Saint Gregory Nazianzen
Bishop and Doctor of the Church
- Feast Day
- January 2
- Life
- 329–390
- Doctor of the Church
- 1568
- Born
- Arianzus, near Nazianzus in Cappadocia
Gregory was born about 329 to Gregory the Elder, bishop of Nazianzus, and Saint Nonna. Educated at Caesarea, Alexandria, and finally Athens, he formed there a deep friendship with Basil the Great. He was ordained priest reluctantly by his father in 361 and consecrated bishop of the small see of Sasima in 372 by Basil during the latter's struggle against Arian division of the province.
In 379 the Nicene community of Constantinople, reduced to a small congregation called the Anastasia after years of Arian dominance, asked Gregory to become their pastor. There he delivered the Five Theological Orations on the Trinity that earned him the unique title in the Eastern Church of "the Theologian." In 381 the Council of Constantinople confirmed his election as bishop of the imperial city, and after presiding at part of the Council he resigned to avoid faction.
He returned to his estate at Arianzus and devoted his last years to writing. Some 245 letters, 17,000 lines of verse, and 45 orations survive. He died about 390. With Basil and Gregory of Nyssa he is named one of the three Cappadocian Fathers; in the East he, John Chrysostom, and Basil are honored together as the Three Holy Hierarchs.
Pope Saint Pius V proclaimed him a Doctor of the Universal Church in 1568. The Roman calendar joined his memorial with that of Basil on January 2 in the reform of 1969.
Gregory's Five Theological Orations articulated Trinitarian doctrine with a clarity that became normative for the Greek and Latin tradition. His insistence that "what has not been assumed has not been healed" (Letter 101 to Cledonius), directed against Apollinarianism, secured the Church's confession of the full humanity of Christ. The East gives him a singular title: he and the apostle John are the only figures called "Theologian" in the Byzantine liturgy.
Patronages
poets · theologians
Catholic Churches Named After Saint Gregory Nazianzen
2 parishes on Catholic Church Times share Saint Gregory Nazianzen's name. Find their Mass times, confession schedules, and adoration hours:
- Saint Gregory Nazianzen Catholic Church — Sitka, AK
- St. Gregory Nazianzen — Los Angeles, CA
Sources