Житие святого отца нашего Григория, епископа Нисского

Saint Gregory of Nyssa was the brother in the flesh of Saint Basil the Great, whom he was much younger. This is already evident from the fact that Saint Gregory of Nyssa calls Basil the Great his teacher and father. As for the year of birth of Saint Gregory, it is unknown. His childhood education was carried out by the same pious grandmother Macrina, who also taught Saint Basil, 386 and he received initial instructions in grammar and rhetoric from his father. From the age of 12, when his father died, he listened to further lessons from the Caesarea teachers of eloquence. The knowledge acquired by Gregory in the pagan school of Caesarea was then supplemented by independent scientific studies and lessons from St. Basil the Great, to whom Gregory, according to him, owed a lot. With his natural talents and diligence in the study of sciences, Saint Gregory successfully studied rhetoric 387 and philosophy 388 and prepared himself for the title of secular orator. But God judged differently, and a change soon occurred in the very soul of Gregory, who at that time was more inclined towards secular pursuits and the study of secular sciences. One day, on his mother’s estate, it was planned to hold a celebration in honor of the transfer of the relics of forty martyrs. Gregory, who was then studying in Caesarea, was also invited to this family celebration. Dissatisfied that he was cut off from his studies and that the celebration was not postponed until another, more favorable time, Gregory indifferently, without attention, listened to the chants of the divine service that took place in the garden and lasted all night, and finally, retiring to one of his gazebos, went to bed. And in a dream he sees that he wants to enter the garden, but some luminous warriors do not let him through, and only thanks to the intercession of one of them he manages to avoid punishment. This frightening dream made a strong impression on Gregory, and he, leaving worldly studies and sciences, turned to reading sacred and soul-saving books, and then soon took on the duties of an anagnost, which consisted of reading the Holy Scriptures at liturgical meetings. However, such a mood at first briefly took root in Gregory’s soul. After the death of Julian the Apostate 389, who forbade Christians to be teachers of rhetoric and grammar, Gregory again turned to his favorite pastime, choosing for himself the calling of a teacher of rhetoric, which caused discontent on the part of his friends and strict denunciations from St. Gregory the Theologian 390. However, Gregory did not long strive for fame as a rhetorician. Soon, under the influence of members of his ascetic family and friends, he turned with all his soul to the study of the monuments of faith, left the world and retired to the desert, settling in a monastery founded by Basil the Great on the banks of the Iris River. Soon after, Saint Basil, wishing to have a faithful assistant in Gregory to fight the Arian heresy, appointed him bishop of the city of Nyssa 391. Saint Gregory acted as a true shepherd of Christ, valiantly ruling the Church and protecting its world from the machinations of its enemies. His pious sister Theozva was a deaconess with him and helped her brother a lot in church affairs, so that subsequently her death was a great loss for him. During the reign of Valens 392, Saint Gregory of Nyssa was subjected to unjust persecution by the Arian rulers 393. The governor of Pontus 394 Demosthenes convened a council in Ancyra 395 of the bishops submissive to the government, at which Gregory was falsely accused of misusing church property and was deprived of his see. By order of Demosthenes, the saint was captured and sent under guard to Ancyra, and on the way he suffered a lot from the rudeness of the soldiers. Then he decided to run away and, eluding the guards, disappeared to a safe place. The following year, a new council was convened of the bishops of Pontus and Galatia in Nissa itself; Saint Gregory did not appear at the trial and was again deposed in absentia. But, having lost his pulpit, Gregory did not remain inactive: he moved from one place to another to affirm Orthodoxy and console the Orthodox. After the death of Valens, Saint Gregory was returned to his see and was greeted with delight by his flock. Soon after, he was saddened by the death of Saint Basil the Great, 396 whom he deeply loved and respected as his mentor. On his one-year anniversary, he honored him with a funeral oration and, out of grateful respect for him as his mentor, completed his description of the six days of creation, where a description of man was missing and where others wanted to see some still puzzling questions resolved. In the same year, Saint Gregory of Nyssa took part in the Council of Antioch 397. At this council, it was decided to send a man experienced in the matter of faith to inspect the churches in Arabia and Palestine, where the heresy of the Anticomarians, who did not honor the immaculate virginity of the Mother of God, and the Collyridians, who honored the Mother of God as a deity, insulted the faith. Saint Gregory was chosen to establish peace and faith. Before setting out on this journey, he visited his elder sister, Blessed Macrina 398 . After her burial, he successfully completed in Arabia the assignment given to him at the Council of Antioch; but in Jerusalem, where he visited the sacred places with reverent joy, he could not accomplish everything that was entrusted to him, and he wrote with sorrow that sins and errors there also find strong protection in the hearts of people. Meanwhile, in the absence of Saint Gregory, Arianism was again introduced into his diocese, which he barely managed to overcome upon his return home. At the same time, he took part in the election of bishops for Ivora and Sebastia 399 at the request of the inhabitants, who feared that the successors of the deceased bishops would be heretics. When, during the reign of Theodosius the Great 400, the second Ecumenical Council was convened in Constantinople against the Doukhobor Macedonius 401, then Saint Gregory of Nyssa was there, along with other holy fathers, a champion of piety, objecting and shaming opponents with the power of truth on the basis of Divine Scripture. At this council, through the efforts of Saint Gregory, the Nicene Creed was supplemented with a member about the Holy Spirit, and the ninth, tenth, eleventh and twelfth members were added to the symbol. In general, Gregory of Nyssa was one of the main figures of the cathedral. Together with other bishops, he also participated in the confirmation of Saint Gregory the Theologian and read to him and Blessed Jerome his essay against Eunomius 402. When a fierce struggle arose against Saint Gregory the Theologian on the part of a certain part of the clergy, infected with heretical false teachings or disposed towards heretics, as a result of which he had to leave the See of Constantinople, Saint Gregory of Nyssa, along with many others, tried in every possible way to destroy this enmity, but, not being able to do this, gave advice on faith and a new vocation to the successor of Gregory the Theologian Nektarios 403, chosen from among the catechumens. During his stay in Constantinople, Saint Gregory of Nyssa delivered two sermons - one on the occasion of the election of Saint Gregory the Theologian as bishop of the capital, the other - a funeral sermon, at the burial of Meletius. Soon after the Second Ecumenical Council, Gregory had to move from one church to another to put church disorder in order and establish Orthodoxy, since at the Second Ecumenical Council he was declared, among the three archpastors, the guardian of Orthodoxy for Pontus. In 383, Saint Gregory of Nyssa was at a council in Constantinople, where he pronounced a word about the Divinity of the Son and the Holy Spirit. In 386, he was again in Constantinople and here, as a famous orator, he was instructed to pronounce a word over the tomb of the beloved Empress Plaquilla 404. In 394, he was again present in Constantinople at a council convened to resolve issues regarding ecclesiastical affairs in Arabia 405. Saint Gregory, as a faithful and true shepherd, zealously affirmed his flock in faith and piety; It happened that he spoke to her for several days in a row. At the same time, he was an intercessor and defender of the unfortunate before the judges, and was distinguished by his compassion for the poor, patience, peacefulness and straightforwardness. Having reached a very old age, Saint Gregory fell asleep in the Lord 406, leaving behind him many useful and precious writings for the Holy Church 407. To the Church, the Divine Hierarch and honest occultist of wisdom, the vigorous minded Gregory of Nyssia, rejoicing with the Angels and enjoying the Divine light, prays unceasingly for all of us. With the eye of your soul, O holy saint, you appeared to be a cheerful shepherd, and with the rod of your wisdom, and with your warm intercession, you drove away all the evil ones like wolves, preserving the flock harmlessly, Gregory is all-wise. See about this, as well as about the parents of Saint Gregory of Nyssa, in the life of St. Basil the Great on January 1 Rhetoric is a science that contains the rules of eloquence. Philosophy (translated from Greek as philosophy) - the science of wisdom - deals, on the basis of the research of the human mind, with the highest, abstract questions of existence: about the essence of being, about God, about the beginning and laws of the world and man, about the purpose of man and the ultimate goals of the existence of the world, etc. Julian the Apostate was a Roman emperor who reigned from 361 to 363. Without openly persecuting Christians, he, however, sought to destroy Christianity and restore paganism, for which he took all sorts of measures. Saint Gregory the Theologian (Nazianzen) is the great universal teacher, friend and associate of St. Basil the Great. His memory is celebrated on January 25 This was at the beginning of 372. Nissa is a city in the northwestern part of Cappadocia (the vast eastern region of Asia Minor). Valens - Emperor of the Eastern half of the Roman Empire, reigned from 364 to 378. The Arian heresy received its name from the Alexandrian presbyter Arius, who taught that the Son of God is not born eternally from God the Father, but was created by Him from non-existence in time, not consubstantial and not equal to Him. This heresy tended towards the overthrow of all Christianity. Pontus is the northeastern region of Asia Minor, on the shores of the Black Sea, from which it received its name (Pontus, translated from Greek, means the sea itself, and the Black Sea in ancient times was called Pontus Euxine). Ancyra is a very ancient flourishing city of Galatia (a small province of Asia Minor, lying between Phrygia, Bithynia, Pontus and Cappadocia, in the middle part of Asia Minor) - now Angora, to this day remains one of the most important trading cities of Asia Minor. The Council of Ancyra against Saint Gregory and his deposition followed in 375. The Council of Antioch took place in 379. The fruit of the saint’s conversation with his dying righteous sister was subsequently Gregory’s essay on the “soul” and “resurrection.” Ivora and Sebaste are the cities of Cappadocia. Theodosius the Great - Roman emperor - reigned from 379 to 395; was a zealous patron of Christianity and a champion of Orthodoxy against heretics. The Second Ecumenical Council of Constantinople was held in 381. Eunomius is a heresiarch of the second half of the 4th century, an extreme representative of Arianism. St. Nektarios ruled the Patriarchal See of Constantinople from 428 to 431. His memory is celebrated on Cheese Saturday. Plaquilla is the wife of Emperor Theodosius the Great, known as a pious Christian, distinguished by her Christian charity. Her memory in the Greek Church is celebrated on September 14. The local Council of Constantinople in 394, under Patriarch Nektarios, was convened to resolve the dispute between two bishops (Agapius and Bagadius), who laid claims to the same see (in Botsra of Arabia). Saint Gregory of Nyssa died at the end of the 4th century, shortly after the Council of Constantinople in 394. Saint Gregory of Nyssa left behind many works in which he appears either as a spiritual leader, or as a dogmatist denouncer of heresies, or as an interpreter of the Holy Spirit. Scripture, then, as a teacher of morality. His oratorical talent is visible in his funeral words to Meletius of Antioch, Basil the Great, St. Makrine, much. Theodore Tiron, for baptism, for Easter (5 words), for the Ascension of Christ, for Pentecost, for the Presentation of the Lord. Of the dogmatic works of St. Gregory, the best are: 12 words against Eunomius and the Catechism, which constitutes instructions on how to act in converting pagans and Jews and how to refute heretics. In his work against Eunomius, refuting his teaching, Gregory proves the Divinity of the Son of God, and partly explains the entire Christian teaching about the Holy Trinity. Saint Gregory defended this teaching about the Holy Trinity and especially about the Divinity of the Holy Spirit from contemporary errors with many other works, such as: in the word on the Holy Spirit against the Macedonians, in the word on the Divinity of the Son and Spirit, to Simplicius on faith, to Aulalia on the fact that there are not three Gods, to the Greeks, in the word against Arius and Sabellius. Then, among the dogmatic works of St. Gregory is the Six Days, where he resolves high questions about the world left by St. Basil the Great in his “Six Days” without an answer, “against the Manichaeans,” “on the creation of man,” a study “on children who died unbaptized,” and an essay “on the soul and resurrection.” In explanation of Holy Scripture, Saint Gregory wrote several essays in the form of reflections: 8 conversations on 3 chapters of Ecclesiastes, 15 conversations on the Song of Songs, 2 reflections on the inscriptions of psalms and a conversation on the sixth psalm, 5 conversations on the Lord's Prayer, 8 conversations on the eight beatitudes. Moral and ascetic writings include: three studies on Christian perfection, on the purpose of life according to God, on true asceticism, on virginity, on love for the poor, etc. In addition, up to 28 letters remain from St. Gregory. You might be interested in: