View source for Gregory of Nyssa

{{Short description|4th-century bishop of Nyssa, Asia Minor}}
{{Good article}}
{{Infobox saint
|honorific_prefix = [[Saint]]
|name=Gregory of Nyssa
|birth_date=c. 335
|death_date=c. 394
|feast_day= 10 January ([[Eastern Christianity]], [[Catholic Church]] since 2001, [[Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod]]<ref>Lutheranism 101, CPH, St. Louis, 2010, p. 277</ref>)<br />26 [[Hathor (month)|Hathor]] ([[Coptic Christianity]])<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.copticchurch.net/synaxarium/3_26.html#2|title = Hator 26 : Lives of Saints : Synaxarium - CopticChurch.net}}</ref> <br />9 March ([[Catholic Church]] before 2001 and the [[Calendar of saints (Episcopal Church)|Episcopal Church USA]])<ref name="lff2018">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W3e7DwAAQBAJ |title=Lesser Feasts and Fasts 2018 |date=2019-12-01 |publisher=Church Publishing, Inc. |isbn=978-1-64065-234-7 |language=en}}</ref><br />14 June, with [[Macrina the Younger|Macrina]] ([[Evangelical Lutheran Church in America|ELCA]])<br />19 July, with Macrina ([[Anglican Communion]])
|venerated_in=[[Eastern Orthodox Church]]<br />[[Catholic Church]]<br />[[Oriental Orthodoxy]]<br />[[Anglicanism]]<br />[[Lutheranism]]
|image=Gregory of Nyssa.jpg
|caption = [[Icon]] of Gregory<br />14th-century [[fresco]], [[Chora Church]], [[Istanbul]]
|birth_place = [[Neocaesarea]], [[Cappadocia (Roman province)|Cappadocia]], [[Roman Empire]]<br />(modern-day [[Niksar]], [[Tokat Province|Tokat]], [[Turkey]])
|death_place=[[Nyssa (Cappadocia)|Nyssa]], Cappadocia, Roman Empire<br />(modern-day [[Harmandalı, Ortaköy|Harmandalı]], [[Ortaköy, Aksaray|Ortaköy]], [[Aksaray Province|Aksaray]], [[Turkey]])
|titles=[[Cappadocian Fathers|Cappadocian Father]]
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{{Catholic philosophy}}
{{Eastern Orthodox sidebar|expanded=figures}}

'''Gregory of Nyssa''', also known as '''Gregory Nyssen''' ({{langx|grc|Γρηγόριος Νύσσης}} or Γρηγόριος Νυσσηνός; c. 335 &ndash; c. 394), was an early [[Christianity as the Roman state religion|Roman Christian]] prelate who served as [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Nyssa|Bishop of Nyssa]] from 372 to 376 and from 378 until his death in 394. He is venerated as a [[saint]] in [[Eastern Orthodoxy]], [[Catholic Church|Catholicism]], [[Oriental Orthodoxy]], [[Anglicanism]], and [[Lutheranism]]. Gregory, his elder brother [[Basil of Caesarea]], and their friend [[Gregory of Nazianzus]] are collectively known as the [[Cappadocian Fathers]].

Gregory lacked the administrative ability of his brother Basil or the contemporary influence of Gregory of Nazianzus, but he was an erudite [[Christian theology|Christian theologian]] who made significant contributions to the [[Trinity|doctrine of the Trinity]] and the [[Nicene Creed]]. Gregory's philosophical writings were influenced by [[Origen]]. Since the mid-twentieth century, there has been a significant increase in interest in Gregory's works from the academic community, particularly involving [[Christian Universalism|universal salvation]], which has resulted in challenges to many traditional interpretations of his theology.

==Background==
The [[Book of Acts]] depicts that on the [[Day of Pentecost]] there were visiting Jews who were "residents of ...[[Cappadocia]]"<ref>Book of Acts, 2:9</ref> in attendance. In the [[First Epistle of Peter]], written after AD 65, the author greets Christians who are "exiles scattered throughout…Cappadocia". There is no further reference to Cappadocia in the rest of the [[New Testament]].

[[Early Christianity]] arose in Cappadocia relatively late, with no evidence of a Christian community before the late second century AD.<ref name="vd1">Van Dam 2003, p. 1</ref> [[Alexander of Jerusalem]] was the first bishop of the province in the early to mid-third century, a period in which Christians suffered persecution from the local Roman authorities.<ref name="vd1" /><ref name="BRILL127">Mateo Seco & Maspero, p. 127</ref> The community remained very small throughout the third century: when [[Gregory Thaumaturgus]] acceded to the bishopric in c. 250, according to his namesake, the Nyssen, there were only seventeen members of the Church in Caesarea.<ref>Watt & Drijvers, p. 99</ref>

Cappadocian bishops were among those at the [[First Council of Nicaea]]. Because of the broad distribution of the population, rural bishops (χωρεπίσκοποι) were appointed to support the [[Bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia|Bishop of Caesarea]]. During the late fourth century, there were around 50 of them. In Gregory's lifetime, the Christians of Cappadocia were devout, with the veneration of the [[Forty Martyrs of Sebaste]] and [[Saint George]] being particularly significant and represented by a considerable monastic presence. There were some adherents of heretical branches of Christianity, most notably Arians, [[Encratites]] and [[Euchites|Messalians]].<ref name=BRILL127-8>Mateo Seco & Maspero, pp. 127-8</ref>

==Biography==

=== Early life and education ===
Gregory was a [[Cappadocian Greeks|Cappadocian Greek]],<ref>{{cite book|author= Prokhorov, Aleksandr Mikhaĭlovich |title= Great Soviet encyclopedia, Volume 7 |publisher= Macmillan |year= 1982 |page=412 |oclc=417318059 |quote= One of the most prominent Greek patristic figures. Gregory of Nyssa was the brother of Basil the Great and a friend of Gregory of Nazianzus, and with them, he formed the so-called Cappadocian circle of church figures and thinkers. }}</ref> born around 335, probably in or near the city of [[Neocaesarea]], [[Pontus (region)|Pontus]].<ref name=Brill-103>Maspero & Mateo Seco, p. 103</ref> His family was aristocratic and Christian—according to [[Gregory of Nazianzus]], his mother was [[Emmelia of Caesarea]], and his father, a rhetorician, has been identified either as [[Basil the Elder]] or as a Gregory.<ref name=Brill-103/><ref>Van Dam (2003), p. 77</ref> Among his eight siblings were [[Macrina the Younger|St. Macrina the Younger]], [[Naucratius|St. Naucratius]], [[Peter of Sebaste|St. Peter of Sebaste]] and [[Basil of Caesarea|St. Basil of Caesarea]]. The precise number of children in the family was historically contentious: the commentary on 30 May in the ''[[Acta Sanctorum]]'', for example, initially states that they were nine, before describing Peter as the tenth child. It has been established that this confusion occurred due to the death of one son in infancy, leading to ambiguities in Gregory's own writings.<ref>Pfister (1964), pp. 108, 113</ref> Gregory's parents had suffered persecution for their faith: he writes that they "had their goods confiscated for confessing Christ."<ref name="Lowther Clarke 1916">Lowther Clarke, W.K., ''Life of Macrina'' (London: SPCK, 1916)</ref> Gregory's paternal grandmother, [[Macrina the Elder]], is also revered as a saint<ref name=Brill-104>Maspero & Mateo Seco, p. 104</ref> and his maternal grandfather was a martyr, as Gregory put it "killed by Imperial wrath"<ref name="Lowther Clarke 1916"/> under the persecution of the Roman [[Maximinus II|Emperor Maximinus II]].<ref>Gregory Nazianzen, Oration, 43.5-6</ref> Between the 320s to the early 340s, the family rebuilt its fortunes, with Gregory's father working in the city of Neocaesarea as an advocate and rhetorician.<ref>Gregory of Nyssa: The Letters. Translated by Anna M. Silvas, p. 3.</ref>

Gregory's temperament is said to have been quiet and meek, in contrast to his brother Basil who was known to be much more outspoken.<ref>{{harvnb|González|1984|p=185}}</ref> Gregory was first educated at home, by his mother Emmelia and sister Macrina. Little is known of what further education he received. Apocryphal hagiographies depict him studying at [[Athens]], but this is speculation probably based on the life of his brother Basil.<ref name=Drijvers-120>Watt & Drijvers, p. 120</ref> It seems more likely that he continued his studies in [[Kayseri|Caesarea]], where he read [[classical literature]], [[philosophy]] and perhaps [[medicine]].<ref name=Brill-105>Maspero & Mateo Seco, p. 105</ref> Gregory himself claimed that his only teachers were Basil, "Paul, John and the rest of the Apostles and prophets".<ref>Ludlow 2000, p. 21</ref>

While his brothers Basil and Naucratius lived as [[hermit]]s from {{Circa|355}}, Gregory initially pursued a non-ecclesiastical career as a [[rhetorician]]. He did, however, act as a [[Reader (liturgy)|lector]].<ref name=Brill-105 /> He is known to have married a woman named Theosebia during this period, who is sometimes identified with [[Theosebia|Theosebia the Deaconess]], venerated as a saint by Orthodox Christianity. This is controversial, however, and other commentators suggest that Theosebia the Deaconess was one of Gregory's sisters.<ref>
Daniélou, pp.&nbsp;73–76</ref><ref name=Brill-106>Maspero & Mateo Seco, p.106</ref>

=== Episcopate ===
In 371, the [[Roman emperor|Emperor]] [[Valens]] split Cappadocia into two new provinces, Cappadocia Prima and Cappadocia Secunda.<ref>Van Dam, p. 77</ref> This resulted in complex changes in ecclesiastical boundaries, during which several new bishoprics were created. Gregory was elected bishop of the new [[Episcopal see|see]] of [[Nyssa (Cappadocia)|Nyssa]] in 372, presumably with the support of his brother Basil, who was [[metropolitan bishop|metropolitan]] of [[Caesarea Mazaca|Caesarea]].<ref name=Brill-107>Maspero & Mateo Seco, p. 107</ref> Gregory's early policies as bishop often went against those of Basil; for instance, while his brother condemned the [[Sabellianism|Sabellianist]] followers of [[Marcellus of Ancyra]] as [[heresy|heretics]], Gregory may have tried to reconcile them with the church.<ref name=Brill-107 />

Gregory faced opposition to his reign in Nyssa and, in 373, [[Amphilochius of Iconium|Amphilochius]], bishop of [[Konya|Iconium]], had to visit the city to quell discontent. In 375, Desmothenes of Pontus convened a [[synod]] at [[Ancyra]] to try Gregory on charges of [[embezzlement]] of church funds and irregular ordination of bishops. He was arrested by imperial troops in the winter of the same year but escaped to an unknown location. The synod of Nyssa, which was convened in the spring of 376, deposed him.<ref name=Brill-108>Maspero & Mateo Seco, p. 108</ref> However, Gregory regained his see in 378, perhaps due to an amnesty promulgated by the new emperor, [[Gratian]]. In the same year Basil died, and despite the relative unimportance of Nyssa, Gregory took over many of his brother's former responsibilities in Pontus.<ref name=Brill-109>Maspero & Mateo Seco, p. 109</ref>
[[File:Council of Constantinople 381-stavropoleos church.jpg|thumb|left|The First Council of Constantinople, as depicted in a [[fresco]] in the [[Stavropoleos Monastery]], [[Bucharest]], [[Romania]].]]
He was present at the [[Synods of Antioch|Synod]] of [[Antioch]] in April 379, where he unsuccessfully attempted to reconcile the followers of [[Meletius of Antioch]] with those of [[Paulinus, Bishop of Antioch|Paulinus]].<ref name=Brill-110>Maspero & Mateo Seco, p. 110</ref> After visiting the village of Annisa to see his dying sister, Macrina, he returned to Nyssa in August. In 380 he travelled to [[Sivas|Sebaste]], in the province of [[Armenia Prima]], to support a pro-Nicene candidate for the election to the bishopric. To his surprise, he himself was elected to the seat, perhaps due to the population's association of him with his brother.<ref name=Brill-111>Maspero & Mateo Seco, p. 111</ref> However, Gregory deeply disliked the relatively unhellenized society of Armenia, and he was confronted by an investigation into his orthodoxy by local opponents of the Nicene theology.<ref name=Brill-111 /> After a stay of several months, a substitute was found—possibly Gregory's brother Peter, who was bishop of Sebaste from 381—and Gregory returned home to Nyssa to write books I and II of ''Against [[Eunomius of Cyzicus|Eunomius]]''.<ref name=Brill-111 />

Gregory participated in the [[First Council of Constantinople]] (381), and perhaps gave there his famous sermon ''In suam ordinationem''. He was chosen to [[Eulogy|eulogise]] at the funeral of Meletius, which occurred during the council. The council sent Gregory on a mission to Arabia, perhaps to ameliorate the situation in [[Bostra]] where two men, Agapius and Badagius, claimed to be bishop. If this is the case, Gregory was unsuccessful, as the see was still contested in 394.<ref name=Brill-111 /><ref name=Brill-112>Maspero & Mateo Seco, p. 112</ref> He then travelled to [[Jerusalem]] where [[Cyril of Jerusalem]] faced opposition from local clergy due to the fact that he had been ordained by [[Acacius of Caesarea]], an [[Arian]] heretic. Gregory's attempted mediation of the dispute was unsuccessful, and he himself was accused of holding unorthodox [[Christology|views on the nature of Christ]].<ref name=Brill-112 /> His later reign in Nyssa was marked by conflict with his metropolitan, Helladius. Gregory was present at a 394 synod convened at Constantinople to discuss the continued problems in Bostra. While the year of his death is unknown,<ref name=Brill-114>Maspero & Mateo Seco, p. 114.</ref> it is generally accepted that he died in 394.<ref>{{Cite web |last=McCambly |first=Richard |date=19 April 2024 |title=Introduction to Gregory of Nyssa's 'Concerning Infants Who Have Died Prematurely' |url=https://www.lectio-divina.org/images/nyssa/Concerning%20Infants%20who%20have%20Died%20Prematurely.pdf |access-date=19 April 2024 |website=lectio-divina.org}}</ref>

== Theology ==
The traditional view of Gregory is that he was an orthodox [[Trinitarianism|Trinitarian theologian]],<ref name="Ramelli 2020">{{cite journal |last=Ramelli |first=Ilaria L. E. |date=August 2020 |title=Religion and Science in Gregory of Nyssa: The Unity of the Creative and Scientific Logos |url=https://archiv.ub.uni-marburg.de/ep/0004/article/view/8299/8103 |journal=[[Marburg Journal of Religion]] |publisher=[[University of Marburg]] |volume=22 |issue=2 |pages=1–16 |doi=10.17192/mjr.2020.22.8299 |issn=1612-2941 |access-date=23 May 2022}}</ref> who was influenced by the [[Neoplatonism]] of [[Plotinus]] and believed in [[Christian universalism|universal salvation]] following [[Origen]].<ref>For example, see {{cite book|last=Knight|first=George T.|title=Schaff–Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge|year=1908–14|publisher=Funk and Wagnalls|location=London and New York|pages=96–8|title-link=Schaff–Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge}}</ref> However, as a highly original and sophisticated thinker, Gregory is difficult to classify, and many aspects of his theology are contentious among both conservative [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]] theologians and Western academic scholarship.<ref name="Ramelli 2020"/><ref name=Coakley>Coakley et al., pp.&nbsp;1–14</ref> This is often due to the lack of systematic structure and the presence of terminological inconsistencies in Gregory's work.<ref name = SDOT>Davis et al., p. 14</ref>

===Conception of the Trinity===
Gregory, following Basil, defined the Trinity as "one essence <nowiki>[</nowiki>[[ousia|οὐσία]]<nowiki>]</nowiki> in three persons <nowiki>[</nowiki>[[Hypostasis (philosophy)|ὑποστάσεις]]<nowiki>]</nowiki>", the formula adopted by the Council of Constantinople in 381.<ref>Larson, p. 42</ref> Like the other Cappadocian Fathers, he was a [[homoousian]], and ''Against Eunomius'' affirms the truth of the [[consubstantiality]] of the trinity over Eunomius' Aristotelian belief that the Father's substance is unengendered, whereas the Son's is engendered.<ref name=Brill-750>Maspero & Mateo Seco, p. 750</ref> According to Gregory, the differences between the three persons of the Trinity reside in their differing hypostatic origin, and the triune nature of God is revealed through divine action (despite the unity of God in His action).<ref name=Brill-751>Maspero & Mateo Seco, p. 751</ref><ref>Jenson, pp.&nbsp;105–6</ref> The Son is therefore defined as begotten of the Father, the Holy Spirit as proceeding from the Father, and the Father by his role as progenitor. However, this doctrine would seem to [[subordinationism|subordinate]] the Son to the Father, and the Holy Spirit to the Son. [[Robert Jenson]] suggests that Gregory implies that each member of the [[Godhead (Christianity)|Godhead]] has an individual priority: the Son has [[epistemology|epistemological priority]], the Father has [[ontology|ontic priority]] and the Spirit has [[metaphysics|metaphysical priority]].<ref>Jenson, p. 167</ref> Other commentators disagree: [[Morwenna Ludlow]], for instance, argues that epistemic priority resides primarily in the Spirit in Gregory's theology.<ref name = Ludlow>Ludlow 2007, p. 43</ref>

Modern proponents of [[social trinitarianism]] often claim to have been influenced by the Cappadocians' dynamic picture of the Trinity.<ref>Ludlow 2007, p. 51</ref> However, it would be fundamentally incorrect to identify Gregory as a social Trinitarian, as his theology emphasises the unity of God's will, and he clearly believes that the [[Identity (philosophy)|identities]] of the Trinity are the three persons, not the relations between them.<ref name=SDOT /><ref name = Ludlow />

===Infinitude of God===
[[File:St. Gregory of Nyssa.jpg|thumb|11th-century [[mosaic]] of Gregory of Nyssa. [[Saint Sophia's Cathedral, Kyiv|Saint Sophia Cathedral]] in [[Kyiv]], [[Ukraine]].]]
Gregory was one of the first theologians to argue that God is [[infinity|infinite]]. His main argument for the infinity of God, found in ''Against Eunomius'', is that God's goodness is limitless, and as God's goodness is [[essence|essential]], God is also limitless.<ref name=Brill-424>Maspero & Mateo Seco, p. 424</ref>

An important consequence of Gregory's belief in the infinity of God is his belief that God, as limitless, is essentially incomprehensible to the limited minds of created beings. In ''Life of Moses'', Gregory writes: "...every concept that comes from some comprehensible image, by an approximate understanding and by guessing at the Divine nature, constitutes an idol of God and does not proclaim God."<ref>The life of Moses / Gregory of Nyssa; translation, introd. and notes by Abraham J. Malherbe and Everett Ferguson; pref. by John Meyendorff Page 81</ref> Gregory's theology was thus [[apophatic theology|apophatic]]: he proposed that God should be defined in terms of what we know He is not rather than what we might speculate Him to be.<ref name=Brill-68>Maspero & Mateo Seco, p. 68</ref>

Accordingly, the Nyssen taught that due to God's infinitude, a created being can never reach an understanding of God, and thus for man in both life and the afterlife there is a [[Theosis (Eastern Orthodox theology)|constant progression]] <nowiki>[</nowiki>ἐπέκτασις<nowiki>]</nowiki> towards the unreachable knowledge of God, as the individual continually transcends all which has been reached before.<ref name=Brill-425>Maspero & Mateo Seco, p. 425</ref> In the ''Life of Moses'', Gregory speaks of three stages of this spiritual growth: initial darkness of [[ignorance]], then spiritual [[Light (theology)|illumination]], and finally a darkness of the mind in mystic [[theoria|contemplation]] of the God who cannot be comprehended.<ref name=Brill-522>Maspero & Mateo Seco, p. 522</ref>

===Universalism===
Gregory was one of the earlier proponents of [[Christian universalism]]. Gregory argues that when Paul says that God will be "all in all" (1 Cor. 15:28), this means that though some may need to undergo a long period of purification, eventually "no being will remain outside the number of the saved"<ref>In Illud 17; 21 (Downing)</ref> and that "no being created by God will fall outside the Kingdom of God".<ref>In Illud 14 (Downing)</ref> Due to the unity of human nature in Christ "all, thanks to the union with one another, will be joined in communion with the Good, in Jesus Christ Our Lord".<ref>On the Song of Songs XV</ref> Christ's incarnation, death and resurrection results in "total salvation for human nature".<ref name="Against Apoll">{{cite web |last1=McCambly |first1=Richard |title=Against Apollinarius by Gregory of Nyssa |url=https://www.lectio-divina.org/images/nyssa/Against%20Apollinarius.pdf |website=Lectio-Divina.org |access-date=9 April 2023 |ref=Against Apoll}} p. 39</ref>

Gregory also described God's work this way: "His [God's] end is one, and one only; it is this: when the complete whole of our race shall have been perfected from the first man to the last—some having at once in this life been cleansed from evil, others having afterwards in the necessary periods been healed by the Fire, others having in their life here been unconscious equally of good and of evil—to offer to every one of us participation in the blessings which are in Him, which, the Scripture tells us, 'eye hath not seen, nor ear heard,' nor thought ever reached."<ref>{{Cite web|title = Church Fathers: On the Soul and the Resurrection (St. Gregory of Nyssa)|url = http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/2915.htm|website = www.newadvent.org|access-date = 2015-10-18}}</ref> That this is what Gregory believed and taught is affirmed by most scholars.<ref>Ilaria Ramelli: The Christian Doctrine of Apokatastasis (Brill 2013), p. 432</ref><ref>Morwenna Ludlow: Gregory of Nyssa, Ancient and Postmodern (Oxford: University Press 2007)</ref><ref>[[Hans Boersma]]: Embodiment and Virtue (Oxford 2013)</ref><ref>J.A. McGuckin: "Eschatological Horizons in the Cappadocian Fathers" in Apocalyptic Thought in Early Christianity (Grand Rapids 2009)</ref><ref>Constantine Tsirpanlis: "The Concept of Universal Salvation in Gregory of Nyssa" in Greek Patristic Theology I (New York 1979)</ref> A minority of scholars have argued that Gregory affirmed only the universal resurrection.<ref>Giulio Maspero: Trinity and Man (Brill 2007), p. 91</ref>

In the ''Life of Moses'', Gregory writes that just as the darkness left the Egyptians after three days, perhaps redemption <nowiki>[</nowiki>[[apocatastasis|ἀποκατάστασις]]<nowiki>]</nowiki> will be extended to those suffering in [[hell]] <nowiki>[</nowiki>[[gehenna|γέεννα]]<nowiki>]</nowiki>.<ref name=Brill-57>Maspero & Mateo Seco, p. 57</ref> This salvation may extend not only to humans; following [[Origen]], there are passages where he seems to suggest (albeit through the voice of Macrina) that even the [[demon]]s will have a place in Christ's "world of goodness".<ref name= Ludlow-80>Ludlow 2000, p. 80</ref> Gregory's interpretations of 1 Corinthians 15:28 ("And when all things shall be subdued unto him&nbsp;...")<ref>{{Bibleverse|1|Corinthians|15:28|KJV}}</ref> and Philippians 2:10 ("That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth")<ref>{{Bibleverse||Philippians|2:10|KJV}}</ref> support this understanding of his theology.<ref name= Ludlow-80/>

Nevertheless, in the ''Great Catechism'', Gregory suggests that while every human will be [[resurrection|resurrected]], salvation will be accorded only to the [[baptism|baptised]], although he also states that others driven by their passions can be saved after being purified by fire.<ref>Maspero & Mateo Seco, p. 56-57</ref> While he believes that there will be no more evil in the hereafter, it is arguable that this does not preclude a belief that God might justly damn sinners for eternity.<ref name=Brill-59>Maspero & Mateo Seco, p. 59</ref> Thus, the main difference between Gregory's conception of ἀποκατάστασις and that of Origen would be that Gregory believes that mankind will be collectively returned to sinlessness, whereas Origen believes that personal salvation will be universal.<ref name=Brill-59/> This interpretation of Gregory has recently been criticized, however.<ref name="Ilaria Ramelli 2013 pp. 433-4">Ilaria Ramelli: The Christian Doctrine of Apokatastasis (Brill 2013), pp. 433-4</ref><ref>{{cite journal|first1=Ilaria|last1=Ramelli|title=The Debate on Apokatastasis in Pagan and Christian Platonists: Martianus, Macrobius, Origen, Gregory of Nyssa, and Augustine|journal=Illinois Classical Studies|issue=33–34|year=2008|volume=33-34 |pages=201–234|publisher=University of Illinois Press|doi=10.5406/illiclasstud.33-34.0201 |jstor=10.5406/illiclasstud.33-34.0201|s2cid=169733447 |doi-access=free}}</ref> After all, at the end of chapter XXXV of the ''Great Catechism'' Gregory writes that those who have not been purified by water through baptism "must needs be purified by fire" so that "after long succeeding ages, their nature may be restored pure again to God".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf205.xi.ii.xxxvii.html|title=NPNF2-05. Gregory of Nyssa: Dogmatic Treatises, Etc. - Christian Classics Ethereal Library|website=www.ccel.org|access-date=9 April 2023}}</ref>

Attempting to reconcile these disparate positions, [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]] theologian Dr. Mario Baghos notes that "when taken at face value the saint seems to be contradicting himself in these passages; on the one hand he asserted the salvation of all and the complete eradication of evil, and, on the other, that the fire needed to purge evil is 'sleepless', i.e. everlasting. The only solution to this inconsistency is to view any allusion to universal salvation in St Gregory as an expression of God's intention for humanity, which is in fact attested to when his holy sister states that God has "one goal ... some straightway even in this life purified from evil, others healed hereafter through fire for the appropriate length of time." That we can choose either to accept or ignore this purification is confirmed by the saint's many exhortations that we freely undertake the virtuous path."<ref name=Baghos>{{cite journal|last=Baghos|first=Mario|title=Reconsidering Apokatastasis in St Gregory of Nyssa's On the Soul and Resurrection and the Catechetical Oration|journal=Phronema|year=2012|volume=27|issue=2|pages=125–162|url=https://www.academia.edu/13515695|access-date=17 August 2013}}</ref> Dr. [[Ilaria Ramelli]] has made the observation that for Gregory free will was compatible with universal salvation since every person would eventually accept the good having gone through purification.<ref name="Ilaria Ramelli 2013 pp. 433-4"/> Nevertheless, some interpret Gregory as conceding that Judas and similar sinners will never be completely purified when he wrote, "that which never existed is to be preferred to that which has existed in such sin. For, as to the latter, on account of the depth of the ingrained evil, the chastisement in the way of purgation will be extended into infinity".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://fatherjohn.blogspot.com/2015/04/stump-priest-is-universalism-heresy.html|title=Fr. John Whiteford: Stump the Priest: Is Universalism a Heresy?|publisher=Blogger|date=April 23, 2015|access-date=July 1, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://theorthodoxlife.wordpress.com/2015/11/23/may-we-hope-for-universal-salvation|title=May We Hope for Universal Salvation? The Orthodox Life|publisher=WordPress.com|date=November 23, 2015|access-date=July 1, 2020}}</ref> However, Ramelli renders the original Greek "εἰς ἄπειρον παρατείνεται ἡ διὰ τῆς καθάρσεως κόλασις" as "the punishment provided for the purpose of purification will tend to an indefinite duration."<ref name="Ilaria Ramelli 2013 pp. 411">Ilaria Ramelli: The Christian Doctrine of Apokatastasis (Brill 2013), p. 411</ref>

===Anthropology===
Gregory's [[Christian anthropology|anthropology]] is founded on the ontological distinction between the [[Ex nihilo|created]] and uncreated. Man is a material creation, and thus limited, but infinite in that his [[immortal soul]] has an indefinite capacity to grow closer to the divine.<ref>Maspero & Mateo Seco, p. 38</ref> Gregory believed that the soul is created simultaneous to the creation of the body (in opposition to Origen, who believed in [[preexistence]]), and that [[embryo]]s were thus persons. To Gregory, the human being is exceptional, being created in the [[image of God]].<ref>Maspero & Mateo Seco, p. 39</ref> Humanity is [[Theomorphism|theomorphic]] both in having self-awareness and [[free will]], the latter which gives each individual existential power, because to Gregory, in disregarding God one negates one's own existence.<ref>Maspero & Mateo Seco, p. 41</ref> In the ''Song of Songs'', Gregory metaphorically describes human lives as paintings created by apprentices to a master: the apprentices (the human wills) imitate their master's work (the life of Christ) with beautiful colours ([[virtues]]), and thus man strives to be a reflection of Christ.<ref name=Brill-42>Maspero & Mateo Seco, p. 42</ref> Gregory, in stark contrast to most thinkers of his age, saw great beauty in [[Fall of Man|the Fall]]: from Adam's sin from two perfect humans would eventually arise myriad.<ref name=Brill-42/>

====Slavery====
Gregory was the first voice in the ancient world known to write against all forms of slavery, declaring the institution inherently sinful.<ref>{{cite book |last1=McGuckin |first1=John Anthony |editor1-last=Witte |editor1-first=John Jr. |editor2-last=Hauk |editor2-first=Gary S. |title=Christianity and Family Law: An Introduction |date=2017 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-108-41534-7 |pages=100–115 |chapter=Theodore Balsamon |doi=10.1017/9781108233255.009 |quote=Gregory of Nyssa regarded the liberative force of law as a mark of the proper application of the evangelical spirit. He is the only church father, for instance, who completely denounces the institution of slavery as an indefensible evil.}}</ref>{{sfn|Hart|2001|pages=51–69}}<ref>{{cite book |author=Gregory of Nyssa |title=Homilies on Ecclesiastes |translator1=Hall |translator2=Moriarty |publisher=de Gruyter |location=New York |year=1993 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BReXJwwE_D8C&pg=PA74 |page=74|isbn=9783110135862 }}</ref>

{{Blockquote|text=If [man] is in the likeness of God, ... who is his buyer, tell me? Who is his seller? To God alone belongs this power; or rather, not even to God himself. [...] God would not therefore reduce the human race to slavery, since [God] himself, when we had been enslaved to sin, spontaneously recalled us to freedom. But if God does not enslave what is free, who is he that sets his own power above God's?|author=St. Gregor of Nyssa|title=Homilies on Ecclesiastes, The evils of slave-owning; Hall and Moriarty, trs., de Gruyter (New York, 1993) p. 74.}}

Gregory used Plato's definition of virtue as ‘something that admits of no master [ἀδέσποτον]’ in the service of his own theological arguments against slavery: (1) each human is an image of God and therefore free, (2) the equality of all humans reflects the equality of the divine Persons and (3) just as the divine nature cannot be divided into slavery (δουλεία) and mastery (δυναστεία, κυριότης), neither can human nature; the whole creation is a slave but of God alone.<ref>Ilaria L.E. Ramelli (2016). Social Justice and the Legitimacy of Slavery: The Role of Philosophical Asceticism from Ancient Judaism to Late Antiquity. Oxford Scholarship Online, pp 182-89. doi: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198777274.001.0001.</ref>

Although the stoic [[Seneca the Younger|Seneca]] had criticized cruel slave masters and [[Letter 47 (Seneca)|advised slave masters to treat slaves with kindness]] (or at least those of good character), the [[stoics]] never questioned the institution of slavery, which was considered an ordinary part of daily life in the ancient world; and other ancient philosophers such as [[Plato]] and [[Aristotle]] also supported slavery.<ref>{{cite journal |first=P.G. |last=Kirchschlaeger |title=Slavery and Early Christianity - A reflection from a human rights perspective |journal=Acta Theologica |volume=36  |issue=23 |date=2016 |page=66 |issn=2309-9089 |doi=10.4314/actat.v23i1s.4|doi-access=free }}</ref> Gregory of Nyssa's critique was the first and only sustained critique of the institution of slavery itself made in the ancient world.{{sfn|Hart|2001|pages=51–69}}

===Neoplatonism===
There are many similarities between Gregory's [[theology]] and [[neoplatonism|neoplatonist]] [[philosophy]], especially that of [[Plotinus]].<ref>The perennial tradition of Neoplatonism, p. 188</ref> Specifically, they share the idea that the reality of God is completely inaccessible to human beings and that man can come to see God only through a spiritual journey in which knowledge <nowiki>[</nowiki>[[gnosis|γνῶσις]]<nowiki>]</nowiki> is rejected in favour of [[meditation]].<ref>The perennial tradition of Neoplatonism, p.&nbsp;188–94</ref> Gregory does not refer to any neoplatonist philosophers in his work, and there is only one disputed passage which may directly quote Plotinus.<ref>Maspero & Mateo Seco, p. 531</ref> Considering this, it seems possible that Gregory was familiar with Plotinus and perhaps other figures in neoplatonism. However, some significant differences between neoplatonism and Gregory's thought exist, such as Gregory's statement that beauty and goodness are equivalent, which contrasts with Plotinus' view that they are two different qualities.<ref>Maspero & Mateo Seco, p. 532</ref> However Plotinus does say "''And Beauty, this Beauty which is also the Good''" implying the Platonist One which is the Good is also Beauty.<ref>Enneads sixth tractate 1 Beauty :6</ref>

[[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]] theologians are generally critical of the theory that Gregory was influenced by neoplatonism. For example, [[Hierotheos (Vlachos)|Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos]] argues in ''Life After Death'' that Gregory opposed all philosophical (as opposed to theological) endeavour as tainted with worldliness.<ref>Life after Death, ch. 8</ref> This view is supported by ''Against Eunomius'', where Gregory denounces Eunomius for placing the results of his systematic [[Aristotle|Aristotelean]] philosophy above the traditional teachings of the Church.<ref name=Brill-750 />

== Feast day ==
The [[Eastern Orthodox]] and [[Eastern Catholic Churches]] commemorate Gregory of Nyssa on 10 January. Roman Catholics following editions of the [[Roman Martyrology]] published prior to the [[Second Vatican Council]] along with the [[Calendar of saints (Episcopal Church)|Episcopal Church]]<ref name="lff2018" /> commemorate his death on 9 March. Editions of the Roman Martyrology published after the year 2000 list his feast day under 10 January.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/MartRom2004/ |title=Martyrologium Romanum |publisher=Vatican Press |year=2004 |location=Vatican City |pages=92 |language=la}}</ref> The [[Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod]] commemorates Gregory along with the other [[Cappadocian Fathers]] on 10 January.

Gregory is [[Calendar of saints (Church of England)|remembered]] (with [[Macrina the Younger|Macrina]]) in the [[Church of England]] with a [[Lesser Festival (Anglicanism)|lesser festival]] on 19 July.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Calendar|url=https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/worship-texts-and-resources/common-worship/churchs-year/calendar|access-date=2021-03-27|website=The Church of England|language=en}}</ref>

== Legacy ==
[[File:De virginitate V00110 00000008.tif|thumb|''De virginitate'']]
Gregory is revered as a saint. However, unlike the other Cappadocian fathers, he is not a [[Doctor of the Church]]. He is venerated chiefly in the East. His [[relic]]s were held by the [[Vatican City|Vatican]] until 2000 when a portion of them were transferred to the [[Greek Orthodox]] church of St. Gregory of Nyssa, [[San Diego]], [[California]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Parish History|url=http://www.stgregory.ca.goarch.org/ParishHistory.dsp|publisher=Church of St. Gregory of Nyssa, San Diego|access-date=22 January 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120604032048/http://www.stgregory.ca.goarch.org/ParishHistory.dsp|archive-date=4 June 2012}}</ref>

Professor of theology, Natalie Carnes wrote: "One reason Gregory was not taken up into the theological stream in the West is that he was little translated into Latin. [[John Scotus Eriugena]] (c. 800–c. 877) should be greatly credited for the influence Gregory did have. Not only was Eriugena himself influenced by Gregory, but he also translated ''On the Making of the Human'' into Latin."<ref>{{Cite book|title=Beauty: A Theological Engagement with Gregory of Nyssa|last=Natalie|first=Carnes|isbn=9781630876678|location=Eugene, Oregon|publisher=Wipf and Stock|oclc=903899756|year=2014}}</ref>

Gregory's work received little scholarly attention in the West until the mid-twentieth century, and he was historically treated as a minor figure in comparison to Basil the Great or Gregory of Nazianzus.<ref name=Brill-170>Maspero & Mateo Seco, p. 170</ref> As late as 1942, [[Hans Urs von Balthasar]] wrote that his work was virtually unknown.<ref>"Only a very small number of initiates have read and are aware of Gregory of Nyssa, and they have jealously guarded their secret" - Hans Urs von Balthasar, ''Presence and Thought: An Essay on the Religious Philosophy of Gregory of Nyssa'' (1942), as quoted in Maspero & Mateo Seco, p.170</ref> However, the 6th-century Latin translation of ''De opificio hominis'' by [[Dionysius Exiguus]] was very widespread in the Medieval period, and Francisco Bastitta Harriet argues that Nyssen's conceptions of indeterminate human nature and ontological freedom were among the core influences on Renaissance anthropology, particularly on the works of [[Nicholas of Cusa]] and [[Giovanni Pico della Mirandola]].<ref>Bastitta Harriet 2023</ref> "The renewed enthusiasm of 15th-century philosophers and humanists for classical antiquity also led to a revival of the study and translation of Greek patristic works. Against this background, some of Gregory of Nyssa’s works which remained unknown to the West during the medieval centuries received their first Latin translations by leading representatives of Italian and Byzantine culture."<ref>Bastitta Harriet 2023, p. 148</ref> These include the early Renaissance translations of ''De vita Moysis'' by [[George of Trebizond]] in 1446, of ''De vita Macrinae'' and ''De anima et resurrectione'' by [[Pietro Balbi]] between 1465 and 1473, and of ''De oratione dominica'' by the Byzantine scholar Athanasius Chalkeopoulos around 1465.<ref>Bastitta Harriet 2023, p. 125-148</ref>

In part due to the scholarship of Balthasar and [[Jean Daniélou]], by the 1950s Gregory had become the subject of much serious theological research, with a critical edition of his work published (''Gregorii Nysseni Opera''), and the founding of the International Colloquium on Gregory of Nyssa.<ref name=Brill-170/> This attention has continued to the present day. Modern studies have focused on Gregory's [[eschatology]] rather than his more dogmatic writings, and he has gained a reputation as an unconventional thinker whose thought arguably prefigures [[postmodernism]].<ref>Ludlow 2007, p. 232</ref> Major figures in contemporary research include [[Sarah Coakley]], [[John Zizioulas]] and Robert Jenson.<ref name=Brill-171>Maspero & Mateo Seco, p. 171</ref><ref name=Brill-172>Maspero & Mateo Seco, p. 172</ref> In 2003, theologian [[David Bentley Hart]] published a book seemingly influenced by Gregory.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Beauty: A Theological Engagement with Gregory of Nyssa|last=Natalie|first=Carnes|isbn=9781630876678|location=Eugene, Oregon|oclc=903899756|year=2014|quote=The same year Coakley's book was published, one of the contributors to that volume released his own book drawing considerably on Gregory: David Bentley Hart published The Beauty of the Infinite. Hart writes systematic theology in the tradition of Gregory, yet in conversation with contemporary thinkers. He writes Nyssen theology in the same way theologians for years have written Augustinian theology.}}</ref>

==Commentary on Gregory==
In 787 AD, the [[Second Council of Nicea]], the seventh [[First seven Ecumenical Councils|Ecumenical Council of the Church]], honored Gregory of Nyssa:
<blockquote>Let us then, consider who were the venerable doctors and indomitable champions of the Church [including] Gregory Primate of Nyssa, who all have called the father of fathers.<ref>''The Seventh General Council, the Second of Nicaea, Held A.D. 787, in which the Worship of Images was Established: With Copious Notes from the "Caroline Books", Compiled by Order of Charlemagne for Its Confutation'', Council of Nicea, Translated by Mendham, John, Published by John. W.E. Painter, 1850, page 382</ref>
</blockquote>
[[Henry Fairfield Osborn]] wrote in his work on the [[history of evolutionary thought]], [[wikiquote:From the Greeks to Darwin|''From the Greeks to Darwin'']] (1894):
<blockquote>
Among the Christian Fathers the movement towards a partly naturalistic interpretation of the order of Creation was made by Gregory of Nyssa in the fourth century, and was completed by [[Augustine of Hippo|Augustine]] in the fourth and fifth centuries. ...[Gregory] taught that Creation was potential. God imparted to matter its fundamental properties and laws. The objects and completed forms of the Universe developed gradually out of chaotic material.
<ref>Henry Fairfield Osborn, [https://books.google.com/books?id=ONYKAAAAIAAJ& ''From the Greeks to Darwin''] Macmillan and Co. (1905) p.69,71</ref>
</blockquote>

[[Anthony Meredith]] writes of Gregory's mystical and apophatic writings in his book ''Gregory of Nyssa (The Early Church Fathers)'' (1999): 
<blockquote>
Gregory has often been credited with the discovery of mystical theology, or rather with the perception that darkness is an appropriate symbol under which God can be discussed. There is much truth in this....Gregory seems to have been the first Christian writer to have made this important point.<ref>{{cite book|last=Meredith|first=Anthony|title=Gregory of Nyssa (The Early Church Fathers)|year=1999|isbn=9780415118408|page=100|publisher=Psychology Press }}</ref>
</blockquote>
[[J. Kameron Carter]] writes about Gregory's stance on slavery, in the book ''Race a Theological Account ''(2008):

<blockquote>What interests me is the defining features of Gregory's vision of the just society: his unequivocal stance against 'the peculiar institution of slavery' and his call for the manumission of all slaves. I am interested in reading Gregory as a fourth century abolitionist intellectual....His outlook surpassed not only St. Paul's more moderate (but to be fair to Paul, in his moment, revolutionary) stance on the subject but also those of all ancient intellectuals -- Pagan, Jewish and Christian - from Aristotle to Cicero and from Augustine in the Christian West to his contemporary, the golden mouthed preacher himself, John Crysotom in the East. Indeed, the world would have to wait another fifteen centuries -- until the nineteenth century, late into the modern abolitionist movement -- before such an unequivocal stance against slavery would appear again.<ref>Carter, J. Kameron, ''Race a Theological Account'', Oxford University Press, 2008, Page 231</ref></blockquote>

Catholic theologian and author [[Hans Urs von Balthasar]], describes Gregory in his book ''Presence and Thought: An Essay on the Religious Philosophy of Gregory of Nyssa (1988):''<ref>{{Cite book|title=Presence and thought : essay on the religious philosophy of Gregory of Nyssa|last=von Balthasar |first=Hans Urs|date=1995|publisher=Ignatius Press|isbn=0898705215|location=San Francisco |oclc=32457802}}</ref><blockquote>Less prolific than Origen, less cultivated than Gregory Nazianzen, less practical than Basil, Gregory of Nyssa nonetheless outstrips them all in the profundity of his thought.</blockquote>

==Bibliography==
The complete works of Gregory of Nyssa are published in the original Greek with Latin commentary as ''Gregorii Nysseni Opera'':
*Vol. 1 - {{cite book|title=Contra Eunomium libri I et II|year=2002|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-03007-7|editor=Werner Jaeger|editor-link=Werner Jaeger}}
*Vol. 2 - {{cite book|title=Contra Eunomium liber III|year=2002|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-03934-6|editor=Werner Jaeger}}
*Vol. 3/1 - {{cite book|title=Opera dogmatica minora, pars I|year=1958|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-04788-4|editor=Friedrich Müller}}
*Vol. 3/2 - {{cite book|title=Opera dogmatica minora, pars II|year=1987|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-07003-5|editor1=K. Kenneth Downing |editor2=Jacobus A. McDonough |editor3=S.J. Hadwiga Hörner}}
*Vol. 3/3 - ''Opera dogmatica minora, pars III'' - De Anima Et Resurrectione, 2014 Publisher=Brill {{ISBN|978-90-04-12242-0}} Editor: Andreas Spira
*Vol. 3/4 - {{cite book|title=Opera dogmatica minora, pars IV|year=1996|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-10348-1|editor=Ekkehard Mühlenberg}}
*Vol. 3/5 - {{cite book|title=Opera dogmatica minora, pars V|year=2008|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-13314-3|editor=Ekkehard Mühlenberg}}
*Vol. 4/1 - {{cite book|title=Opera exegetica In Genesim, pars I|year=2009|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-13315-0|editor=Hubertus R. Drobner}}
*Vol. 4/2 - ''Opera exegetica In Genesim, pars II'' - currently unavailable.
*Vol. 5 - {{cite book|title=In Inscriptiones Psalmorum: In Sextum Psalmum: In Ecclesiasten Homiliae|year=1986|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-08186-4|editor1=J. McDonough |editor2=P. Alexander}}
*Vol. 6 - {{cite book|title=In Canticum Canticorum|year=1986|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-08187-1|editor=H. Langerbeck}}
*Vol. 7/1 - {{cite book|title=Opera exegetica In Exodum et Novum Testamentum, pars 1|year=2009|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-00747-5|editor=John F. Callahan}}
*Vol. 7/2 - {{cite book|title=Opera exegetica In Exodum et Novum Testamentum, pars 2|year=1992|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-09598-4|editor=John F. Callahan}}
*Vol. 8/1 - {{cite book|title=Opera ascetica et Epistulae, pars 1|year=1986|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-08188-8|editor1=Werner Jaeger |editor2=J.P. Cavarnos |editor3=V.W. Callahan}}
*Vol. 8/2 - {{cite book|title=Opera ascetica et Epistulae, pars 2|year=2002|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-11182-0|editor=Giorgio Pasquali}}
*Vol. 9 - {{cite book|title=Sermones, pars 1|year=1992|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-00750-5|editor1=G. Heil |editor2=A. van Heck |editor3=E. Gebhardt |editor4=A. Spira}}
*Vol. 10/1 - {{cite book|title=Sermones, pars 2|year=1990|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-08123-9|editor1=G. Heil |editor2=J. P. Cavarnos |editor3=O. Lendle}}
*Vol. 10/2 - {{cite book|title=Sermones, pars 3|year=1996|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-10442-6|editor1=Ernestus Rhein |editor2=Friedhelm Mann |editor3=Dörte Teske |editor4=Hilda Polack}}

The following are editions of English translations of Gregory's writings:
* Gregory of Nyssa, ''Homilies on Ecclesiastes: An English Version with Supporting Studies. Proceedings of the Seventh International Colloquium on Gregory of Nyssa'' (St Andrews, 5–10 September 1990). [https://www.degruyter.com/view/title/12722 Link.]
* Gregory of Nyssa, ''Life of Macrina'', limovia.net, London, 2012. {{ISBN|978-1-78336-017-8}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== Sources ==
* {{cite book|last=Azkoul|first=Michael|title=St. Gregory of Nyssa and the Tradition of the Fathers|year=1995|publisher=E. Mellen Press|location=Lewiston, NY|isbn=0-7734-8993-2}}
* {{cite book|last=Bastitta Harriet|first=Francisco|title=An Ontological Freedom: The Origins of the Notion in Gregory of Nyssa and its Influence unto the Italian Renaissance|year=2023|publisher=Brill-Schöningh|location=Paderborn|url=https://www.academia.edu/89881224|isbn=978-3-506-79506-9}}
* {{cite book|last=Ene D-Vasilescu|first=Elena|editor-last=Ene D-Vasilescu|editor-first=Elena|title=''Glimpses into Byzantium. Byzantine and Modern''|publisher= Indep. |location=Oxford|isbn=978-1-80049-880-8|date=2021|chapter=Chapter 6: “Gregory of Nyssa’s fourth century water organ (a reconstruction) and the elements of Creation in his texts: water, air, fire, and earth”|pages=127–140}}
* {{cite book|last=Ene D-Vasilescu|first=Elena|editor-last=Ene D-Vasilescu|editor-first=Elena|title=''Glimpses into Byzantium. Byzantine and Modern''|publisher= Indep. |location=Oxford|isbn=978-1-80049-880-8|date=2021|chapter=Chapter 7: “The ''epektasis'' [ἐπέκτασις] and the exploits of the soul (ἡ ψυχή) in Gregory of Nyssa’s ''De anima et resurrectione/On the Soul and the Resurrection''”|pages=140–158}}
* {{cite book|last=Ene D-Vasilescu|first=Elena |editor-last=Esler|editor-first=Philip F.|title=The Early Christian World |publisher=Routledge - Taylor & Francis Group|date=2017|chapter=Chapter 55: Gregory of Nyssa|pages=1072–1987}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Hart |first1=David Bentley |author-link=David Bentley Hart |title=The 'Whole Humanity': Gregory of Nyssa's Critique of Slavery in Light of His Eschatology |journal=Scottish Journal of Theology |date=February 2001 |volume=54 |issue=1 |pages=51–69 |doi=10.1017/S0036930600051188}}
* {{cite book|last=Meredith|first=Anthony|title=The Cappadocians|year=1995|publisher=St. Vladimir's Seminary Press|location=Crestwood, NY|isbn=0-88141-112-4}}
* {{cite book|editor-last1=Mateo-Seco|editor-first1=Lucas Francisco|editor-last2=Maspero|editor-first2=Giulio|title=The Brill Dictionary of Gregory of Nyssa|publisher=Brill|location=Leiden|date=2010}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book|title=The perennial tradition of Neoplatonism|year=1997|publisher=Leuven University Press|isbn=978-90-6186-847-7|editor=John J. Cleary}}
* {{cite book|title=Re-thinking Gregory of Nyssa|year=2003|publisher=Wiley-Blackwell|isbn=978-1-4051-0637-5|author=Sarah Coakley|display-authors=etal}}
* {{cite journal|author=Jean Daniélou|title=Le mariage de Grégoire de Nysse et la chronologie de sa vie|journal= Revue d'Études Augustiniennes et Patristiques|year=1956|volume=2|issue=1–2|pages=71–78|doi=10.1484/J.REA.5.103908|doi-access=free}}
* {{cite book|title=The Trinity: an interdisciplinary symposium on the Trinity|year=2002|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-924612-0|editor1=Stephen T. Davis |editor2=Daniel Kendall |editor3=Gerald O'Collins}}
* {{citation|last=González|first=Justo|author-link=Justo Gonzalez|title=The Story of Christianity|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mN5UPgAACAAJ|access-date=20 January 2013|year=1984|publisher=Prince Press|location=Peabody|isbn=978-1-56563-522-7}}
* {{cite book|author=Robert Jenson|title=The Triune Identity: God According to the Gospel|year=2002|publisher=Wipf & Stock|isbn=978-1-57910-962-2}}
* {{cite book|author=Duane H. Larson|title=Times of the trinity: a proposal for theistic cosmology|year=1995|publisher=P. Lang|isbn=978-0-8204-2706-5}}
* {{cite book|author=Morwenna Ludlow|title=Universal salvation: eschatology in the thought of Gregory of Nyssa and Karl Rahner|year=2000|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-827022-5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D_U1887kuFgC&q=gregory+of+nyssa+universal+salvation|author-link=Morwenna Ludlow}}
* {{cite book|author=Morwenna Ludlow|title=Gregory of Nyssa : ancient and (post)modern|year=2007|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-928076-6|author-link=Morwenna Ludlow}}
* {{cite book|title=The Brill dictionary of Gregory of Nyssa|year=2009|publisher=BRILL|location=Leiden|isbn=978-90-04-16965-4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lD3zg6t4y7MC&q=gregory+of+nyssa+biography&pg=PA103|editor1=Giulio Maspero |editor2=Lucas F. Mateo Seco}}
* Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos, [http://www.pelagia.org/htm/b24.en.life_after_death.01.htm Life after Death] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111229090752/http://www.pelagia.org/htm/b24.en.life_after_death.01.htm |date=2011-12-29 }}. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
* {{cite journal|last=Pfister|first=J. Emile|title=A Biographical Note: The Brothers and Sisters of St. Gregory of Nyssa|journal=Vigiliae Christianae|date=June 1964|volume=18|issue=2|pages=108–113|doi=10.2307/1582774|jstor=1582774}}
* {{cite book|author=Raymond Van Dam|title=Kingdom of snow: Roman rule and Greek culture in Cappadocia|year=2002|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|isbn=978-0-8122-3681-1}}
* {{cite book|author=Raymond Van Dam|title=Becoming Christian: the conversion of Roman Cappadocia|year=2003|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|isbn=978-0-8122-3738-2}}
* {{cite book|title=Portraits of spiritual authority: religious power in early Christianity, Byzantium, and the Christian Orient|year=1999|publisher=BRILL|location=Leiden|isbn=978-90-04-11459-3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F9n0s4m_vucC&q=gregory+of+nyssa+athens&pg=PA120|author1=John W. Watt |author2=Jan Willem Drijvers}}

==External links==
* Ancient Greek OCR of Gregory of Nyssa's writings in ''PG'' at the [http://heml.mta.ca/lace Lace] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180824201043/http://heml.mta.ca/lace |date=2018-08-24 }} repository of [[Mount Allison University]]: [http://heml.mta.ca/lace/runs/patrologiaecursu45mignuoft vol. 45] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180910075340/http://heml.mta.ca/lace/runs/patrologiaecursu45mignuoft |date=2018-09-10 }}, [http://heml.mta.ca/lace/runs/patrologiaecursu46mignuoft vol. 46] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180824192013/http://heml.mta.ca/lace/runs/patrologiaecursu46mignuoft |date=2018-08-24 }}
* [https://www.lectio-divina.org/index.php/reflections/reflections-on-the-writings-of-gregory-of-nyssa Gregory of Nyssa works] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220521024819/https://www.lectio-divina.org/index.php/reflections/reflections-on-the-writings-of-gregory-of-nyssa |date=2022-05-21 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080513192134/http://www.sage.edu/faculty/salomd/nyssa/index.html Gregory of Nyssa Home Page], including many English translations of his writings.
* [http://www.lectio-divina.org/index.php/reflections/reflections-on-the-writings-of-gregory-of-nyssa Gregory of Nissa] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211225033435/http://www.lectio-divina.org/index.php/reflections/reflections-on-the-writings-of-gregory-of-nyssa |date=2021-12-25 }} English translación of writings.
* {{Cite EB1911 |wstitle= Gregory, St, of Nyssa |volume = 12 |last= |first= |author-link= |page=564 |short=1}}
* {{CathEncy|wstitle=St. Gregory of Nyssa}}
* [http://www.iep.utm.edu/g/gregoryn.htm Gregory of Nyssa] entry from ''[[The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy]]''
* [http://www.documentacatholicaomnia.eu/20_30_0330-0395-_Gregorius_Nyssenus,_Sanctus.html Opera Omnia] by [[Migne]], ''[[Patrologia Graeca]]'' with analytical indexes.
* [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf205.html Schaff's ''Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers'' (online), including the works of St. Gregory]
* [http://www.wdl.org/en/item/4168 "Commentary on Song of Songs; Letter on the Soul; Letter on Ascesis and the Monastic Life'], a manuscript from the 14th-century of Gregory of Nyssa's work, translated into Arabic
* {{Librivox author |id=11312}}

{{Cappadocian fathers}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gregory Of Nyssa}}
[[Category:330s births]]
[[Category:395 deaths]]
[[Category:4th-century bishops in Roman Anatolia]]
[[Category:4th-century Christian mystics]]
[[Category:4th-century Christian saints]]
[[Category:4th-century Christian theologians]]
[[Category:4th-century Greek philosophers]]
[[Category:Byzantine saints]]
[[Category:Christian clerical marriage]]
[[Category:Church Fathers]]
[[Category:Doctors of the Church]]
[[Category:Catholic philosophers]]
[[Category:Christian universalist theologians]]
[[Category:Saints from Roman Anatolia]]
[[Category:Cappadocian Greeks]]
[[Category:People from Niksar]]
[[Category:Anglican saints]]
[[Category:Participants in the First Council of Constantinople]]
[[Category:Christian abolitionists]]
[[Category:Eastern Orthodox saints]]