Saint Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa, was a younger brother of St. Basil the Great. His birth and upbringing came at a time when the Arian disputes were at their height. Having received an excellent education, he was at one time a teacher of rhetoric. In the year 372, he was consecrated by Saint Basil the Great as bishop of the city of Nyssa in Cappadocia. Saint Gregory was an ardent advocate for Orthodoxy, and he fought against the Arian heresy with his brother Saint Basil. Gregory was persecuted by the Arians, by whom he was falsely accused of improper use of church property, and thereby deprived of his See and sent to Ancyra. In the following year Saint Gregory was again deposed in absentia by a council of Arian bishops, but he continued to encourage his flock in Orthodoxy, wandering about from place to place. After the death of the emperor Valens (378), Saint Gregory was restored to his cathedra and was joyously received by his flock. His brother Saint Basil the Great died in 379.
Only with difficulty did Saint Gregory survive the loss of his brother and guide. He delivered a funeral oration for him, and completed Saint Basil’s study of the six days of Creation, the Hexaemeron. That same year Saint Gregory participated in the Council of Antioch against heretics who refused to recognize the perpetual virginity of the Mother of God. Others at the opposite extreme, who worshipped the Mother of God as being God Herself, were also denounced by the Council. He visited the churches of Arabia and Palestine, which were infected with the Arian heresy, to assert the Orthodox teaching about the Most Holy Theotokos. On his return journey Saint Gregory visited Jerusalem and the Holy Places.
In the year 381 Saint Gregory was one of the chief figures of the Second Ecumenical Council, convened at Constantinople against the heresy of Macedonius, who incorrectly taught about the Holy Spirit. At this Council, on the initiative of Saint Gregory, the Nicean Symbol of Faith (the Creed) was completed. Together with the other bishops Saint Gregory affirmed Saint Gregory the Theologian as Archpastor of Constantinople. In the year 383, Saint Gregory of Nyssa participated in a Council at Constantinople, where he preached a sermon on the divinity of the Son and the Holy Spirit. In 386, he was again at Constantinople, and he was asked to speak the funeral oration in memory of the empress Placilla. Again in 394 Saint Gregory was present in Constantinople at a local Council, convened to resolve church matters in Arabia.
Saint Gregory of Nyssa was a fiery defender of Orthodox dogmas and a zealous teacher of his flock, a kind and compassionate father to his spiritual children, and their intercessor before the courts. He was distinguished by his magnanimity, patience and love of peace. Having reached old age, Saint Gregory of Nyssa died soon after the Council of Constantinople. Together with his great contemporaries, Saints Basil the Great and Gregory the Theologian, Saint Gregory of Nyssa had a significant influence on the Church life of his time. His sister, Saint Macrina, wrote to him: “You are renowned both in the cities, and gatherings of people, and throughout entire districts. Churches ask you for help.” Saint Gregory is known in history as one of the most profound Christian thinkers of the fourth century. Endowed with philosophical talent, he saw philosophy as a means for a deeper penetration into the authentic meaning of divine revelation. Saint Gregory left behind many remarkable works of dogmatic character, as well as sermons and discourses. He has been called “the Father of Fathers.”
Wisdom is more mobile than any motion; because of her pureness she pervades and penetrates all things. For she is a breath of the power of God, and a pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty; therefore nothing defiled gains entrance into her.
For she is a reflection of eternal light, a spotless mirror of the working of God, and an image of his goodness.
Although she is but one, she can do all things, and while remaining in herself, she renews all things; in every generation she passes into holy souls and makes them friends of God, and prophets; for God loves nothing so much as the person who lives with wisdom.
She is more beautiful than the sun, and excels every constellation of the stars. Compared with the light she is found to be superior, for it is succeeded by the night, but against wisdom evil does not prevail.
She reaches mightily from one end of the earth to the other, and she orders all things well.
Writings
(Year A). Moses drew near the mountain of rest. He would never set foot on the valley spread out beneath him, toward which the people below looked for the fulfilment of the promise. Earthly food was no longer to his taste, for he had trained himself to live on the food that comes down from heaven. History relates that Moses, the servant of God, died at the Lord’s command and no one knew his burial place. His sight was not dimmed nor his face touched by decay. We learn from this that after his many labours Moses was judged worthy of the exalted title, ‘Servant of God’, which is the same as saying that he was above all earthly concerns. No one can serve God without rising above every worldly preoccupation. This was also for him the consummation of his life of virtue, brought about by the word of God. The history calls this death, but it was a death in which he still lives, for no burial followed it, no monument was built. It left his sight undimmed and his face untouched by corruption. Moses had achieved the highest possible perfection. What more trustworthy witness of this could we find than the voice of God, which said to him: I have loved you more than all others. Moses was called the friend of God by God himself. Moreover, because he would rather have perished with all the people than have lived without them, he begged God by his favour toward himself to pardon those who had sinned. He thus checked God’s anger against the Israelites, for God withdrew his condemnation so as not to grieve his friend. All these things are clear evidence and proof that the life of Moses reached the summit of the mountain of perfection. And so we have learned from what has been said how a life of virtue is brought to perfection, which was what we set out to discover. It is time now for you, my generous friend, to study the model carefully. The lessons we have learned from our spiritual contemplation of historical happenings you must apply to your own life, so that you may be loved by God and become his friend. True perfection does not consist in abandoning a life of sin as a slave might for fear of punishment; nor in doing good in the hope of receiving a reward. Expecting the virtuous life to yield a profit would be making it a matter of trade and commerce. No, it seems to me that to be perfect we must look beyond even the hoped-for blessings which we have been promised are stored up for us. Our only fear should be the loss of God's friendship, and the only honour or pleasure we covet should be that of becoming God’s friend. You can attain such perfection – and I know that you will attain it abundantly – if you raise your mind to the majesty of God. The gain will surely be shared by all in Christ Jesus. Amen. (Life of Moses)
Musical Selection(Palestrina)
Dilectus meus descendit in hortum suum ad areolam aromatum ut ibi pascatur in hortis et lilia colligat. Ego dilecto meo et dilectus meus mihi, qui pascitur inter lilia.
My beloved is gone down into his garden, to the bed of aromatical spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies. I am my beloved's, and he is mine, who feedeth among the lilies.
Collect
Almighty God, who has revealed to your Church your eternal Being of glorious majesty and perfect love as one God in Trinity of Persons: Give us grace that, like your bishop Gregory of Nyssa, we may continue steadfast in the confession of this faith, and constant in our worship of you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit; who live and reign for ever and ever.Amen. (ECUSA)
