05 — On the Soul and the Resurrection
Out of the double grief of 379 — the death of Basil and then of Macrina — Gregory wrote the two works in which his sister stands at the center: On the Soul and the Resurrection, the “Christian Phaedo,” in which the dying Macrina, “the Teacher,” instructs him on the soul and its destiny; and the Life of Macrina, his biography of the woman who was the spiritual head of the whole family. These files present Gregory’s anthropology and eschatology in their most personal and dialogical form.
Tradition: Pan-Orthodox (Church Father)
In On the Soul and the Resurrection Gregory inverts Plato’s Phaedo: where Socrates teaches as he dies, here it is a woman, Macrina, who plays the philosopher, and Gregory who plays the grieving doubter. She expounds the soul as a simple, immortal, intelligible essence; the passions as accretions to be purified, not parts of the soul’s nature; the post-mortem fire as medicinal, not retributive; and the final restoration in which “God shall be all in all.” The Life of Macrina gives the human portrait behind the teacher, and is among the most important sources for early female asceticism.
Files in this Section
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| The Dialogue with Macrina | The “Christian Phaedo”; Macrina as “the Teacher” on her deathbed; the soul, the passions, the purifying fire, and the resurrection body. |
| The Life of Macrina | The biography of his sister; the secret name Thecla; the vow of virginity; leading the household into asceticism; the community at Annesi; the deathbed and the miracle accounts. |
See Also
- Mystical Ascent — the soul’s ascent of which this is the eschatological completion
- The Universal Restoration — the purifying fire and “God all in all” in full
- Anthropology — the doctrine of the soul and the resurrection body
- Foundations — the holy family of which Macrina was the head
- The Church Fathers — Gregory’s place in the patristic witness
References
- Gregory of Nyssa. On the Soul and the Resurrection (De anima et resurrectione) [PG 46:11–160]. Translated by Catharine P. Roth. Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1993; and NPNF II/5.
- Gregory of Nyssa. Life of Macrina (Vita Macrinae) [GNO VIII/1; PG 46:959–1000]. Translated by W. K. Lowther Clarke. London: SPCK, 1916.
- Maraval, Pierre, ed. Grégoire de Nysse: Vie de sainte Macrine. Sources Chrétiennes 178. Paris: Cerf, 1971.