Anthony Meredith - Gregory of Nyssa

177 Pages·2003·0.78 MB·English

GREGORY OF NYSSA
Gregory of Nyssa presents new translations of key selections of
Gregory’s writings, with an informative introduction and extensive
notes and commentary to illuminate Gregory’s writings and to
illustrate how educated Christians tried to recommend and explore
their faith in the face of a paganism that was still alive.
Anthony Meredith presents a diverse range of Gregory’s writings—
his contribution to the debates of the period about the nature of God
in argument with a form of extreme Arianism, his discussion of the
nature and work of the Holy Ghost, against the so-called ‘Spirit
fighters’, his defence of the humanity of Christ against those who
denied it, notably Apolinarius, and his preoccupations with
philosophical questions, above all the nature of fate.
Gregory of Nyssa provides a concise and accessible introduction
to the thought of this early church father.
Anthony Meredith S.J. is Lecturer in Early Christian Doctrine at
Heythrop College, University of London and is a curate at Farm
Street Church in the West End of London. He is the author of The
Cappadocians (1995).
THE EARLY CHURCH FATHERS
Edited by Carol Harrison
University of Durham
The Greek and Latin fathers of the Church are central to the creation
of Christian doctrine, yet often unapproachable because of the sheer
volume of their writings and the relative paucity of accessible
translations. This series makes available translations of key selected
texts by the major fathers to all students of the early church.
Already published:
MAXIMUS THE CONFESSOR
Andrew Louth
IRENAEUS OF LYONS
Robert M.Grant
AMBROSE
Boniface Ramsey O.P.
ORIGEN
Joseph W.Trigg
GREGORY OF NYSSA
Anthony Meredith S.J.
London and New York
First published 1999
by Routledge
11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE

This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2003.

Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001

© 1999 Anthony Meredith S.J.
The right of Anthony Meredith to be identified as the Author of this
Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book has been requested

ISBN 0-203-00653-4 Master e-book ISBN

ISBN 0-203-21922-8 (Adobe eReader Format)
ISBN 0-415-11839-5 (hbk)
ISBN 0-415-11840-9 (pbk)
TO MY SISTER

CONTENTS
List of abbreviations ix
1 INTRODUCTION 1
Landscape 1
Background 1 6
Background 2 11
The System of Gregory 15
The Spiritual Teaching of Gregory, between Circularity and Freedom 20
2 DOCTRINAL ISSUES 27
1 Against Eunomius 1.156–182 27
2 Against the Macedonians, On the Holy Spirit 19–26 35
3 The Apolinarian Controversy: Against Apolin(n)arius 16–22 46
3 GREGORY AND PHILOSOPHY 59
1 Contra Fatum 59
2 Oratio Catechetica 19–24 73
4 GREGORY AND SPIRITUALITY 87
1 Against Eunomius 2.84–96 87
2 Homily 6: On the Beatitudes 91
3 On the Life of Moses 99
5 EPILOGUE 129
On Taking Leave of Gregory of Nyssa 129
The Originality of Gregory in Comparison with Origen and
Augustine 136
Later influence of Gregory of Nyssa 138
vii
CONTENTS
Notes 140
Bibliography 162
Index 165
viii
ABBREVIATIONS
CWS Classics of Western Spirituality
ET English Translation
GNO Werner Jaeger, Gregorii Nysseni Opera
JTS Journal of Theological Studies
PG J.-P. Migne, Migne’s Patrologia Graeca
PGL Patristic Greek Lexicon (edited by G.W.H.Lampe,
Oxford, 1961)
PL J.-P.Migne (ed), Patrologia Latina
SC Sources Chrétiennes
SP Studia Patristica
TRE Theologische Realenzyklopädie

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