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Gregory of Nazianzus (The Early Church Fathers) PDF

285 Pages·2006·1.52 MB·English
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GREGORY OF NAZIANZUS Gregory of Nazianzus, a complex and colorful figure in a crucial age (fourth century AD) when it was permissible for the first time to be a public Christian intellectual, was well placed to become one of the outstanding defenders and formulators of Church doctrine. A gifted and skilled rhetorician, poet, and orator and a profound theologian, Gregory was ordained a bishop and served for almost two years as head of the orthodox Christian community in Constantinople, where he played a crucial role in formulating the classical doctrines of the Trinity and the person of Christ. Under fire from opponents in the Church, the enigmatic Gregory eventually retreated into a quiet life of study and simple asceticism in his native Cappadocia, concentrating there on bringing the broad canon of his own writings to their present form. The body of his works, including poetry, letters, sermons, and lectures on religious themes and written with the precision and elegance found in classical Greek literature, was recognized in the Byzantine age as equal in quality to the achievements of the greatest Greek writers. A collection of new translations of a selection of these works, with an extensive introduction to Gregory’s life, thought, and writings, Gregory of Nazianzus presents to us a vivid portrait of a fascinating character who deserves to be regarded as one of the Christian tradition’s outstanding theologians and as the first true Christian humanist. Brian E. Daley, S.J., is the Catherine F. Huisking Professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame. A student of the theology of the Church Fathers, he has been a member of the North American Roman Catholic- Orthodox dialogue for over 25 years. His publications include The Hope of the Early Church (1991). i 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 writing 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 CYRIL OF JERUSALEM Edward Yarnold, S.J. EARLY CHRISTIAN LATIN POETS Caroline White CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA Norman Russell 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. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM Wendy Mayer and Pauline Allen JEROME Stefan Rebenich TERTULLIAN Geoffrey Dunn ATHANASIUS Khaled Anatolios SEVERUS OF ANTIOCH Pauline Allen and C.T.R. Hayward GREGORY THE GREAT John Moorhead GREGORY OF NAZIANZUS Brian E. Daley, S.J. ii GREGORY OF NAZIANZUS Brian E. Daley, S.J. iii First published 2006 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxfordshire OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group © 2006 Brian E. Daley, S.J. This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2006. “To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.” 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 Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record for this book has been requested ISBN10: 0–415–12180–9 (hbk) ISBN10: 0–415–12181–7 (pbk) ISBN13: 978–0–415–12180–4 (hbk) ISBN13: 978–0–415–12181–7 (pbk) iv For John W. O’Malley, S.J., another Christian humanist v To Gregory the Theologian (before an icon of the “Three Hierarchs”) Father, what has this pensive face of yours to say? Perhaps you feel constrained to tell me something new, But cannot find new words! For what to us seems strange, Your sermons have already clarified for me. Michael Psellos (1018–after 1081) (PG 122.909 A3–7) vi CONTENTS CONTENTS Acknowledgements ix 1 Introduction 1 Gregory the Man 3 Gregory the Humanist 26 Gregory the Philosopher 34 Gregory the Theologian 41 Gregory the Priest 50 These translations 60 2 Orations 62 1. Oration 8: Funeral Oration for his Sister Gorgonia 63 2. Oration 14: On the Love of the Poor 75 3. Oration 20: On Theology, and the Appointment of Bishops 98 4. Oration 26: About Himself, on his Return from the Country 105 5. Oration 38: On the Theophany 117 6. Oration 39: On the Holy Lights 127 7. Oration 42: The Farewell Address 138 8. Oration 44: For “New Sunday” 154 3 Poems 162 On His Own Verses 163 A Hymn To God 165 A Hymn of Thanksgiving 167 Evening Hymn 167 Prayer Before Reading Scripture 168 Prayer Befor a Journey 169 vii CONTENTS Prayer Before a Journey to Constantinople 169 A Prayer to Christ 170 Three Prayers for a Day 170 Supplication 171 4 Letters 172 Letter 11: To Gregory (of Nyssa) 173 Letter 20: To Caesarius 174 Letter 30: To Philagrius 175 Letter 31: To Philagrius 176 Letter 48: To Basil 176 Letter 51: To Nicoboulus 177 Letter 58: To Basil 179 Letter 76: To Gregory of Nyssa 181 Letter 80: To Philagrius 181 Letter 90: To Anysius 181 Letter 178: To Eudoxius 182 5 Gregory’s Will 184 Notes 190 Bibliography 259 Index 268 viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS A completed book always bears the traces of many hands. Although I take full responsibility for all the shortcomings and inaccuracies from which this book may suffer, I also express my profound gratitude to the many people who helped it on the long journey from conception to birth: to Dr. Carol Harrison, of the University of Durham, the general editor of The Early Church Fathers, for her patience and kind encouragement, and for her many helpful suggestions on how to improve the final draft; to her colleagues at Routledge, particularly Dr. Richard Stoneman, for showing continuing interest in the book’s progress, without ever exerting pressure; to the staff of the Center of Theological Inquiry, in Princeton, NJ, and to my fellow resident members there in 2004–2005, for offering me a setting of warm colleagueship in which to bring the project to completion; to Ms. Kate Skrebutenas and the rest of the staff at the library of the Princeton Theological Seminary, for friendly help in the midst of unparalleled library resources; to my student and assistant, Mr. Scott Moringiello, of the University of Notre Dame, for his lively interest and perceptive comments; and to my friend, colleague, and former student, Professor Christopher Beeley, of Yale Divinity School, for his enthusiasm, careful critique, and unfailing scholarly help during all the years both of us were puzzling over Gregory of Nazianzus together and for saving the book’s final version from many errors of fact and judgment. I hope the Cappadocian Saint, in a mood of unusual geniality, smiles on us all and that he is pleased with the result—despite the barbarity of our speech! vii

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This book brings together a new, original survey of the significance of Gregory's life and work with translations of eight beautiful and profound orations. Gregory of Nazianzus portrays a vivid picture of a fascinating character of vital importance who deserves to be regarded as the first true Chris
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