> Commemoration: St. Gregory of Nazianzus
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Annually on May 9
St. Gregory of Nazianzus,
Bishop of Constantinople and
Teacher of the Faith, d. 389
St. Gregory of Nazianzus is among the "Eight Great Doctors" of the Church.
PRAYER (traditional language)
Almighty God, who hast revealed to thy Church thine eternal Being of glorious majesty and perfect love as one God in Trinity of Persons: Give us grace that, like thy bishop Gregory of Nazianzus, we may continue steadfast in the confession of this faith, and constant in our worship of thee, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who livest and reignest for ever and ever.
From Holy Women, Holy Men:
Gregory of Nazianzus, one of the Cappadocian Fathers, loved God,
the art of letters, and the human race—in that order. He was born
about 330 in Nazianzus in Cappadocia (now Turkey), the son of a
local bishop. He studied rhetoric in Athens with his friend Basil of
Caesarea, and Julian, later to be the apostate emperor.
Gregory, together with Basil, compiled an anthology of Origen’s
works, The Philokalia. Two years later, he returned to his home, a
town then rent by heresies and schism. His defense of his father’s
orthodoxy in the face of a violent mob brought peace to the town and
prominence to Gregory.
In 361, against his will, Gregory was ordained presbyter, and settled
down to live an austere, priestly life. He was not to have peace for
long. Basil, in his fight against the Arian Emperor Valens, compelled
Gregory to become Bishop of Sasima. According to Gregory, it was
“a detestable little place without water or grass or any mark of
civilization.” He felt, he said, like “a bone flung to the dogs.” His
friendship with Basil suffered a severe break.
Deaths in his family, and that of his estranged friend Basil, brought
Gregory himself to the point of death. He withdrew for healing.
In 379, Gregory moved to Constantinople, a new man and no longer
in despair. He appeared as one afire with the love of God. His fame as
a theologian rests on five sermons he delivered during this period on
the doctrine of the Trinity. They are marked by clarity, strength, and a
charming gaiety.
The next year, the new Emperor Theodosius entered Constantinople,
and expelled its Arian bishop and clergy. Then, on a rainy day, the
crowds in the Great Church of Hagia Sophia acclaimed Gregory
bishop, after a ray of sunlight suddenly shone on him.
Power and position meant nothing to Gregory. After the Ecumenical
Council of 381, he retired to Nazianzus where he died in 389. Among
the Fathers of the Church, he alone is known as “The Divine,” “The
Theologian.”
Source: https://diobeth.typepad.com/files/holy-women-holy-men.pdf
Click the link below to learn about St. Gregory of Nazianzus:
http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bio/155.html
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