Gregory of Nyssa 9 March 395

Gregory of Nyssa was one of three men known as the Cappadocian Fathers. They were a major force in the defeat of the Arian heresy by Athanasius at the Council of Constantinople in 381. Christianity would have been very different, had Orthodoxy not prevailed through the talents of these men, with the guidance and assistance of the Holy Spirit. The other two were his brother, Basil the Great, and Basil's best friend Gregory of Nazianzus.

Gregory of Nyssa appeared to have been born in Caesarea, the capital of Cappadocia, in the middle part of what is now Turkey, around 334. He was the younger brother of Basil the Great, of Macrina, Peter of Sebastea, Naucratios, and (according to one ambiguously worded document) Dios of Antioch. This was quite a family!

While he was young, Gregory was at best a lukewarm Christian. However, when he was twenty, some of the relics of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste were transferred to a chapel near his home, and their presence made a deep impression on him, confronting him with the fact that to acknowledge God at all is to acknowledge His right to demand a total commitment. That is something that is very difficult in any time period, in any culture, yet I feel it is the core of  the Gospel message Jesus preached.

Gregory became an active and fervent Christian, and was well educated at Athens in both secular studies and theology. He considered the priesthood, decided it was not for him, and became a professional orator like his father.  He married a woman named Theosebeia, who may have been a deaconess.  We do know the ancients had a high opinion of her. Gregory's brother Basil and his friend Gregory of Nazianzus persuaded him to reconsider his decision on entering the Sacred Priesthood, and he did so in about 362. (This did not affect his marriage in those days.)

Gregory’s brother Basil had become Metropolitan (Archbishop) of Caesarea and was trying to strengthen the anti-Arian part of the Church through the appointment of Orthodox bishops.  He made his brother, Gregory bishop of the neighboring Cappadocian town of Nyssa, Lower Armenia, in 372.  Metropolitan Basil was in a struggle with the Arian Emperor Valens, who was trying to stamp out the Orthodox understanding of the deity of Christ. Basil desperately needed the votes and support of Athanasian (Orthodox) bishops, and he maneuvered his friend Gregory into the bishopric of Sasima, also (neither one wanted to be a bishop, neither was suited to be a bishop, and both were furious with Basil).

Gregory did not get along well with his flock, as they were infested with Arianism. Gregory, a theologian and mystic, a man of learning, was not equal to the practical demands of the bishopric. The Arians had Emperor Valens depose Gregory in 376, so he spent several years in exile.

For several years until the death of Emperor Valens, (the end of the persecution) Gregory lead an uncertain, wandering life, but returned from exile in 378, when Emperor Gratian restored him to his see. In 379, he attended the Council of Antioch, which denounced the Meletian heresy, and was sent by that council to Palestine and Arabia to combat heresy there.

After Basil died, Gregory started writing sermons and treatises on theology and philosophy. In his approach to the Scriptures, he was heavily influenced by Origen, and his writings on the Trinity and the Incarnation build on and develop insights found in the writings of his brother Basil. But he is chiefly remembered as a writer on the spiritual life, on the contemplation of God, not only in private prayer and meditation, but also in corporate worship and in the sacramental life of the Church.

In the year 381, he participated in the second Ecumenical Council at Constantinople, where he stood out as an authoritative theologian. He refuted Arianism and eloquently reaffirmed the decrees of the Council of Nicaea. The council called him, "Father of the Fathers" because he was widely venerated as the great pillar of orthodoxy and the great opponent of Arianism. This man helped make our understanding of Christ, what we know it to be today.

Almighty God, Who have revealed to Your Church Your eternal Being of glorious majesty and perfect love as one God in Trinity of Persons: Give us grace that, like Your bishop Gregory of Nyssa, we may continue steadfast in the confession of this faith, and constant in our worship of You, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Who live and reign for ever and ever. Amen.