustained critique of the institution of slavery itself made in the ancient world. There are many similarities between Gregory's theology and neoplatonist philosophy , especially that of Plotinus . Specifically, they share

2688-548: The 6th-century Latin translation of De opificio hominis by Dionysius Exiguus was very widespread in the Medieval period, and Francisco Bastitta Harriet argues that Nyssen's conceptions of indeterminate human nature and ontological freedom were among the core influences on Renaissance anthropology, particularly on the works of Nicholas of Cusa and Giovanni Pico della Mirandola . "The renewed enthusiasm of 15th-century philosophers and humanists for classical antiquity also led to

2784-650: The Byzantine scholar Athanasius Chalkeopoulos around 1465. In part due to the scholarship of Balthasar and Jean Daniélou , by the 1950s Gregory had become the subject of much serious theological research, with a critical edition of his work published ( Gregorii Nysseni Opera ), and the founding of the International Colloquium on Gregory of Nyssa. This attention has continued to the present day. Modern studies have focused on Gregory's eschatology rather than his more dogmatic writings, and he has gained

2880-537: The Christians of Cappadocia were devout, with the veneration of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste and Saint George being particularly significant and represented by a considerable monastic presence. There were some adherents of heretical branches of Christianity, most notably Arians, Encratites and Messalians . Gregory was born around 335, probably in or near the city of Neocaesarea , Pontus . His family

2976-470: The Church taking its light from Christ, such as by Origen ): he also offers in his commentary on this statement an accurate description of lunar and solar eclipses, and the differences between a lunar and solar year. Basil also confronted the issue of the existence of light before the fourth day, since the sun was only created then: this stemmed from the continuous movement of the light of God formed when God said "Let there be light". The creation of animals on

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3072-577: The Elder , is also revered as a saint and his maternal grandfather was a martyr, as Gregory put it "killed by Imperial wrath" under the persecution of the Roman Emperor Maximinus II . Between the 320s to the early 340s, the family rebuilt its fortunes, with Gregory's father working in the city of Neocaesarea as an advocate and rhetorician. Gregory's temperament is said to have been quiet and meek, in contrast to his brother Basil who

3168-814: The Father, the Holy Spirit as proceeding from the Father, and the Father by his role as progenitor. However, this doctrine would seem to subordinate the Son to the Father, and the Holy Spirit to the Son. Robert Jenson suggests that Gregory implies that each member of the Godhead has an individual priority: the Son has epistemological priority , the Father has ontic priority and the Spirit has metaphysical priority . Other commentators disagree: Morwenna Ludlow , for instance, argues that epistemic priority resides primarily in

3264-564: The Kingdom of God". Due to the unity of human nature in Christ "all, thanks to the union with one another, will be joined in communion with the Good, in Jesus Christ Our Lord". Christ's incarnation, death and resurrection results in "total salvation for human nature". Gregory also described God's work this way: "His [God's] end is one, and one only; it is this: when the complete whole of our race shall have been perfected from

3360-527: The Nyssen taught that due to God's infinitude, a created being can never reach an understanding of God, and thus for man in both life and the afterlife there is a constant progression [ἐπέκτασις] towards the unreachable knowledge of God, as the individual continually transcends all which has been reached before. In the Life of Moses , Gregory speaks of three stages of this spiritual growth: initial darkness of ignorance , then spiritual illumination , and finally

3456-755: The Roman Missal (GIRM), the official document governing the celebration of Mass , states that: 65. The Homily is part of the Liturgy and is strongly recommended, for it is necessary for the nurturing of the Christian life. It should be an exposition of some aspect of the readings from Sacred Scripture or of another text from the Ordinary or from the Proper of the Mass of the day and should take into account both

3552-462: The Spirit in Gregory's theology. Modern proponents of social trinitarianism often claim to have been influenced by the Cappadocians' dynamic picture of the Trinity. However, it would be fundamentally incorrect to identify Gregory as a social Trinitarian, as his theology emphasises the unity of God's will, and he clearly believes that the identities of the Trinity are the three persons, not

3648-531: The Syrian and John Chrysostom denied any allegorical element to Genesis 1:1, believing it referred to the actual substance of both heaven and Earth: the heavens and the Earth were created alike to the formation of the roof and then the foundation of the physical world. Theophilus of Antioch likewise conceived of a box-like cosmos as being implied by the passage. Augustine thought that the 'heaven and Earth' signified

3744-545: The academic community, particularly involving universal salvation , which has resulted in challenges to many traditional interpretations of his theology. The Book of Acts depicts that on the Day of Pentecost there were visiting Jews who were "residents of ... Cappadocia " in attendance. In the First Epistle of Peter , written after AD 65, the author greets Christians who are "exiles scattered throughout…Cappadocia". There

3840-464: The act of the divine Word (Christ) and the Spirit; on the created and not eternal nature of the world, God's creation of both the spiritual and material realms (including the human body and soul); and the continuing providential care over the creation by God. The Church Fathers primarily focused on the first two chapters of Genesis , as well as a few essential statements in the New Testament (John 1:1–4; 1 Corinthians 8:6). The word derives its name from

3936-468: The administrative ability of his brother Basil or the contemporary influence of Gregory of Nazianzus, but he was an erudite Christian theologian who made significant contributions to the doctrine of the Trinity and the Nicene Creed . Gregory's philosophical writings were influenced by Origen . Since the mid-twentieth century, there has been a significant increase in interest in Gregory's works from

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4032-545: The appropriate length of time." That we can choose either to accept or ignore this purification is confirmed by the saint's many exhortations that we freely undertake the virtuous path." Dr. Ilaria Ramelli has made the observation that for Gregory free will was compatible with universal salvation, since every person would eventually accept the good having gone through purification. Nevertheless, some interpret Gregory as conceding that Judas and similar sinners will never be completely purified when he wrote, "that which never existed

4128-448: 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

4224-527: The commentary on 30 May in the Acta Sanctorum , for example, initially states that they were nine, before describing Peter as the tenth child. It has been established that this confusion occurred due to the death of one son in infancy, leading to ambiguities in Gregory's own writings. Gregory's parents had suffered persecution for their faith: he writes that they "had their goods confiscated for confessing Christ." Gregory's paternal grandmother, Macrina

4320-524: The council. The council sent Gregory on a mission to Arabia, perhaps to ameliorate the situation in Bostra where two men, Agapius and Badagius, claimed to be bishop. If this is the case, Gregory was unsuccessful, as the see was still contested in 394. He then travelled to Jerusalem where Cyril of Jerusalem faced opposition from local clergy due to the fact that he had been ordained by Acacius of Caesarea , an Arian heretic. Gregory's attempted mediation of

4416-419: The created creatures as "good" was taken by John Chrysostom to mean that upon closer analysis, even living forms which appear useless to humans might come to be found to be beneficial: all things were created with reason. The reference to the making of man in the image of God (Gen 1:27) was taken by Augustine to have involved the endowment of humans with souls and intelligence. Mammals were made alongside humans in

4512-444: The day you have studied the marvels of light, if you have raised yourself by visible things to the invisible being, then you are a well prepared auditor, and you can take your place in this august and blessed amphitheatre. It was widely influential, being translated into multiple languages and resulting in the composition of many other Hexaemeron among his own contemporaries, including his brother Gregory of Nyssa and Ambrose . Among

4608-440: The discovery of mystical theology, or rather with the perception that darkness is an appropriate symbol under which God can be discussed. There is much truth in this....Gregory seems to have been the first Christian writer to have made this important point. J. Kameron Carter writes about Gregory's stance on slavery, in the book Race a Theological Account (2008): What interests me is the defining features of Gregory's vision of

4704-528: The dispute was unsuccessful, and he himself was accused of holding unorthodox views on the nature of Christ . His later reign in Nyssa was marked by conflict with his metropolitan, Helladius. Gregory was present at a 394 synod convened at Constantinople to discuss the continued problems in Bostra. While the year of his death is unknown, it is generally accepted that he died in 394. The traditional view of Gregory

4800-488: The earliest extant Christian Hexaemeron, and the first one since that of Philo's. He opened his Hexaemeron as follows: If sometimes on a bright night, whilst gazing with watchful eyes on the inexpressible beauty of the stars, you have thought of the Creator of all things; if you have asked yourself who it is that has dotted the heaven with such flowers, and why visible things are even more useful than beautiful; if sometimes in

4896-523: The effective literary end of the genre. The approach continued in an important literary role until the seventeenth century. According to Philo of Alexandria , an allegorical reader of the creation week in the tradition of the School of Alexandria , the six days do not constitute a reference to periods of time but instead reflect the necessity of expressing the chronological order of the order of creation using human numbers. Some readers who agreed with this mode of thought suggested various reasons as to why six

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4992-419: The fifth day, for Philo, corresponded in some manner to their having five senses (sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch). Basil emphasized that the fifth day was the first time that creatures with senses and thought were made. He also offered a bulk of zoological insights in his commentary on the fifth day. Basil also thought that the common origins of members like fins and wings from the waters helped to explain

5088-498: The first day. For Eriugena, the phraseology of the Earth being 'empty and void' and the phrase 'darkness upon the deep' are uses because the human intellect cannot fathom the primordial causes. In Gen 1:2, the Spirit hovering above the waters signified, according to Basil, that the Holy Spirit was already working on preparing the way for the creation of life. John Chrysostom read the passage similarly. 'Let there be light' (Gen 1:3)

5184-575: The first man to the last—some having at once in this life been cleansed from evil, others having afterwards in the necessary periods been healed by the Fire, others having in their life here been unconscious equally of good and of evil—to offer to every one of us participation in the blessings which are in Him, which, the Scripture tells us, 'eye hath not seen, nor ear heard,' nor thought ever reached." That this

5280-405: The formless matter did not exist always but was created by God. The terms "darkness" and "deep" that then appear refer to an absence of light and/or an extreme depth of water that prevents seeing. Gregory of Nyssa , Basil's brother, agreed that the text is referring to water, light, the earth and stars. Ephrem thought the darkness was due to the presence of clouds which must have then been created on

5376-524: The fourth century, and was completed by Augustine in the fourth and fifth centuries. ...[Gregory] taught that Creation was potential. God imparted to matter its fundamental properties and laws. The objects and completed forms of the Universe developed gradually out of chaotic material. Anthony Meredith writes of Gregory's mystical and apophatic writings in his book Gregory of Nyssa (The Early Church Fathers) (1999): Gregory has often been credited with

5472-568: The genre: an earlier work in the genre that Philo had known of had been composed by Aristobulus of Alexandria . Though other such works from the Jewish tradition are thought to have existed from this era, none have survived or were known to later Christian exegetes. Saint Basil delivered a lecture series over the course of three days during 378 AD on the Genesis creation narrative. Using the information he had prepared for this, he wrote his Hexaemeron , which spanned nine homilies. This text figures as

5568-587: The human being is exceptional, being created in the image of God . Humanity is theomorphic both in having self-awareness and free will , the latter which gives each individual existential power, because to Gregory, in disregarding God one negates one's own existence. In the Song of Songs , Gregory metaphorically describes human lives as paintings created by apprentices to a master: the apprentices (the human wills) imitate their master's work (the life of Christ) with beautiful colors ( virtues ), and thus man strives to be

5664-404: The idea that the reality of God is completely inaccessible to human beings and that man can only come to see God through a spiritual journey in which knowledge [ γνῶσις ] is rejected in favour of meditation . Gregory does not refer to any neoplatonist philosophers in his work, and there is only one disputed passage which may directly quote Plotinus. Considering this, it seems possible that Gregory

5760-475: The just society: his unequivocal stance against 'the peculiar institution of slavery' and his call for the manumission of all slaves. I am interested in reading Gregory as a fourth century abolitionist intellectual....His outlook surpassed not only St. Paul's more moderate (but to be fair to Paul, in his moment, revolutionary) stance on the subject but also those of all ancient intellectuals -- Pagan, Jewish and Christian - from Aristotle to Cicero and from Augustine in

5856-490: The limited minds of created beings. In Life of Moses , Gregory writes: "...every concept that comes from some comprehensible image, by an approximate understanding and by guessing at the Divine nature, constitutes an idol of God and does not proclaim God." Gregory's theology was thus apophatic : he proposed that God should be defined in terms of what we know He is not rather than what we might speculate Him to be. Accordingly,

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5952-787: The main difference between Gregory's conception of ἀποκατάστασις and that of Origen would be that Gregory believes that mankind will be collectively returned to sinlessness, whereas Origen believes that personal salvation will be universal. This interpretation of Gregory has been criticized recently, however. After all, at the end of chapter XXXV of the Great Catechism Gregory writes that those who have not been purified by water through baptism "must needs be purified by fire" so that "after long succeeding ages, their nature may be restored pure again to God". Attempting to reconcile these disparate positions, Eastern Orthodox theologian Dr. Mario Baghos notes that "when taken at face value

6048-618: The meaning of the six days as well as the origins of the world. The first Christian example of this genre was the Hexaemeron of Basil of Caesarea , and many other works went on to be written from authors including Augustine of Hippo , Jacob of Serugh , Jacob of Edessa , Bonaventure , and so on. These treatises would become popular and often cover a wide variety of topics, including cosmology, science, theology, theological anthropology, and God's nature. The word can also sometimes denote more passing or incidental descriptions or discussions on

6144-406: The mystery being celebrated and the particular needs of the listeners. Contemporary Protestant clergy often use the term 'homily' to describe a short sermon , such as one created for a wedding or funeral . In colloquial, non-religious, usage, homily often means a sermon concerning a practical matter, a moralizing lecture or admonition, or an inspirational saying or platitude , but sermon

6240-700: The new emperor, Gratian . In the same year Basil died, and despite the relative unimportance of Nyssa, Gregory took over many of his brother's former responsibilities in Pontus. He was present at the Synod of Antioch in April 379, where he unsuccessfully attempted to reconcile the followers of Meletius of Antioch with those of Paulinus . After visiting the village of Annisa to see his dying sister Macrina, he returned to Nyssa in August. In 380 he travelled to Sebaste , in

6336-517: The opening verse of the Gospel of John : "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1). For Origen, these statements together are not of a temporal beginning but instead about the creation of all things through the Logos . In the reading of Ambrose , "In this beginning, that is, in Christ, God created heaven and earth." For Augustine, the statements reflect both

6432-423: The plants: he found in this a refutation of astrology which tries to explain all things by the movement of such bodies. However, God's creation of vegetation before these light-giving bodies demonstrates God's dominion as opposed to any of these bodies. Basil agreed with and continued this line of argument. John of Damascus believed that the moon took its light from the sun (a widely held view sometimes analogized to

6528-469: The province of Armenia Prima , to support a pro-Nicene candidate for the election to the bishopric. To his surprise, he himself was elected to the seat, perhaps due to the population's association of him with his brother. However, Gregory deeply disliked the relatively unhellenized society of Armenia, and he was confronted by an investigation into his orthodoxy by local opponents of the Nicene theology. After

6624-466: The questioned chapter. Gregory's anthropology is founded on the ontological distinction between the created and uncreated. Man is a material creation, and thus limited, but infinite in that his immortal soul has an indefinite capacity to grow closer to the divine. Gregory believed that the soul is created simultaneous to the creation of the body (in opposition to Origen, who believed in preexistence ), and that embryos were thus persons. To Gregory,

6720-485: The relations between them. Gregory was one of the first theologians to argue that God is infinite . His main argument for the infinity of God, found in Against Eunomius , is that God's goodness is limitless, and as God's goodness is essential , God is also limitless. An important consequence of Gregory's belief in the infinity of God is his belief that God, as limitless, is essentially incomprehensible to

6816-477: The rest of the Apostles and prophets". 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 . He is known to have married a woman named Theosebia during this period, who is sometimes identified with Theosebia the Deaconess , venerated as a saint by Orthodox Christianity. This

6912-531: The results of his systematic Aristotelean philosophy above the traditional teachings of the Church. The Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches commemorate Gregory of Nyssa on 10 January. The Roman Martyrology and the Episcopal Church commemorate his death on 9 March. In modern Roman Catholic calendars which include the feast of St. Gregory, such as the Benedictines , his feast day

7008-627: The saint seems to be contradicting himself in these passages; on the one hand he asserted the salvation of all and the complete eradication of evil, and, on the other, that the fire needed to purge evil is 'sleepless', i.e. everlasting. The only solution to this inconsistency is to view any allusion to universal salvation in St Gregory as an expression of God's intention for humanity, which is in fact attested to when his holy sister states that God has "one goal ... some straightway even in this life purified from evil, others healed hereafter through fire for

7104-492: The second to sixth days represent the creation of the visible elements of the cosmos. On the third day, Genesis says that the waters below the firmament were gathered in order that dry places appear. Philo understands this to have been a process that unmingled a more formless entity into the distinct elements of earth and water. Saltwater was gathered into one place and dew watered the dry regions such that fruits and other foods for consumption could grow. Ambrose argued that because

7200-538: The service of his own theological arguments against slavery: (1) each human is an image of God and therefore free, (2) the equality of all humans reflects the equality of the divine Persons and (3) just as the divine nature cannot be divided into slavery (δουλεία) and mastery (δυναστεία, κυριότης), neither can human nature; the whole creation is a slave, but of God alone. Although the stoic Seneca had criticized cruel slave masters and advised slave masters to treat slaves with kindness (or at least those of good character),

7296-400: The similarities in their movements. John of Damascus saw birds as linking together the water, from whence they originated, the earth, where they live, and the air, where they fly. Basil commented that when the earth was commanded to bring forth living creatures, this importantly involved it being endowed with the ability to bring forth creatures in general. The succeeding statement that God saw

7392-600: The six days of creation, such as in the brief occurrences that appear in Quranic cosmology . The Church Fathers wrote many Hexaemeron and a diversity of opinions existed on a broad range of subjects. Two general modes of interpretation existed, corresponding to the literal form of interpretation, represented by the tradition of the School of Antioch (one example being in John Chrysostom ), and another represented by an allegorical mode of interpretation, represented by

7488-621: The sixth day due to their greater similarity to humans. The statement that each animal is created according to its kind, for Basil, signified the creation of a process of uninterrupted succession of each kind of organism through reproduction. Homily A homily (from Greek ὁμιλία, homilía ) is a commentary that follows a reading of scripture, giving the "public explanation of a sacred doctrine" or text. The works of Origen and John Chrysostom (known as Paschal Homily ) are considered exemplary forms of Christian homily. In Catholic , Anglican , Lutheran , and Eastern Orthodox churches ,

7584-494: The spiritual created order and unformed matter. John Scotus Eriugena believed that the terms referred to archetypes and primordial causes. Next, Genesis states that the world was created "without form and void" or, in the Septuagint , "invisible and unfinished" ( aoratos kai akataskeuastos ). For Ephrem, this signifies that the formation of the elements post-dated the void. According to Theophilus, this passage demonstrates that

7680-426: The sun would only be created on the fourth day, the drying out of water over land regions must have been done directly by God. John of Damascus contemplated both allegorical and literal readings, the former implicating a division of the cosmic elements, with the latter implicating a collection of water to be used for the prosperity of organic life. Eriugena thought that the dry land was a reference to essential form and

7776-484: The support of his brother Basil, who was metropolitan of Caesarea . Gregory's early policies as bishop often went against those of Basil; for instance, while his brother condemned the Sabellianist followers of Marcellus of Ancyra as heretics , Gregory may have tried to reconcile them with the church. Gregory faced opposition to his reign in Nyssa and, in 373, Amphilochius , bishop of Iconium , had to visit

7872-582: The third century: when Gregory Thaumaturgus acceded to the bishopric in c. 250, according to his namesake, the Nyssen, there were only seventeen members of the Church in Caesarea. Cappadocian bishops were among those at the First Council of Nicaea . Because of the broad distribution of the population, rural bishops (χωρεπίσκοποι) were appointed to support the Bishop of Caesarea . During the late fourth century there were around 50 of them. In Gregory's lifetime,

7968-413: The tradition of the School of Alexandria (examples being Origen and Augustine ). Outside of this categorization, however, individuals in each school would not necessarily deny the validity of the alternative perspective. Despite the differences, consensus existed on a number of subjects among these interpreters, including in their belief in God's primacy as the Creator; the occurrence of creation through

8064-449: The trinity over Eunomius' Aristotelian belief that the Father's substance is unengendered, whereas the Son's is engendered. According to Gregory, the differences between the three persons of the Trinity reside in their differing hypostatic origin, and the triune nature of God is revealed through divine action (despite the unity of God in His action). The Son is therefore defined as begotten of

8160-534: The venerable doctors and indomitable champions of the Church [including] Gregory Primate of Nyssa, who all have called the father of fathers. Henry Fairfield Osborn wrote in his work on the history of evolutionary thought , From the Greeks to Darwin (1894): Among the Christian Fathers the movement towards a partly naturalistic interpretation of the order of Creation was made by Gregory of Nyssa in

8256-413: The voice of Macrina) that even the demons will have a place in Christ's "world of goodness". Gregory's interpretations of 1 Corinthians 15:28 ("And when all things shall be subdued unto him ...") and Philippians 2:10 ("That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth") support this understanding of his theology. Nevertheless, in

8352-520: The water a reference to all bodies composed of the four elements (formed matter). The phrase "Let the earth put forth vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, upon the earth." Philo commented on the abundance of seeds, fruit, and more in as food for animals and as the initiation of a process that led to the creation of more and similar fruits. Plant seeds contain specific principles that periodically mature, such that God endows nature with

8448-582: The word homilos, meaning "a gathering"). The word is used in 1 Corinthians 15:33 ("wicked homiliai corrupt good morals"). The related verb is used in Luke 24:14 (as homiloun ), and in Acts 24:26 (as homilei ), both used in the sense of "speaking with". The word later came to have a more technical sense. According to The Catholic Encyclopedia , Origen was the first to distinguish between logos (sermo) and homilia (tractatus). The General Instruction of

8544-568: Was Eriugena himself influenced by Gregory, but he also translated On the Making of the Human into Latin." Gregory's work received little scholarly attention in the West until the mid-twentieth century, and he was historically treated as a minor figure in comparison to Basil the Great or Gregory of Nazianzus. As late as 1942, Hans Urs von Balthasar wrote that his work was virtually unknown. However,

8640-403: Was about the creation of intelligible light, and it was also a universal light that came before the sun, moon, and so on. Augustine, noting that the creation of angels was not mentioned by Genesis, reads a reference to the creation of angels here. Genesis refers to the creation of the 'heaven' ( firmament ) that separated the upper and lower waters in the second day. Philo believed that the heaven

8736-542: Was an early Roman Christian prelate who served as Bishop of Nyssa from 372 to 376 and from 378 until his death in 394. He is venerated as a saint in Eastern Orthodoxy , Catholicism , Oriental Orthodoxy , Anglicanism , and Lutheranism . Gregory, his elder brother Basil of Caesarea , and their friend Gregory of Nazianzus are collectively known as the Cappadocian Fathers . Gregory lacked

8832-460: Was aristocratic and Christian—according to Gregory of Nazianzus , his mother was Emmelia of Caesarea , and his father, a rhetorician, has been identified either as Basil the Elder or as a Gregory. Among his eight siblings were St. Macrina the Younger , St. Naucratius , St. Peter of Sebaste and St. Basil of Caesarea . The precise number of children in the family was historically contentious:

8928-453: Was chosen as the number of days: Augustine , who alongside many others (including Origen , Clement of Alexandria , and Gregory of Nyssa ) believed that the entire creation was instantaneous, considered that the figure of six for the number of days was chosen because it was a perfect number that reflected the sum of its sixth (1), its third (2), and its half (3). Other allegorical or numerological readings were also proposed. For proponents of

9024-475: Was familiar with Plotinus and perhaps other figures in neoplatonism. However, some significant differences between neoplatonism and Gregory's thought exist, such as Gregory's statement that beauty and goodness are equivalent, which contrasts with Plotinus' view that they are two different qualities. However Plotinus does say " And Beauty, this Beauty which is also the Good " implying the Platonist One which

9120-574: Was known to be much more outspoken. Gregory was first educated at home, by his mother Emmelia and sister Macrina. Little is known of what further education he received. Apocryphal hagiographies depict him studying at Athens , but this is speculation probably based on the life of his brother Basil. It seems more likely that he continued his studies in Caesarea , where he read classical literature , philosophy and perhaps medicine . Gregory himself claimed that his only teachers were Basil, "Paul, John and

9216-402: Was the first visible entity to be created. Basil saw the firmament as a firm substance separating the bottom air from the air above it, with the air above being of a lower density. The firmament also balances the evaporation and precipitation of water and served to separate different levels of atmospheric moisture enabling the existence of the correct climate needed for living things. For Eriugena,

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