Commemoration Day: January 10 (23)
Biography
The Path to God
Gregory of Nyssa is among the most revered Christian saints. The Orthodox Church preserves his memory as a greatest church writer, ecumenical teacher and father.
Despite widespread recognition and countless studies, some rather important facts of his biography are still presented with notes: probably, approximately, possibly. We do not even know the exact date of his birth, nor the exact date of his death.
By origin, Gregory belonged to a Greek aristocratic family, known not only for its prosperity and social standing, but also for its pious principles and righteous life.
This family presented the world with a whole pleiad of saints. During the persecutions of the Church, the ancestors of Gregory of Nyssa were persecuted and suffered. In their time, his father's parents lost their property for confessing the name of Christ. His maternal grandfather died a martyr's death, and his estate passed to outsiders. The grandmother of Gregory of Nyssa, Macrina the Elder, was a follower of Saint Gregory of Neocaesarea. The primary law in her life was the law of God.
Macrina's son, Basil the Elder, was renowned both as a professor of rhetoric and as a virtuous Christian. His wife, the Venerable Emmelia, was the daughter of martyrs and from her youth prepared herself for the feat of virginity in Christ. She agreed to marriage only because, being an orphan, she almost fell victim to evildoers who threatened her youth and beauty. God blessed Saint Emmelia to become the mother of ten children: six daughters and four sons.
Emmelia's aspiration for virginity was realized in her daughter, Macrina the Younger. One of her sons, Basil, was glorified by the Church under the name "the Great". Another, Peter, was glorified as the Hierarch of Sebaste.
Gregory of Nyssa, born after Basil (the future Basil the Great) and Naucratius (who died under unclear circumstances), was the third son in the family.
According to approximate estimates, he was born between 331 and 335 AD. His place of birth could have been either Caesarea or Sebaste. He received the name Gregory in honor of Saint Gregory the Wonderworker.
Gregory's father, Basil the Elder, died early, and the entire burden of caring for the children fell on the widow. Besides his mother, Emmelia, his elder sister, Macrina, and his elder brother, Basil (the Great), had a great influence on the upbringing of the future hierarch of Nyssa.
Unlike Basil, who received his education in the best educational institutions, including Athens, Gregory studied in local schools. Nevertheless, through diligence and determination, he achieved the highest level of education.
God's Calling
Despite the overall spiritual atmosphere in the family, in his youth Gregory sometimes allowed himself to be somewhat indifferent towards church life.
Once, when his family organized a celebration for the translation of the relics of the Forty Martyrs to a chapel specially built for this purpose (in Annisa, on family land), Gregory, instead of participating in the night service, frivolously withdrew to a bower and fell fast asleep. In his dream, he saw a multitude of soldiers. Their appearance was very threatening. Gregory strove to get to the service he had abandoned, but they would not allow him and were ready to punish him at any moment. The situation changed only with the intervention of one of the soldiers who appeared, who interceded for Gregory.
Gregory woke up in terror. The judgment of conscience was not long in coming. Having wept over his behavior, Gregory immediately went to the urn with the relics, prayed fervently, and began to ask God and the holy warriors for forgiveness.
After such a poignant admonition, he abandoned his former pursuits and was ordained as a reader. It is believed that this event took place in 357.
From time to time, Gregory visited his brother, Basil, who was asceticizing in Annisa. There he devoted himself to ascetic practice, fasting and prayer, studying the word of God and the works of the Fathers.
Spiritual Search
Some time later, Gregory left his service at the church and became a teacher of rhetoric. This most likely happened no earlier than 363, since during the reign of Julian, access to this profession for Christians was extremely difficult.
Gregory's action caused his friends to feel misunderstanding. Gregory of Nazianzus, trying to reason with his friend, sent him a letter expressing his sorrow.
It was most likely during this period, or slightly earlier, that Saint Gregory entered into marriage with Theosebia. Almost nothing is known about the details of their marital union or about Theosebia herself. In a consolatory letter to Gregory of Nyssa on the occasion of her death, dated 385, Gregory the Theologian referred to Theosebia as a fulfiller of God's will, a faithful daughter of the Church, an ornament of Christ. Furthermore, he noted his closeness to her through spiritual kinship.
There is an opinion that at some stage of their married life, Theosebia, by agreement with Gregory, entered monastic life. According to another view, she was never Gregory's wife but lived with him as a sister. At some point, Gregory, moved by a desire for ascetic feats, joined the monastic community organized by his brother Basil.
Episcopal Service
With the elevation of Basil the Great to the episcopal see, he began to appoint like-minded, reliable people to the episcopal sees in his diocese. This desire was partly due to the usual goals of episcopal service: he wanted to have a firm support in these people. But to a large extent, this practice was connected with the cunning intrigues launched against him (as an orthodox, firm-in-faith pastor). At that time, he was opposed by Bishop Anthimus of Tyana.
In 372, Saint Basil appointed his brother, Gregory, as bishop of Nyssa, a small provincial town. It cannot be said that Gregory rejoiced at this appointment: on the contrary, he would have gladly refused it, but he did not wish to go against the will of his elder brother, the archbishop.
During the reign of Emperor Valens, who was sympathetic to the Arians, many Orthodox bishops experienced administrative pressure, and some were persecuted.
In 375, a Council was convened in Ancyra. The participants of this Council, Arian bishops, accused Saint Gregory of uncanonical ordination and embezzlement of funds from the church treasury. By order of the local governor, Demosthenes, who supported the Arians, the saint was arrested and sent under guard to Ancyra for trial.
Experiencing difficulties caused by the cruelty of the guards and an attack of illness, Saint Gregory decided to escape. Somehow he managed to lull the vigilance of the guards and fled, after which he hid in a secret refuge.
Saint Basil the Great, learning of what had happened, sent a letter to the governor, refuting, on his own behalf and on behalf of the subordinate clergy, the accusations brought against his brother at the Council. But this intervention had no effect.
In 376, an Arian Council in Nyssa deposed Saint Gregory, and a weak-willed and corrupt bishop was appointed in his place.
For two or three years, Saint Gregory led a forced, wandering life. Then, by the mercy of the emperor, he was able to return to Nyssa. Upon the saint's return, the faithful gave him a solemn reception.
After the death of Basil the Great, Gregory of Nyssa continued to carry out his plans. By this time, he had become one of the most famous and authoritative Fathers of the Church.
In 379, Saint Gregory participated in the activities of the Council of Antioch, which was oriented towards the struggle against Arianism. Soon he received news of the serious illness of his sister, Macrina. He went to her, managed to find her alive, converse, and say goodbye. After her death, he, together with other believers, buried her body in the family tomb.
In 380, Gregory of Nyssa arrived in Sebaste to participate in the election of a new bishop. The assembly elected him to the position of Metropolitan of Sebaste, which caused dissatisfaction among opposition parties. Later, Peter was appointed to this position.
At the Second Ecumenical Council, which supplemented the Creed and affirmed the Orthodox doctrine of the Holy Spirit, Saint Gregory took an active part. Defending the purity of the faith, he delivered a speech that was successful.
After the completion of the Council's work, Gregory of Nyssa went to Arabia to resolve internal difficulties in the local Church. The emperor provided him with the necessary material means.
Upon returning from Arabia, Saint Gregory visited Jerusalem, where he helped to eliminate disagreements among the clergy. While visiting the holy places, he paid attention to the pilgrims. In his assessment, the moral state of many of them did not correspond to the holiness of the places.
It is believed that the saint spent the last years of his life in Nyssa. In 394, he again visited the Byzantine capital and took part in a Council concerning the Arabian Church.
It is believed that in the same year, 394, he fell asleep in the Lord. The exact circumstances of his death are hidden by time.
Literary Heritage
As a church writer, Saint Gregory was exceptionally prolific. With the exception of a few specific fragments (for example, on the finiteness of hellish torments and the universal salvation of mankind), his works are distinguished by their orthodoxy and depth of thought.
His writings can be conventionally classified as dogmatic-polemical, exegetical, moral-ascetical, sermons, and letters.
The first group includes: The Great Catechetical Oration, To Ablabius, On Not Three Gods, On the Holy Spirit, Against the Macedonians [Pneumatomachi], On the Soul and the Resurrection. A Dialogue with his sister Macrina, Against Eunomius, Refutation of the Views of Apollinarius (Antirrheticus), Against Arius and Sabellius, To Theophilus of Alexandria Against Apollinarius, Against Fate, On Infants' Early Deaths, To Hierius, Canonical Rules of the Orthodox Church with Commentaries, Rules of the Holy Fathers – Canonical Letter of Saint Gregory of Nyssa to Letoius, Bishop of Melitene, 372–394 AD, and others.
The second group includes: On the Hexaemeron, On the Making of Man, Sermons on the Lord's Prayer, On the Life of Moses, An Accurate Interpretation of Solomon's Ecclesiastes, Explanation of the Sixth Psalm, Explanation of the Song of Songs, On the Inscriptions of the Psalms, On the Witch of Endor. Letter to Bishop Theodosius, On the Beatitudes, etc.
The third group appropriately includes: On the Goal of the Godly Life and On True Asceticism, On the Life of Saint Macrina, On Virginity, To Harmonius, On What It Means to Be Called a Christian, To Olympius, On Perfection.
The fourth group unites: Sermon on the Divinity of the Son and the Spirit and in Praise of Righteous Abraham, Sermons for Holy Pascha, Encomium on the Holy Protomartyr Stephen, First Encomium on the Holy Forty Martyrs, Second Encomium on the Holy Forty Martyrs, On the Life of Saint Gregory the Wonderworker, etc.
The fifth group: Letters.