On God and Christ (Popular Patristics Series)
Overview
St. Gregory of Nazianzus, “The Theologian,” was recognized among the Cappadocian Fathers as a peculiarly vivid and quotable expositor of the doctrine of the Trinity. A brilliant orator and accomplished poet, he placed before the Church his interpretation of the sublime mystery of the God revealed as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. These five sermons—probably delivered as a series at the small chapel of the Resurrection in Constantinople—contain Gregory’s penetrating teaching. Frederick Williams and Lionel Wickham’s English translation captures for the present-day reader the atmosphere of intellectual excitement and spiritual exhilaration experienced by St. Gregory’s first listeners. This volume also contains a new translation of St. Gregory’s letters to Cledonius, which contain more focused reflections on the person of Jesus Christ, laying the groundwork for later Christology.
Top Highlights
“Monotheism, with its single governing principle, is what we value—not monotheism defined as the sovereignty of a single person (after all, self-discordant unity can become a plurality) but the single rule produced by equality of nature, harmony of will, identity of action, and the convergence towards their source of what springs from unity—none of which is possible in the case of created nature. The result is that though there is numerical distinction, there is no division in the substance.” (Page 70)
“No one has yet discovered or ever shall discover what God is in his nature and essence.” (Page 49)
“It is more important that we should remember God than that we should breathe: indeed, if one may say so, we should do nothing else besides.” (Pages 27–28)
“Discussion of theology is not for everyone, I tell you, not for everyone—it is no such inexpensive or effortless pursuit. Nor, I would add, is it for every occasion, or every audience; neither are all its aspects open to inquiry. It must be reserved for certain occasions, for certain audiences, and certain limits must be observed. It is not for all people, but only for those who have been tested and have found a sound footing in study, and, more importantly, have undergone, or at the very least are undergoing, purification of body and soul. For one who is not pure to lay hold of pure things is dangerous, just as it is for weak eyes to look at the sun’s brightness.” (Pages 26–27)
“We need actually ‘to be still’11 in order to know God” (Page 27)
Product Details
- Title: On God and Christ
- Author: Gregory of Nazianzus
- Translators: Frederick Williams and Lionel Wickham
- Publisher: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press
- Publication Date: 2002
- Pages: 175
About the Author
Gregory of Nazianzus (329–391), also known as Gregory the Theologian, is widely considered the most accomplished rhetorical stylist of the patristic age. The Orthodox Church reveres him as one of the Three Holy Hierarchs along with Saint Basil the Great and Saint John Chrysostom. His significant contributions to the doctrine of the Trinity are keenly felt today, and his poems and prose reveal his tremendous wisdom.
About the Translators
Frederick Williams is professor of Greek at the Queen’s University in Belfast, translated the first oration.
Lionel Wickham was formerly lecturer in the faculty of divinity at Cambridge. He translated the other four orations and the two letters to Cledonius.