01 — Foundations
The foundational section of the St. Gregory of Nyssa compendium: the most saint-dense family in Christian history, and the unwilling episcopate that placed the most speculative of the Cappadocians on the front line of the Nicene struggle. These files establish the biographical ground on which Gregory’s theological achievement rests.
Tradition: Pan-Orthodox (Church Father)
St. Gregory of Nyssa (c. 335 – c. 395) was the younger brother of St. Basil the Great and St. Macrina the Younger, and the friend of St. Gregory the Theologian. Trained as a rhetor and married, he was drawn into the Church’s service by his brother Basil, who consecrated him bishop of the small Cappadocian town of Nyssa around 372. Deposed by the Arian party under Valens in 376 and restored in 378, he emerged after Basil’s death (379) as the chief theological mind of the Cappadocian settlement.
This section addresses the foundations of his life: the family that produced him, and the episcopate that thrust him into the controversies. It precedes the sections on his role in the Cappadocian settlement (02), his Trinitarian theology (03), and his mystical, anthropological, and eschatological writings (04–08).
Files in this Section
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| The Holy Family of Cappadocia | Macrina the Elder and the Neocaesarean tradition; Basil the Elder and Emmelia; the sainted siblings — Macrina the Younger, Basil the Great, Naucratius, Peter of Sebaste; the ascetic center at Annesi; and Gregory’s own rhetor’s career and his marriage to Theosebia. |
| The Reluctant Bishop of Nyssa | The consecration c. 372 by Basil, set within Basil’s conflict with Anthimus of Tyana; Gregory the theologian rather than administrator; the Arian deposition of 376 and the triumphant return of 378. |
See Also
- The Cappadocian Settlement — what Gregory did after Basil’s death
- The Life of Macrina — the sister who was the family’s spiritual head
- St. Basil the Great — Gregory’s brother and the architect of the Cappadocian achievement
- The Church Fathers — Gregory among the Cappadocians
References
- Maraval, Pierre. “Biography of Gregory of Nyssa.” In The Brill Dictionary of Gregory of Nyssa, ed. Lucas Francisco Mateo-Seco and Giulio Maspero. Leiden: Brill, 2010.
- Gregory of Nyssa. Life of Macrina (Vita Macrinae) [GNO VIII/1; PG 46:959–1000]. Translated in NPNF II/5.
- Rousseau, Philip. Basil of Caesarea. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1994.