Saint Gregory of Nazianzus
St Gregory the Theologian: fresco from Kariye Camii, Istanbul, Turkey
Doctor of the Church
Born	329
Died	January 25, 389 in Nazianzus
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, Eastern Catholic Churches, Anglicanism
Major shrine	Patriarchal Cathedral of St. George in the Fanar
Feast	January 2 for Roman Catholic Church; January 25 for Orthodox and Eastern Rite Catholic Churches
Saints Portal

Saint Gregory of Nazianzus (329 - January 25, 389), also known as Saint Gregory the Theologian or Gregory Nazianzen was a 4th century Christian bishop of Constantinople. He was the son of Gregory and Nonna. He is honored as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church and as a Doctor of the Church. He is also a highly-regarded saint in Eastern Orthodoxy and the Eastern Catholic Churches. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (537x1024, 78 KB) Gregory the Theologian: fresco from Kariye Camii, Istanbul I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... In Catholicism, a Doctor of the Church (Lat. ... Events End of the Han Zhao state. ... January 25 is the 25th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events All Pagan buildings in Alexandria, including the library, are destroyed Births Geiseric, king of the Vandals and Alans (approximate date) Deaths Gregory Nazianzus, theologian Categories: 389 ... The Roman Catholic Church or Catholic Church (see terminology below) is the Christian Church in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, currently Pope Benedict XVI. It traces its origins to the original Christian community founded by Jesus Christ and led by the Twelve Apostles, in particular Saint Peter. ... ... The term Eastern Rites may refer to the liturgical rites used by many ancient Christian Churches of Eastern Europe and the Middle East that, while being part of the Roman Catholic Church, are distinct from the Latin Rite or Western Church. ... The term Anglican (from medieval Latin ecclesia Anglicana meaning the English church) is used to describe the people, institutions, and churches as well as the liturgical traditions and theological concepts developed by the established Church of England, the Anglican Communion and the Continuing Anglican Churches (a loosely affiliated group of... Eastern Orthodox shrine Buddhist shrine just outside Wat Phnom. ... The Orthodox Church of Constantinople is one of the fifteen autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches. ... Fanar (formerly Phanar, Fener in Turkish) is a neighborhood in Istanbul, Turkey (formerly Constantinople). ... The calendar of saints is a traditional Christian method of organising a liturgical year on the level of days by associating each day with one or more saints, and referring to the day as that saints day. ... January 2 is the second day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Roman Catholic Church or Catholic Church (see terminology below) is the Christian Church in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, currently Pope Benedict XVI. It traces its origins to the original Christian community founded by Jesus Christ and led by the Twelve Apostles, in particular Saint Peter. ... January 25 is the 25th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Separate articles treat Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Orthodox Judaism. ... The Eastern Catholic Churches are autonomous particular Churches in full communion with the Pope of Rome. ... Image File history File links Gloriole. ... Events End of the Han Zhao state. ... January 25 is the 25th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events All Pagan buildings in Alexandria, including the library, are destroyed Births Geiseric, king of the Vandals and Alans (approximate date) Deaths Gregory Nazianzus, theologian Categories: 389 ... As a means of recording the passage of time, the 4th century was that century which lasted from 301 to 400. ... Christianity is a monotheistic[1] religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament. ... Two bishops assist at the Exhumation of Saint Hubert, who was a bishop too, at the église Saint-Pierre in Liège. ... Bishops of Byzantium (until 325) St. ... In traditional Christian iconography, Saints are usually depicted as having halos. ... As a Christian ecclesiastical term, Catholic - from the Greek adjective , meaning general or universal[1] - is described in the Oxford English Dictionary as follows: ~Church, (originally) whole body of Christians; ~, belonging to or in accord with (a) this, (b) the church before separation into Greek or Eastern and Latin or... In Catholicism, a Doctor of the Church (Lat. ... ... The term Eastern Rites may refer to the liturgical rites used by many ancient Christian Churches of Eastern Europe and the Middle East that, while being part of the Roman Catholic Church, are distinct from the Latin Rite or Western Church. ...

Education

He first studied at home with his uncle Saint Amphylokhios. Later he studied in Nazianzus (where his father Gregory was bishop), Caesarea Cappadocia, Alexandria and Athens. While at Athens, he developed a close friendship with Saint Basil of Caesarea and also made the acquaintance of Julian, the later emperor who would become known as Julian the Apostate. Upon finishing his education, he also taught rhetoric in Athens for a short time. Nazianzus (in Greek Nazianzos) is a Roman Catholic titular metropolitan see in the former Roman province of Cappadocia Tertia. ... Caesarea Mazaca (modern Kayseri) is an ancient town of Anatolia which served as the residence of the kings of Cappadocia. ... Map showing Cappadocia as a province of the Armenian Empire under Tigranes the Great Photo of a 15th Century map showing Capadocia. In ancient geography, Cappadocia (or Capadocia) (from Persian: Katpatuka meaning the land of beautiful horses, Greek: Καππαδοκία; see also List of traditional Greek place names; Turkish Kapadokya) was an... This article is about the city in Egypt. ... Nickname: City of Athena or Cradle of Democracy Location of the city of Athens (red dot) within the Prefecture of Athens and Periphery of Attica Coordinates: Country Greece Peripheries Attica Prefecture Athens Founded circa 2000 BC Mayor Nikitas Kaklamanis Area    - City 38. ... Basil (ca. ... Flavius Claudius Iulianus (331–June 26, 363), was a Roman Emperor (361–363) of the Constantinian dynasty. ...

Service

In 361, Gregory returned to Nazianzus and was ordained a presbyter (elder or priest). He spent some time in the wilderness with Basil practicing asceticism, but later returned to care for the Christian parishes in Nazianzus. Basil later made him Bishop of Sasima. In 378, the Antioch Council asked Gregory to come to Constantinople as archbishop, as the preceding archbishop had recently died. With the consent of Basil, he agreed. At the time, there were many Arians and Apollinarians in the city, both of which heresies were soon to be denounced in 381 at the second Ecumenical Council. But in 379, the night before Easter, a mob of armed heretics burst into Gregory's church during worship services, wounding Gregory and killing another bishop. Events Emperor Ai succeeds Emperor Mu as emperor of China. ... Events Mid-February: Lentienses cross frozen Rhine, invading Roman Empire. ... This article is about theological views like those of Arius. ... Apollinarism or Apollinarianism was a view proposed by Apollinaris of Laodicea that Jesus had a human body but a divine mind. ... Events First Council of Constantinople - second Ecumenical council of the Christian Church: The Nicene creed is affirmed and extended, Apollinarism is declared a heresy. ... In Christianity, an Ecumenical Council or general council is a meeting of the bishops of the whole church convened to discuss and settle matters of Church doctrine and practice. ... January 19 - Theodosius I is elevated as Roman Emperor at Sirmium. ...

Theology and other works

Andrei Rublev, Gregory of Nazianzus, 1408

In his theology, Gregory advocated the doctrine of the Trinity, including the full divinity of both Jesus and the Holy Spirit. He emphasized that Jesus did not cease to be God when he became a man, nor did he lose any of his divine attributes when he took on human nature. Furthermore, Gregory asserted that Christ was fully human, including a full human soul. He also proclaimed the eternality of the Holy Spirit, saying that the Holy Spirit's actions were somewhat hidden in the Old Testament but much clearer since the ascension of Jesus into Heaven and the descent of the Holy Spirit at the feast of Pentecost. Gregory of Nazianzus is given the title 'Gregory the Theologian' by Eastern Orthodoxy, a title he shares with John the Apostle, also known as John the Theologian. He is widely quoted by Eastern Orthodox theologians and highly regarded as a defender of the Christian faith. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1000x2951, 872 KB) Иконостас Успенского собора во Владимире. Григорий Богослов. 1408. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1000x2951, 872 KB) Иконостас Успенского собора во Владимире. Григорий Богослов. 1408. ... Andrei Rublev (Andrey Rublev, Andrey Roublyov, Russian: Андре́й Рублёв) (1360? – 1430?) is considered to be the greatest Russian iconographer. ... Within Christianity, the doctrine of the Trinity states that God is a single being who exists, simultaneously and eternally, as a perichoresis of three persons (hypostases, personae): Father, the Son (incarnate as Jesus of Nazareth), and the Holy Spirit, and thus is sometimes used by Christians as a name for... This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ... In various religions, most notably Trinitarian Christianity, the Holy Spirit (in Hebrew רוח הקודש Ruah haqodesh; also called the Holy Ghost) is the third consubstantial Person of the Holy Trinity. ... Note: Judaism commonly uses the term Tanakh. ... John the Apostle (יוחנן The LORD is merciful, Standard Hebrew Yoḥanan, Tiberian Hebrew Yôḥānān), also known as John the Revelator, was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus. ...

Apart from the several theological discourses, Gregory is also one of the most important early Christian man of letters, a very accomplished orator, perhaps one of the greatest of his time, and also a very prolific poet, having written several poems with theological and moral matter and some with biographical content, about himself and about his friends.

One of the famous patristic quotes of Gregory Nazianzen that have some bearing on the "controversial" First and Second Vatican Councils' doctrines of papal and conciliar infallibility [the first of which was responsible for the schism between the Roman Catholics and the Old Catholics and which remains perhaps the single most important ecumenical barrier to reunion between the Roman Catholic and Anglican Communions] is:

I am of a mind to shun every assemblage of Bishops...for I have never seen any good come of a Council not remedy of evil but addition thereof...there are contentions and strivings...beyond description.

Death

Following his death, Saint Gregory's body was buried at Nazianzus. His relics were transferred to Constantinople in 950, into the church of the Holy Apostles. Part of the relics were taken from Constantinople by Crusaders during the Fourth Crusade in 1204 and ended up in Rome. On 27 November 2004, those relics were returned (along with the relics of John Chrysostom) to Istanbul by Pope John Paul II (though the Vatican retained a small portion of the relics). The relics are now enshrined in the Patriarchal Cathedral of St. George in the Fanar. This article is about the medieval crusades. ... The Fourth Crusade (1201–1204), originally designed to conquer Jerusalem through an invasion of Egypt, instead, in 1204, invaded and conquered the Eastern Orthodox city of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire. ... // Events February - Byzantine emperor Alexius IV is overthrown in a revolution, and Alexius V is proclaimed emperor. ... Nickname: The Eternal City Motto: SPQR: Senatus PopulusQue Romanus Location of the city of Rome (yellow) within the Province of Rome (red) and region of Lazio (grey) Coordinates: Region Lazio Province Province of Rome Founded 21 April 753 BC  - Mayor Walter Veltroni Area    - City 1285 km²  (580 sq mi)  - Urban... November 27 is the 331st day (332nd on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... John Chrysostom (349 - 407, Greek Ιωάννης ο Χρυσόστομος ) was a Christian bishop from the 4th and 5th centuries in Syria and Constantinople. ... Istanbul (Turkish: , Greek: / Konstandinúpoli, historically known in English as Constantinople; see other names) is Turkeys most populous city, and its cultural and financial center. ... Coat of Arms of Pope John Paul II. The Letter M is for Mary, the mother of Jesus, to whom he held strong devotion Pope John Paul II (Latin: ), (Italian: Giovanni Paolo II), born   [](May 18, 1920, Wadowice, Poland – April 2, 2005, Vatican City) reigned as Pope of the Catholic... The Orthodox Church of Constantinople is one of the fifteen autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches. ... Fanar (formerly Phanar, Fener in Turkish) is a neighborhood in Istanbul, Turkey (formerly Constantinople). ...

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Gregory of Nazianzus

• St. Gregory of Nazianzus: An Intellectual Biography (2000; Nominated for the 2002 Pollock Biography Prize) ISBN 0-88141-222-8 by John McGuckin
• Louvain-la-Neuve University hosts an important website NAZIANZOS devoted to the study of Gregory Nazianzene's works in Greek and other ancient languages.