ST. GREGORY NAZIANZUS (JAN 25TH)

A Western Icon of St. Gregory Nazianzus 

Edited by Bp. Joseph

St. Gregory the Theologian, born in AD 329, was a significant figure in Early Christianity. His father, also named Gregory, became the Bishop of Nazianzus, and his mother Nonna, brother Caesarius, and sister Gorgona are all recognized as Saints in all the ancient Churches. 

St. Gregory initially studied in Caesarea, then Alexandria, and finally Athens. While sailing from Alexandria to Athens, he faced a raging ocean storm, and in desperation, vowed to dedicate himself to God. The storm subsided, and in Athens, he developed a lifelong exploration of the monastic way.

After their studies, Gregory embraced ascetic life with Basil for a time. Later, he was ordained a presbyter in Nazianzus by his father, St. Gregory the Elder, and was then consecrated Bishop of Sasima by St. Basil. In AD 379, he played a crucial role in freeing Constantinople from Arianism and was elected Archbishop in AD 381. It was then that he convened the 2nd Ecumenical Council, forming the clause in the Creed regarding the Holy Spirit. 

Despite a misunderstanding with St. Basil that led to a parting of ways, St. Gregory's love for him remained, as can be seen in his eloquent funeral eulogy. He outlived St. Basil by several decades, maintaining a close friendship with Basil’s little brother, St. Gregory of Nyssa. St. Gregory served as Archbishop of Constantinople until AD 382, delivering a farewell speech before retiring to Nazianzus, where he died in AD 391. 

St. Gregory’s writings, including eloquent prose and poetry, earned him the title "The Trinitarian Theologian." His contributions to theology and eloquence surpassed all other Greek writers of antiquity, and along with St. Basil and St. Gregory of Nyssa, his teenage friends at the Academy in Athens, constitute the famous “Cappadocian Fathers.” 

THE PRAYER OF ST. GREGORY NAZIANZUS 

O transcendent, Almighty God,

What words can sing your praises?

No tongue can describe you.

No mind can probe your mystery.

Yet all speech springs from you,

And all thought stems from you.

All creation proclaims you,

All creatures revere you.

Every gust of wind breathes a prayer to you,

Every rustling tree sings a hymn to you.

All things are upheld by you.

And they move according to your harmonious design.

The whole world longs for you,

And all people desire you.

Yet you have set yourself apart,

You are far beyond our grasp.

You are the purpose of all that exists,

But you do not let us understand you.

Lord, I want to speak to you.

By what name shall I call you?

COLLECT 

O Almighty God, who hast revealed to Thy Church Thy eternal Being of glorious majesty and perfect love as one God in Trinity of Persons: Give us grace that, like Thy holy bishop Gregory of Nyssa, we may continue steadfast in the confession of this faith, and constant in our worship of Thee, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; And may we be held by St. Gregory’s intercession for us before Thy Throne in Heaven; Through Jesus Christ Our Lord, Who livest and reignest with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.

Icon of the Cappadocian Fathers, St. Basil the Great, St. Gregory Nazianzus and St. Gregory of Nyssa