23 January (New Calendar: 10 January) - Commemoration Day of Saint Gregory of Nyssa
Holy bishop and wise teacher of the Church, Gregory of Nyssa, who revealed wisdom's mysteries clearly, whose vigilant mind rejoices with angels and shines in heavenly light — pray without ceasing for us all.
Kontakion, Tone 2
Cappadocia — a small plateau in central Asia Minor — bears a landscape sculpted by volcanic forces quite unlike any other. Here, in the fourth century, were born our holy fathers: Basil the Great; his brother Gregory of Nyssa; Basil’s dear friend Gregory the Theologian; and Gregory’s cousin Amphilochius of Iconium.
Throughout Church history, many families have produced saints, but few shine as brightly as the household that brought ten children into the world — of whom, in the little “church at home” of Basil the Elder and Saint Emmelia, eight would be recognised as saints. Among these stood Gregory of Nyssa, bishop and teacher, selfless defender of Orthodoxy, an outstanding philosopher and theologian, and one of the Church's greatest writers.
Saint Gregory made a lasting contribution to Christian thought. He developed the teaching on the Holy Trinity with rare depth and insight, wrote on Divine Grace, the Names of God, and the Resurrection. He authored works on ascetic life, virginity, and how love draws the soul into union with God, among many other themes. Orthodox hymn-writers drew extensively on his works. Indeed, the canons we hear today at Christmas, Theophany, and Easter services — composed by Saint John of Damascus — are based closely on passages from Gregory’s sermons for these feasts. Yet, for all his theological brilliance, little is certain about Gregory’s life. Even the exact dates of his birth and death escape us.
Cappadocia was the homeland of several great hierarchs — including Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, Gregory of Nyssa himself, Amphilochius of Iconium, and others — who carried out their spiritual labours there.
Gregory, the family's third son, received baptism in honour of Saint Gregory the Wonderworker. His father died when Gregory was still young, leaving his upbringing largely in the hands of his mother Emmelia and his older siblings: Macrina, who later became a nun, and Basil, who would become Saint Basil the Great. Unlike Basil, who studied at prestigious institutions including Athens itself, Gregory received his education closer to home. Nevertheless, through determination and hard work, he reached the same heights of learning.
For all the piety that surrounded him at home, young Gregory showed little interest in religion at first. Gifted by nature and diligent in his studies, he excelled in rhetoric and philosophy and seemed destined for a successful career as a secular speaker. But God had other plans.
One night at his mother's estate, an all-night vigil was held to honour the transfer of the relics of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste. Gregory listened half-heartedly to the hymns and prayers before slipping quietly away to rest in a garden pavilion. There he fell asleep — and dreamt vividly. In his dream, he tried to enter a beautiful garden but was stopped by radiant warriors guarding its entrance. It was only when one of them spoke up for him that he was spared a beating. This grace-filled vision shook him. Gregory turned away from worldly ambitions and secular studies. He turned to sacred books that nourished his soul. Soon afterwards, he took up duties as an anagnost — a reader entrusted with proclaiming Holy Scripture during worship.
The remarkable family of holy men and women: Basil the Elder, the father; Emmelia the Venerable, his mother; Basil the Great himself, Archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia; his brothers Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa, Peter, Bishop of Sebaste, and the righteous Naucratius; his sisters, Macrina the Venerable and the Blessed Theoseva the deaconess; the grandparents, Macrina the Elder among them, confessors of the faith.
Yet secular ambitions soon stirred within Gregory once more. Rhetoric and philosophy captured his imagination. When Julian the Apostate died and the ban on Christians teaching grammar and public speaking was lifted, Gregory took up a position teaching rhetoric. His family and friends looked on in bewilderment. "What has happened to you, wise man?" wrote Gregory the Theologian with a gentle reproach. "I cannot praise this inglorious fame of yours, this gradual slide towards worse things, this ambition which, as Euripides tells us, proves worse than demons..." He urged Gregory to see sense. Around this time, Gregory likely married. Soon, however, inspired by his ascetic family and friends, he returned to the study of the faith’s great writings. After his wife’s death, he left worldly life completely, retreating into solitude at the riverside monastery his brother Basil had founded by the River Iris.
All the while, his brother Basil was locked in a bitter fight against the Arian heresy and needed allies he could trust. As Archbishop of Caesarea, in 372 he approached his brother with a request: would Gregory accept the bishopric of the little town of Nyssa? After much persuasion, Gregory agreed. Shortly before Easter that year Basil consecrated him bishop. His time as a bishop, however, was anything but peaceful. The Arians were relentless. In 375, they falsely accused him of stealing church funds, stripped him of his position and had him arrested. Gregory managed to escape custody and found refuge in a safe place. His chance came three years later. The Arians’ protector, the Emperor Valens, was killed in battle, and Gregory could at last go back to Nyssa. His people welcomed him home with open arms.
Bishop Gregory of Nyssa (fresco)
Gregory of Nyssa may not have possessed his elder brother’s skill for leadership or practical affairs, but he did much to support Basil’s struggle with heresy — above all as a writer and theologian.
In 379, Basil the Great died unexpectedly at just forty-nine. Soon afterwards, his elder sister Macrina also departed this world. For the Bishop of Nyssa, these losses were both a heavy blow and, in a way, a call to step forward.
Saint Gregory saw himself as a spiritual son and disciple of Saint Basil, deeply committed to the great cause his Cappadocian mentor had advanced. When Basil died, Gregory felt duty-bound to serve the Orthodox Church and finish what his mentor had left undone. This crucial task involved his major arguments against Eunomius and his significant works exploring creation: On the Six Days and On the Creation of Man. Very soon, everyone recognised Gregory's writings as a fitting continuation of Basil's great enterprise.
Not long after, the Synod of Antioch — 146 bishops meeting in 379 — asked Gregory to look into problems within the Arabian churches. Troubling news had arrived: heresies and practices foreign to Christian life were taking hold there. During this journey, Bishop Gregory of Nyssa visited the Holy Sites: Bethlehem, Golgotha, the Mount of Olives and others. The congregation in Palestine greeted him warily. Their own shepherd, Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, had spent thirteen years in exile, leaving matters there in disarray. Gregory immediately set about challenging the Jewish-influenced errors of Apollinarianism.
He stood firmly against the false teachings of the Arians, Eunomians, and Apollinarians alike. The new Emperor Theodosius, originally from Spain, firmly supported Nicene Christianity. In 381 he convened the Second Ecumenical Council in Constantinople. This council expanded the Creed and confirmed Orthodox doctrine on the Holy Spirit. Gregory played an active part, speaking out in defence of the purity of faith. His address made a significant impression. Following these events, an imperial decree in 381 named Gregory one of three bishops responsible for protecting Orthodoxy. Any other bishop wishing to keep his position, the order stated, must remain in fellowship with them.
A tireless defender of Orthodox teaching, Gregory of Nyssa worked with real zeal to root his flock in faith and devotion. Sometimes, he would preach for days on end. He was also a man of great heart, always ready to speak up for those in trouble before judges. People knew Gregory for his kindness, patience, love of peace, and simple honesty.
Soon after the Second Ecumenical Council, Gregory, now guardian of Orthodoxy in Pontus, moved constantly between churches. His task was to restore order and reinforce correct belief. In 383, at a synod in Constantinople, he gave a notable speech on the Divinity of the Son and Holy Spirit. In 386, he was again in Constantinople. By then a celebrated speaker, Gregory was chosen to deliver an oration at the tomb of the much-loved Empress Placilla. In 394, he returned once more to Constantinople, attending the Council called to settle Church matters in Arabia.
Today, the city of Nyssa — where Gregory carried out his episcopal duties — stands on Turkish soil and goes by the name Nevşehir. During building work near the old fortress, workers uncovered a vast underground settlement, complete with tunnels extending at least seven kilometres.
Gregory of Nyssa lived to a ripe old age, dying peacefully, most likely around 394. Alongside his distinguished contemporaries, Saints Basil the Great and Gregory the Theologian, he exerted great influence on the Church life of his era. His sister, Saint Macrina, once wrote to him: “You are known to cities, to whole assemblies, to entire regions: the churches send for you, they call you to their side.” Gregory’s name stands out in the annals of Christian thought as one of the foremost theologians and thinkers of the fourth century. A gifted philosopher, he saw his learning not as an end in itself, but as a key to unlock the deeper truths of divine revelation. He left behind numerous theological writings, sermons and teachings treasured by the holy Church.
We can think of his writings as falling into five broad groups: doctrinal debates, biblical interpretation, practical morality, sermons, and letters.
His works of biblical interpretation, for example, cover a wide range: "On the Hexaemeron" (a supplement to Basil’s "Hexaemeron"); "On the Making of Man"; "On the Life of Moses the Lawgiver"; "On the Titles of the Psalms"; "On Psalm Six"; "Detailed Interpretation of Ecclesiastes"; "Precise Explanation of the Song of Songs"; "On the Witch of Endor"; "On Prayer"; and "On the Beatitudes."
His doctrinal debates comprise: "The Great Catechetical Oration," a theological and philosophical defence of Christian teachings on the Trinity, Redemption, Baptism and Communion against pagans, Jews and heretical groups; "Refutation of Eunomius," in twelve books (or thirteen according to some scholars) — one of the most comprehensive patristic responses to Arianism. This work directly counters Eunomius’s reply to Basil the Great’s earlier text "Against Eunomius." Other significant contributions addressing Christological controversies include "Refutation of Apollinaris" and "Against Apollinaris to Theophilus, Bishop of Alexandria." Further writings clarify Trinitarian doctrine: "To Simplicius on Faith," "To Aulalius on There Not Being Three Gods," "To the Greeks on the Basis of Common Concepts," "A Discourse Against Arius and Sabelius," "A Discourse on the Holy Spirit Against the Macedonians," and "A Discourse on the Divinity of the Son and Spirit and Praise of Righteous Abraham." Two works explore eschatological themes: "On the Soul and Resurrection" and "On Infants Taken Prematurely by Death." Finally, in defence of free will and against fatalism, he composed the treatise "Against the Doctrine of Fate."
His moral and ascetic writings include: "To Harmonios: On the Meaning and Title of Christian," "On Perfection and the Christian Life," "To Olympius the Monk," "On the Purpose of Life According to God," "On True Asceticism," and "On Virginity."
Gregory’s sermons fall into distinct groups based on their focus. There are doctrinal pieces, including one reflecting on his own ordination. Others deal with moral issues — he spoke out against usury, comforted those burdened by Church discipline, urged charity and care for the poor, warned against delaying baptism, and offered consolation to those mourning loved ones who had passed from this life into eternity. Still others praise saints and martyrs, honouring figures such as Stephen the First Martyr, Theodore Tyron the Great Martyr, George the Wonderworker, the Forty Martyrs, Ephraim the Syrian, Basil the Great, and Saint Macrina. He delivered many of these sermons on important feast days.
He also left behind twenty-six letters, most of which give us a personal, biographical glimpse into his life.
Saint Gregory of Nyssa and Gregory the Theologian. Byzantine miniature from the eleventh century. "The Sixteen Orations of Gregory the Theologian." Greece, Athos, Dionysiou Monastery.
All of Saint Gregory's works explaining Orthodox teaching on the Holy Trinity arose from his disputes with the Arians. He refuted the Arian position either directly or by building up and giving reasons for the Orthodox doctrine.
Gregory's reflections on humanity's ultimate destiny appear in his writings about the end times, marked by a bold philosophical spirit. His central idea is that salvation is ongoing; it is something we work towards through righteous deeds and the grace of the Holy Spirit. Its true completion comes only after death — when the veil of ignorance finally falls away and God conquers all injustice with an outpouring of His boundless, healing love. Evil will vanish; all will be saved; God's eternal kingdom of goodness will reign supreme. However, the Church did not accept Gregory's views on universal restoration (apokatastasis). The Fifth Ecumenical Council condemned the belief that punishments after the Last Judgement are only temporary. Even today, the Rite of the Triumph of Orthodoxy includes this eighth anathema: “To those who deny the immortality of the soul, the end of the ages, the Last Judgement, and everlasting reward for good in Heaven, but condemnation for sin — Anathema.”
Out of reverence for Gregory, the Fifth Council avoided mentioning his apokatastasis teaching directly. Instead, the Council limited its condemnation of this heresy to Origen, Evagrius, and Didymus. This same courtesy extended to other holy Fathers who had made doctrinal errors — the Councils chose not to name or condemn them either.
So it was that Saint Mark of Ephesus, at the outset of his reply to the Catholics concerning purgatory, remarked on the words of Saint Gregory: “It would be better to pass over them in silence, and spare us from having to lay them bare in our own defence.”
At the Seventh Ecumenical Council, Saint Gregory of Nyssa was honoured as "the pillar of Orthodoxy" and "the father of fathers." Apart from a few specific passages, his writings stand out for their depth and soundness of Orthodox teaching.
Works of Saint Gregory of Nyssa and publications devoted to him in Russian
Yet Gregory’s knowledge of God did not spring from abstract speculation. Rather, he sought God, whom he loved dearly, through heartfelt prayer and unending tears: "Save me, save me, O Word of God; lift me out from this bitter mud and lead me into another life, where a pure mind, no longer hidden beneath dark clouds, rejoices before You, O Most Radiant One!"
His faith was hard-won — he walked a hard road leaving us a rich inheritance:
"Let not the wicked take comfort in my sorrows and sufferings, nor let the faint-hearted feel disturbed! Who has made good better without pain? The one who suffers knows that it serves either as medicine for the defiled or else a battle and honour for those already cleansed. To another, O King, grant glory without toil; but as for me, I desire to gain You through pain and sorrow. My King Christ, why have You bound me in these nets of flesh? Why have You thrown me into life — this cold and shadowy pit — if indeed I am truly divine and belong to You, as I have heard? My limbs have grown weak within me; my knees fail to obey. Time has worn me down; illness has crushed me; anxieties and hostile friends have drained all my strength.
Alas! I am spent, my Christ, O Breath of man! What a struggle this is with the flesh, my companion! How many storms she stirs up against me! How long life seems, how endless the strife! So many battles inside and out threaten to spoil the beauty of God's image! What oak can withstand such fierce winds? What ship can survive so many waves? Work and countless responsibilities overwhelm me. It was not by choice that I took upon myself the burden of managing my parents' household."
— Saint Gregory of Nyssa, "Lament for Myself"
Saint Gregory of Nyssa, miniature from the "Menologion of Basil II." Constantinople, 985. Vatican Library, Rome
“Let us end with the witness of Scripture. There would be no end to our speech, if we wished to name and gather everything at once. All you who praise your newfound birth, proud now of renewal and salvation — show me how your morals have changed since receiving divine grace. Let me see clearly by the purity of your lives how far you have advanced towards perfection.
What our eyes see stays the same; the body looks just as it did before; and no visible difference appears in its physical make-up.
Still, we need proof that speaks to the reborn soul — signs to tell the new person from the old. To my mind, this sign is the soul's willing struggle, leaving behind its former life to embrace the new. Every true witness clearly sees this transformation, watching the past vanish without trace.
My life has turned around. I have learnt to turn away from the world and pay no mind to what it offers, looking instead for higher blessings. As Paul says: ‘For me, the world is crucified, and I to the world’ (Galatians 6:14). In this, the soul reborn in truth finds its voice; for this is how the new person speaks — one who remembers their vow before God, enlightened by mystery, bound by promise, determined neither to spare effort nor seek comfort out of love for Him.
These words mark our celebration well enough, the first of this new year. It is fitting to end our teaching by turning to Him who gave us this gift, offering humble thanks for His countless blessings.
Prayer
Lord, You truly are the endless spring of all that is good...
No longer must Adam flee in shame from Your face and Your call, nor hide in Eden from the heavy weight of conscience. The flaming sword no longer guards Paradise's gates or keeps away those drawn towards it. Everything has become joy for sin's servants. Paradise and heavenly delights lie open to mankind. Earthly beings, once cut off from heavenly creation, now enjoy warm fellowship with it. And we humans, raised to equality with angels, share together in the knowledge of God.
So let us raise a joyful song to the Lord, as it once poured from inspired lips:
"My soul shall rejoice in my God:
for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation…
as a bridegroom He has set a crown upon me
and as a bride adorned me with ornaments" (Isaiah 61:10).
No one has adorned His bride as Christ has done — He who Is, Who Was, and Who Is to Come — blessed now and for evermore. Amen.”
— From the homily for Theophany by Saint Gregory of Nyssa, "On the Most Radiant Feast"
Let us listen to these words. That painful yet saving thirst will move our hearts as well.
Church of Saint Eustathius in Nea Ionia (a district of Athens), where the honoured head of Saint Gregory of Nyssa is kept
The honourable head of Saint Gregory of Nyssa is preserved in the Church of Saint Eustathius in Nea Ionia, Athens. The relic came from Cappadocia during the population exchange between Turkey and Greece in 1923–1924. Before then, for many centuries, the saint’s relics rested in the small Turkish town of Neapolis near Nyssa (today Nevşehir).
Fragments of the relics of Saint Gregory of Nyssa are also preserved in several Greek and Athonite monasteries. These include Esphigmenou and the Great Martyr Panteleimon monasteries on Mount Athos, Saint Stephen's Monastery and the Monastery of the Transfiguration at Meteora, and the Monastery of the Apostle John the Theologian and Vronta Monastery on the island of Patmos, among others.
Altars dedicated to Saint Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa, can be found at the Cathedral of St Nicholas in Chistopol (Republic of Tatarstan) and at the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ in the Resurrection Novodevichy Monastery in Saint Petersburg.
“Cursed by sloth, I drifted away into deadly sleep. But as a watchful shepherd, lift me up, Father, and quieten my passions that torment me so bitterly. Then, awakened, I may sing purely of your radiant rest, which the Lord of the universe glorified worthily, as the most faithful servant, as a wise teacher to all, as a friend and confidant, and as a builder of His traditions, which you preserved well with undefiled anointing, Gregory all-wise."
Ikos from the Canon to Saint Gregory of Nyssa
Prepared by the team of obitel-minsk.ru
Photographs from the internet
Sources:
1. Saint Gregory of Nyssa | Church of the Holy New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia
2. Theology at Kazan Federal University | VKontakte
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7. Gregory of Nyssa | ru
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10. Archpriest Georgy Florovsky. Eastern Fathers IV–VIII Centuries (1931). L. P. Karsavin. Holy Fathers and Teachers of the Church (1926).
11. Professor Viktor Ivanovich Nesmelyov. The Dogmatic System of Saint Gregory of Nyssa | odinblago.ru
12. Nyssa Diocese | drevo-info.ru
13. Theological Views of Saint Gregory of Nyssa | Irwin Pok | VKontakte
14. The Dogmatic System of Saint Gregory of Nyssa — Viktor Ivanovich Nesmelyov | Predanie.ru — Orthodox portal
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