Gregory of Nazianzus

Gregory of Nazianzus, and Gregory of Nazianzus, AltGr. Γρηγόριος Α ' ὁ Ναζιανζηνός, Γρηγόριος ὁ Θεολόγος (c. 329 in Arianzos at Nazianzus ( the east of Aksaray ) in Cappadocia, † January 25 390 in Arianzos ), was Bishop of Sasima (now the titular Sasima ) in Cappadocia, now Çavdarlı, briefly Metropolitan of Constantinople Opel and Basil the Great and his brother Gregory of Nyssa, one of the three Cappadocian fathers, who are also referred to as the Cappadocian triad. All three shaped the theology of the 4th century decisively with the elaboration of the doctrine of the Trinity.

He is one of the four great Greek Doctors of the Church of the Old Church and one of only three Fathers of the Church, which officially the title of theologian ( ὁ Θεολόγος ) was awarded ( the other two being John the Apostle and Symeon the New Theologian ). Together with Basil of Caesarea and John Chrysostom, he is one of the three holy hierarchs.

Church History circumstances of the time

Gregory was born a few years after the First Council of Nicaea. Arianism had been definitely condemned by the Council, but continued until about the middle of the century also in politics and society largely through, especially in the Arian Goths dominated by the army, the imperial residence and capital Constantinople Opel.

Life

Gregor comes from a family of saints: His father, Gregory of Nazianzus the Elder, a converted through the influence of his wife Jew, first rhetorician and then for 45 years, Bishop of Nazianzus, and his mother Nonna were just like his two siblings Caesarius of Nazianzus and Gorgonia canonized. His brother Caesarius († 368) was a physician at the court of Emperor Julian and governor of Bithynia.

About Gregory's life many details are known. Primarily by the numerous surviving letters, which are also valuable historical eyewitnesses, but also by the grave words that he thought were his parents and siblings and his friend Basil

Gregory studied at Caesarea in Cappadocia, at Caesarea in Palestine, Alexandria and Athens and was a well-traveled and well-educated man of his time. In the joint study time in Athens, there was the Great to a close friendship with St. Basil. In his grave speech for Basil, he is a vivid portrayal of the then student life. Another fellow student was 355 the later Emperor Julian, for which he, however, as he showed in the two speeches against Julian, no preference was feeling.

After graduation, he performed two years Basil in Pontus an ascetic hermit life, marked by physical labor, intensive Bible study and prayer.

Then he had to share his time between family duty, his, 85 -year-old father in the leadership of the diocese to help, and his ideal, the withdrawn, ascetic life.

361 He was very dedicated to his will, by his father as a priest. These internal struggles he vividly describes in a sermon that became a classic on the responsibilities of the priesthood, so that it is still cited in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

370 Basil was Metropolitan of Caesarea ( after Basil had first proposed Gregor for the office ) and thus protagonist in the struggle against Arianism. In order to strengthen its position politically, he made his friend Gregory of Nazianzus and his brother Gregory of Nyssa, bishops, none of which of the two was particularly enthusiastic.

After the death of his parents and siblings, Gregory, even in poor health, once again moved back to the longed for solitude.

379 however, he was appointed by the small Orthodox community as the only Orthodox priest in the Arian -dominated Konstantin Opel. Since all the Arian churches him, meanwhile, were closed, he began in a basement restaurant to preach, including his five theological speeches for which he was awarded posthumously by the Council of Ephesus the title of theologian ( a title that except him only the Apostle John, the author of the fourth gospel, and the later Simeon, the " new Theologian " plays ). As one of the most brilliant orators of the early church history, he put on an ever-growing audience - which led to verbal and life-threatening assaults of Arians on the other side. However, they could not prevent under Gregory's influence converted the city back to the Trinitarian orthodoxy. One of his pupils at this time was Jerome, who later church father and translator of the Vulgate.

380 he was appointed under a storm of enthusiasm of the population as Metropolitan of Constantinople Opel. He had considerable influence on the decisions of the first Council of Constantinople Opel, which he headed initially. On the other hand, he sat down as Patriarch of Constantinople Opel between all chairs: the Court and at the higher clergy ( who had been mainly close before or Arian ) called the ascetic from the province of every luxury refused strictly in his life and his sermons, to put it mildly, bewilderment out, the people he disappointed because he did not ausnützte his influence with the Emperor. The rampant intrigue, he was certainly not grown. Already 381 he entered - obviously relieved - by the Office of Metropolitan back.

The rest of his life he spent as a hermit on a small remnant of his father's Guts Arianzos (he had the rest of his heritage, following the example of his friend Basil, after the death of his father donated to the poor ), with a fountain and a garden as the only luxury. During this time the letters came to deal with Apollinaris, a further proof of his mastery of language and theological reasoning, and also a large part of his poetic work.

Gregory died on 25 January 390 in Arianzos. His bones were long venerated in Constantinople Opel, but in 1204 robbed the fourth crusade by the Western Catholics and thereafter kept in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. In 2004, she returned from Pope John Paul II again to Constantinople Opel.

Theology

For Gregor spiritual maturity and careful study of the Bible are essential prerequisites for serious theology ( 1 Theological Sermon ) - practiced asceticism and spiritual discipline are closely connected with theological insight.

His theological argument focuses on the Bible and on logical considerations.

He demands that Bible passages must be interpreted in the context of the entire Bible, but he goes in interpreting them very carefully on a linguistic nuances, discussed for example, all possible meanings of "can not" and then asks which of these meanings for John 5.19 EU is appropriate, or it searches the Bible for the word "to" get it in 1 Cor 15:25 EU to interpret correctly.

He anticipates a continued revelation: Scripture shows from the Old to the New Testament God's plans with increasing clarity.

One of his main themes is the incarnation of Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ, true man and true God, especially clear run in the 3rd and 4th theological language, but also in his Christmas sermon XXXVIII.

His summary of the doctrine of the Trinity is quoted in the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

"Keep me above all this good legacy for which I live and fight, with whom I want to die, and that makes me bear all evils and appreciate all the pleasures of small: namely, the confession of faith in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. I entrust it to you today. In it I will dive you in this hour in the water and lift out of it. I give unto you a companion and protector of your entire life. I give you a single deity and power that exists as A in the three and the three on each contains various ways. A deity without disparity of substance or nature, without increasing higher degree or degrading lower degree [ ... ] It is the infinite nature par three Unending. God considered as a whole, each in itself [ ... ] God as the three considered together [ ... ] I have not even begun to think of unity, and already immersed myself in the Trinity its luster. I have not even begun to think of the Trinity, and already overwhelmed me again the unit. "

Work Overview

Sermons

There have been preserved over fifty speeches and sermons of Gregory, including the very personal and biographical and historically insightful grave speeches for his parents and siblings and for his friend Basil. On theologically significant, however, are the

• Five Theological speeches, held in 379 Constantine Opel, in which he defines and explains the Trinity at the Council of Nicea. For these sermons him the title of theologian was the Ecumenical Council of Ephesus ( the one that talks about God ) awarded.

Letters

There are over 200 letters received by Gregor. Theologically significant are the letters about the dispute with Apollinaris, biographically revealing the extensive correspondence with Basil, and historically valuable letters to his brother Caesarius at the imperial court and various senior officials. Gregory's letters are formulated stylistically perfect, often mirror his character and his inner struggles, sometimes humorous (he was the only one who dared to raise the spirited and autocratic Basil ), then shrewdly arguing.

Poetic works

In addition to his theological eminence Gregory was also a significant poet, one of the best Greek poets of late antiquity.

Anniversaries

• Catholic: January 2, ( bid Memorial in general Roman calendar, along with Basil the Great )
• Evangelical: Evangelical Church in Germany on 8 May ( Memorial Day in the name Evangelical Calendar )
• Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod: January 10
• Evangelical Lutheran Church in America: June 14

Gregory is the patron saint of poets and for a good harvest.

Works

• H. J. Seven Gregory of Nazianzus, Orationes theologicae. - Theological speeches, translated and introduced ( Fontes Christiani, 22), Freiburg - Basel - Vienna - Barcelona - Rome - New York 1996.
• J. Barbel: Gregory of Nazianzus. The five theological speeches. Text and translation with introduction and commentary ( Testimonia. the early Christian period, 3 fonts), Dusseldorf, 1963.
• Roberto Palla (Editor ), Manfred Kerch (translator ): Gregory of Nazianzus: Carmina de virtute Ia / Ib. Grazer Theological Studies, ISBN 3-900797-10-2.
• M. Wittig: Gregory of Nazianzus. Letters. Introduced, translated and annotated (library of Greek literature, 13), Stuttgart 1981.
• Gregory of Nazianzus, Manfred Kerch ( eds): speeches. About peace, about the love of the poor. , 1983, ISBN 3-466-25035-8.