"Jesus Christ in the Theology of Saint Gregory of Nyssa”

Most Rev. Hierarchs, Fellow Brothers in Christ,

Honourable Rector,

Honourable Dean and distinguished Professors,

Honourable Representatives of the government and other authorities,

Dear participants in this conference,

The family of Basil and Emilia, which had its origins in Pontus and Cappadocia, was undoubtedly illustrious, brilliant and renowned. Its members came from families with a rich and glorious past. They were distinguished for their physical beauty, their charity, their virtue and their fair offsprings. They were wealthy and prominent not only for these attributes, but also for their philanthropy. Their paternal parents were from Neocaesarea in Pontus. The father’s name has not come down to us; the mother’s name was Macrina. As St. Gregory the Theologian informs us, both were persecuted for their faith. [1] [1] Though they themselves did not suffer martyrdom, they nevertheless became “trainers” of martyrs, preparing them to face the great persecution under Diocletian in the year 311 A.D. They retired to the woods of the Pontic Mountains along with members of their household staff and remained there for more than 7 year, living as those who “wander in the deserts”.

       The family was spiritually nutured by Saint Gregory Thaumatourgos, the great and wonder-workering Bishop of Neocaesarea. The Church historian Eusebius characterises him as “the most famous of our Bishops”, [2] [2] while Basil the Great numbers Gregory Thaumatourgos “among the Apostles, as a man who walked in the same spirit as theirs, following all his life in the footsteps of the saints and in all aspects of his life achieving evangelical exactitude”. [3] [3]

      In his Epistle 204 Basil the Great boasts to the Neocaesareans that “there are to you and to me the same teachers of God’ s mysteries, and spiritual Fathers, who from the beginning were the founders of your Church. I mean the great Gregory, and all who succeeding in order to the throne of your episcopate, like stars rising one after another”. [4] [4]

      Papadopoulos Kerameus informs us that in crucial moments for the Empire of Trebizond, when in 1223, the Sultan of Iconium, Aladdin Quecobat, invaded Pontus with a great army passing through Erzerum and Paipert advancing on Trebizond, its devout and brave Emperor, Andronicus I (1222-1235), invoked the intercessions of Saint Gregory of Nyssa: “And the King, being experienced in much warfare and quick-thinking, took with him 500 brave horsemen and went up to the Lavra (Bazelon) and securing the fortress, proceeded to the village of Berenea where he entered the Monastery of St. Gregory of Nyssa and with tears offered up hymns of supplication to the saint. Thereafter, descending the stream of the valley of Bazelon, he returned to the bridge”. [5] [5]

      Above the cave where the Apostle Andrew, the first-called, had entered as a haven, the inhabitants of Trebizond had constructed a Church and Monastery dedicted to Saint Gregory of Nyssa. The Church structure was built by the Emperor John II of Trebizond and his wife Eudocia Comnina-Palaeologina, whose magnificent frescoes in the narthex of the Church were preseved until the year 1863, [6] [6] when the Church was demolished and a new one built, the new Church serving as Trebizond’s Cathedral from 1865 and after. [7] [7]

      The great Ponto-Cappadocean Fathers of the Church, not only firmly established Christianity in the East, but also prepared it for forthcoming vicissitudes. When the Empire was abolished, only the Church could continue to preserve the unity of the Orthodox people, being recognised by the conqueror as an authority and official institution, precisely as the ever-memorable teacher Joseph Bryennius had foreseen from the beginning of 15^th century when he declared: “God’s Church, in the midst of such a [stormy] sea [shall be] a great vessel [and refuge] for the many and for an infinite number of those in danger of drowning in its waves…fixing firmly its anchor on a jagged rock, on the foundation stone which is Jesus Christ Himself…and the Vessel is a harbour in which devout and faithful souls find haven, fearing nothing nor trembling before the winds and waves beyond it”. [8] [8]

B.

      From all the historical facts presented by way of introduction, we ascertain the significance that the life, work, teaching and theology of the Eastern Fathers have for the Church. The Emperor Theodosius, through his Law 381, recognised Gregory as the rule and the guarantor of the Orthodox faith in Polemoniac Pontus.

      This theological conference has well chosen as its object the investigation of the personality of Saint Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa, Great Father of the Catholic Church, sublime theologian, erudite master of Hellenic paedeia, of lofty platonic philosophy, of the teachings of Origen and constant interpreter of the biblical texts.

      Saint Gregory of Nyssa: A star in the spiritual firmament that never wanes, tracing a brilliant course in the heavens; he shone, shines and will ever shine, radiating a spiritual light, a light of wisdom and knowledge, illumining and enlightening, as a heavenly light, his ages, those that followed and those that are to come, as well as the theology and direction of the Church. A clear mind and spirit, a source of endless wisdom and knowledge. Gregory resembles a majestic Ionian column, topped by a golden capital, its gracious, deep and vertical flutings, symbolizing his bright mind and his wisdom adorned with the crown of glory. Such a column with beautiful, deep flutings indicating the depth and the correctness of his theology and knowledge, underpins and supports the ceiling and the roof of the spiritual, eternal and indestructible edifice of Church. In appreciation of his work, the Third Ecumenical Council of Ephesus characterized him as “a man second to his brother, in words and manner”, and four hundred years after his blessed death the Seventh Ecumenical Council honoured him by naming “father of fathers”, [9] [9] thus solomnly recognising his struggle on behalf of Orthodoxy.

      In the personage of Gregory, an insignificant city, Nyssa, received fame and value; vindicating the actions of St. Basil the Great, who in answer those who wondered why he had placed Gregory in this city, replied: “ A Bishop is one who is not honoured by the city in which he presides, but rather one who by his presence honours the city”. [10] [10]

      The thought and theology then, of this most distinguished of Eastern Christian intellectual theologians constitutes an invaluable deposit and legacy for the Church and the devout race of Christians. Before embarking upon the fathomless sea of the deep meanings and significance of his theological thought, especially in relation to the Second Person of Holy Trinity, the Word, our Lord Jesus Christ, we will attempt to answer the question, how did Gregory attain to this lofty knowledge of God. Towards this end was merely his possession of the secular knowledge of art and wisdom sufficient? His study and command of oratory? Are these the qualities that made Gregory famous? Indeed, these attributes evoked St. Photius’ admiration for Gregory’s works. In his Myriobiblos St. Photius says that Gregory’s word “is both brilliant and delightful to the ears”. [11] [11]

      Certainly all these qualities greatly helped in the shaping of Gregory’s spiritual formation. It is our firm conviction, however, that it was Annesis, the hermitage in Pontus, that both prepared and showed forth Gregory as a unique spiritual personage. The efforts of his sister Macrina bore fruit. Gregory’s return from the world to Church life and especially his choice in favour of the ascetic life, was a decisive factor in shaping the remainder of his life’s course.

      The study of the Holy Bible in silence and prayer, and the reading of Origen’s works opened Gregory’s spiritual eyes. Study, combined with the ascetical life in the desert of Pontus, the struggle against the passions, unceasing prayer, the calmness of mind, humility in thought, the suffering martyrdom of conscience in the struggle for virtue, and the unceasing flow of tears lifted his mind to unprecedented heights, to spiritual discernment and clairvoyance. In regard to hesychia (silence) Gregory says: “the soul that is at rest (hesychazousa) and is free from external things, is more aware of its own virtues or vices”.

       It is said that Gregory’s voice sounds exceptionally modern. The ever-memorable Archbishop Athinagoras Kokkinakis of Thyateira, in his introduction to Gregory’s works, states that “his contribution is today considered the most modern theological, philosophical and psychological overview of the most difficult chapters of theology, of Christian metaphysics and the mystical searching of the inner being, of eschatology and the recognition of Holy Scripture’s authority, in a manner free and extending beyond the letter”. [12] [12]

C.

      But let us now turn to the examination of Saint Gregory’s teaching concerning the Divine Logos: “Therefore the condescension of the Son of God to our humble and weak nature, in accord with will of the Father, is called mission. For the passing over of the incorruptible nature towards our life is not a movement our Lord in space but is indicative of His descent from the height of glory to the lowliness of our flesh”. [13] [13] The purpose of the sending of God the Logos into the world was to stop man’s movement towards death and corruption. Man, as the leader of the chorus of creation’s doxology, was stricken by sin, lost his communion with the angels, stripped of the beauty of immortality, forfeited his eternal communion with the good and as an earthen vessel was dashed to the ground.

      Sin turned the man into “a dead body”. [14] [14]

      Gregory, following Athanasius the Great, his brother, Saint Basil, and Gregory Nazianzus, stresses that Jesus Christ included all of humankind in his saving incarnation. The first Adam, when he fell, dragged with him into corruption and death, the generations of mankind that were to come after him, thereby creating a great gap and precipice, that only Jesus Christ could bridge. “The entire human nature in its continuity, divided by death into soul and body, He leads to unity.” [15] [15] Christ destroyed the fear of death. [16] [16] He crushed the heads of the dragon, who opening his throat had, because of man’s disobedience, swallowed him. [17] [17] Christ gives as a deposit and legacy to his own earth, the earth of the human body fashioned by his hands, granting rest to the bodies and awakens them in the last trumpet-call. He gathers them up and transforms, through His grace, the mortal, formless and shapeless into immortality. [18] [18]

      In his Homily on Christ’s Nativity, delivered in the year 388, Gregory calls Christ’s birth the mystery of the true Feast of Τents or Tabernacles “for in His birth is the human tabernacle of Him who for us put on human nature pitched; in [our Lord’s Nativity] our tabernacles, which had succumbed to death, are once again pitched together by Him Who from the beginning built our dwelling place”. [19] [19]

      The holy father, awed at the greatness of the divine economy, urges all to praise and celebration “…to the very horns of the altar”. [20] [20] All of creation was, as it were, in a palace of the Master. But the appearance of sin silenced the voice of joy; it muffled and rent asunder the symphony of the celebrators. Division came about, since human nature, overcome by malice, ceased its celebration with heavenly nature. In a few lines and in a most poetic way he unfolds the drama of man’s fall and the glory of our Lord’s incarnation. The voices of the prophets and Apostles functioned as trumpets broadcasting the word of truth and openning man’s hearing, blocked because of sin, and “creating one harmonious celebration”.

      Indeed, how lofty and graceful is the parallelism of the Judaic Feast of Tents or Tabernacles with that of the Christians. The latter, infinitely and incomparably higher than the former, pitches tabernacles through the resurrection; it sets in order and renews the human bodies. It covers them, i.e, it adorns and clothes them.

      In one of his most significant theological works, “The Great Catechetical Homily”. He systematically deals with the incarnation of the Second Person of the Holy Trinity (19 - 32), the most disputed Christian dogma at that time. Gregory demonstrates the necessity of God’s incarnation, revealing the truth to the pagans, Jews and heretics by using arguments leveled at their understanding, so as to have the truth emerge in all surety, from their own way of thinking and from those very things that they profess to accept.

      Those seeking proofs as to God’s appearance on earth should examine the acts of Him who was incarnate. “Let he who seeks proof of God’s appearance to us in the flesh, look towards [His] actions”. [21] [21]

      God’s essence is unapproachable, impenetrable, unknown, unexplorable. Earthen man, raised through his nous and through perfect attention, to the understanding of the beings and approaching theoria, understands all the more intensively the incomprehensibility of the divine nature: something which holds true not only for him alone but “ for all of rational creation, to which knowledge of the divine nature is inaccessible”. [22] [22] Thus it “becomes dizzy and is perplexed and turns once again to familiar things”. [23] [23] It is at this point that faith enters, and the believer “ extends this faith to those things beyond reason and understanding”. [24] [24]

      Sufficient proof of God’s appearance on earth are “the miracles wrought according to his actions” and which are characteristic of the divine nature. One of God’s attributes is His preservation of creatures through His Providence; His governing of the whole of creation, and above all His superiority over death and corruption. Birth and the death are attributes of human nature. Both the human beginning and the human end are brought about through passion. In regard to Christ, neither did His birth begin with passion nor His death end in passion; since neither did carnal pleasure precede His birth nor corruption follow His death. The Holy Father especially emphasizes that the truths concerning Christ do not follow the natural course of things. If the things that were mentioned about Christ followed the course of human nature, then what of the divine element? The Christian teaching exceeds the predetermined limits of nature, for where God so wills, the order of nature is overcome. This overstepping of nature or better the suspension, in the person of Christ, of laws which govern the nature, demonstrates the truth of the declaration: “in these things is the proof that He Who is preached is God” [25] [25] and renders this faith unique and higher than all others, and the only faith fitting for the race of men.

      To all who marvel at the greatness of God’s condescension and economy and who search for the cause of it: wondering how God “uncontained, incomprehensible and ineffable, superceding all glory and every majesty, [26] [26]” deigns to unite with lowly human nature, so that the divine energies are thus humbled through such a mixture, Gregory gives the following answer: “ if philanthropy [love of man] is a characteristic attribute of the divine nature, then you have the reason you seek: the reason for God’s presence amongst men”. [27] [27]

      The benefactor is made known through his beneficence towards the suffering.

      Sickly human nature was in need of a physician. Fallen man needed someone to raise him up. He who had lost life needed some one to revive him. He who through disobedience forfeited his participation in goodness needed someone to put him once again upon the path of communion with goodness. The prisoner fervently sought his liberator. He who was bound sought someone to struggle with him. He who was under the heavy burden of slavery sought his redeemer. All these things caused God’s philanthropy to visit mankind fallen in such a wretched and miserable state. [28] [28]

      This one thing that the human mind could not fathom, was achieved by the incarnate Word in the cave of Bethlehem. The Word was united with the flesh: the greatest and most convincing proof of God’s strength, divinity and love, a revelation of His hypostasis. God possessing man does not captivate nor consume him but deifies him. [29] [29]

      The degree to which the sacred hymnology of our Church expresses the theology of the Fathers is seen in the hymns chanted during the Dominical Feasts: Thus what we have just mentioned brings to mind the second and fourth idiomela of the Lite of Christmas which render and echo the theology and thought of St. Gregory, the former by stating: “Today heaven and earth have united through Christ’s birth. Today God is present upon the earth and man has ascended to heaven”; the latter by declaring that “ Jesus, seeing man created according to [God’s] image and likeness, fallen because of his disobedience, bent the heavens and descended and dwelt in the Virgin’s womb unchanged, that in it He might refashion fallen Adam”.

      Before we take leave of Saint Gregory’s most pleasurable and sweet spiritual garden, it would be an oversight if we did not taste the fruit of his work entitled “ The Life of Moses”. This most important and masterly work, the fruit of maturity and the quintessence of his theological thought, was written towards the end of his life and constitutes a precious diamond in the crown of his works.

      He spiritually nutured generations of faithful who hungered and desired perfection in Christ and similarly guided those who freely took upon themselves the light yoke of Christ.

      Gregory, following the Apostle Paul in his struggles for virtue, states that virtue as a good is without limit or end. “ Concerning virtue, one rule [horos] of perfection have we learned from the Apostle: that virtue has no limit [horos].” [30] [30]

      Having the prophet Moses as his model and putting him forth as an example of soul’s heavenly course of soul towards perfection, Gregory systematically presents the presuppositions for a safe journey along the unending course leading to communion with the Divine nature, so greatly desired by the soul.

      In this many-faceted work, Gregory uses allegorical interpretation with a surprising originality in order to teach the faithful. The Pauline statement that “the letter killeth, but the Spirit gives life” [31] [31] possessed Gregory and showed him forth to be one of the most authentic representatives of this method. We could say much about this work, his method and all the meanings and teachings that derive therefrom. Because, however, we are speaking of Christ, we shall limit ourselves to what we consider to be a most beautiful interpretation: Gregory’s interpretation of the Tent or Tabernacle not built by human hands. Through the use of allegory Gregory reveals the wealth and meaningful depth of the mystery of the Divine economy as it unfolds and is manifest in Holy Scripture and in the Church’s course. Its purpose is to benefit spiritually the Church’s pleroma to the degree that each member is able to receive, in accordance with the Apostolic saying: “ to the perfect as honey, but to babes as milk”. [32] [32]
To the question: “Which is that Tent not made by hands, shown to Moses upon the mountain, towards which he is commanded to gaze, as an archetype for the making of a hand-wrought tent, manifesting the miracle not fashioned by hands?” [33] [33] Gregory replies basing himself upon Paul in order to seal with Apostolic authority the interpretation which he expounds. He prefers to set his thoughts at the disposition of his readers, thinking that “it is good for me to leave the precise word concerning these to those who ‘have the power through the Spirit to search the depths of God’…” [34] [34] If, then, Paul revealed up to a point the hidden mystery in them and Moses also was prepared for this, then the tent is Christ Himself, Who, uncreated by human hands as to His own nature, deigned for our salvation to accept in a sense the fashioning of a tabernacle in order that He might be united to human nature, so that this tent, Christ, is at the same time both spiritual – uncreated and material – created, as to its composition. Gregory here rejects the Arian conceptions concerning Christ and clearly speaks about the two natures in the One Lord. And in other works of his, speaking of the two natures, he says: “ Because in Christ the one nature is uncreated while the other is created; and we call uncreated the preternal and everlasting, that which created all beings, while created we call that which was, in the economy for our salvation, conformed to the body of our lowliness. Uncreated do we call the Logos which was in the beginning, through Whom all things were made, and without Whom nothing exists; created Him Who dwelt among us, and Who even though incarnate is manifested in glory”. [35] [35]

      In the hymnology of Great and Holy Saturday, the researcher will discover many of Gregory’s statements if he examines it carefully. For man’s salvation and for his restoration to communion with God, Christ pitched His very own tent or tabernacle in the midst of the human race. This great benefaction, i.e. the so- called “tent” should not scandalize the pious reader “as diminshiing the majesty of God’s nature”, [36] [36] for no other name can describe God’s majesty more worthily or accurately. Furthermore, the power that encompasses the entire creation, the protective force over all things is called tent. “For the power that contains all things and in which the fullness of divinity dwells, the common protection of all, He who contains all things within Himself, is chiefly called tent.” [37] [37]

      Gregory analyzes in great detail the tent and all that it contains, and allagorically relates them to Christ and the Church. Ending his tour within the tent and standing before the Holy of Holies, a place unapproachable for many, he refers to God’s unknowability and inconceivability. Man’s man cannot conceive God’s dimensions or essence, for that which is within the innermost sanctuary and secret part of the established tent of mystery is not to be meddled with; for it surpasses man’s conceptual powers, who believes in it without achieving rational conception of it. Clearly the mystery of God “ remains inaccessible within the innermost sanctuary of the mind”. [38] [38]

D.

      In all of the works of our Holy Father among the Saints, Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa, Jesus Christ constitutes the sweet object of his heart’s contemplation. As a true spiritual shepherd, Gregory cultivates this divine eros effortlessly and without cost in the hearts of the faithful. He did not write in order to win the praises of men. He laboured as a pastor, as a preacher, as an apologist, as an interpreter of Scripture and as a writer of epistles for the glory of Christ and the spiritual benefit of the faithful. He was very much concerned about their enlightenment and tried to provide answers to all those questions that even today cause consternation and seem unapproachable. Thus, those who delve with great attention into his works, which constitute a crystal source of theological thought, value and truth, discover answers to crucial matters concerning spiritual ascesis and the manner in which one is led unto Christ. Undoubtedly all that Gregory wrote “for the sake of noetic exercise” constitute a great contribution to theology and the Church in helping to define and establish various aspects belonging to the field of theologoumena.

      Insisting on his teaching concerning God the Logos, Gregory urges all to hasten and delight in the vision of the Risen Lord by saying: “Let us worship Him Who abides in the glory of the Father and exists in the form of God and is the Logos of God, and not the form of the servant”. [39] [39] He Who for us became like us offers the human hypostasis to the Father “so that He may, through Himself, draw up all that belong to the very same [human] race”, [40] [40] so that those who hitherto had worshipped non-existent gods, might not be deprived of the Heavenly Father’s legacy, in that through adoption they had followed the Son, Who through the flesh became the first-born of the good creation, and had been led by Him unto the living True God.

      Dearly beloved,

      It is a fact that during this Conference; we are called to ascend to difficult theological heights, and though untrained, to scale a formidable Mountain. Saint Gregory himself testifies as to this when he says: “In truth, Theology is a mountain steep and difficult to ascend and most of the people reach only its base. If, however, one be Moses, his will be a high ascent, advancing in hearing the sound of the trumpets, which we are told, become louder with the ascent. For, indeed, the kerygma concerning the divine nature is like a trumpet, provoking amazement to our hearing, great when first heard and even greater in the last as it descends into our hearing”. [41] [41] The approach to such matters requires attention, purity of soul and clarity of mind, prayer and intercession attracting the Holy Spirit; otherwise certain people will run the great risk that “while still asking to be cleansed from the events in their lives, being unwashed and soiled as to their life’s garment, put forth an irrational impression of themselves and dare to undertake the divine ascent; thus they are repelled and led astray by their own thoughts, for heretical suppositions are as sheer rocks, slaying the very inventor of evil doctrines”. [42] [42]

      St. Gregory urges the faithful to be governed in a manner befitting them so as to avoid the soul’s damage from evil. “Let, then, a philosophical manner train the life of Christians and let the soul flee far from the damage of evil”. [43] [43] This exhortation is particularly germane to contemporary man and especially to us, Gregory’s immediate spiritual inheritors. We are called not only to apply life-bearing Patristic thought and tradition to our everyday life, but also to transmit and to pass on this most ancient, but at the same time most contemporary, Patristic thought, so necessary for our world , a world tested in so many ways and now walking, as it were, upon a tight-rope, and for the benefit of all.

      We Greeks especially have the sacred obligation to offer in humility to Europe, which today hungers and thirsts spiritually, the living water that wells up to eternal life, since she thirsts and has nothing to draw with. Let us ourselves become, as it were, Christ’s beasts of burden, conveying to contemporary man, who flounders in today’s world, His hope. St. Gregory asks this of us: “ Let us obey Him who command us; let us become Christ’s beasts of burden, placing upon ourselves the yoke of love”. [44] [44]

      In closing, I should like to congratulate wholeheartedly the President of Organizing Committee of this conference, the most learned Professor Elias Moutsoulas, of the University of Athens, and pioneer in the Sacred Science of Theology, as well as the entire Organizing Committee for all its efforts to organize in the most excellent manner this present spiritual gathering. I deeply pray that God will abundantly strengthen and enlighten you; that He will crown the work of this important Conference with all success.