St. Gregory of Nazianzus (329 - 390, also known as Gregory the Theologian or Gregory Nazianzen) held the important post of, Archbishop of Constantinople at the height of its power. Many regard him as one of the most accomplished orators of the patristic age. In particular, he is famous for his discourses on Trinitarian theology. Along with the brothers St. Basil the Great, and St. Gregory of Nyssa, he is regarded as one of the Cappadocian Fathers. Gregory of Nazianzus is venerated as a saint both in the Orthodox and Catholic church and is considered a Doctor of the Catholic church. In the Orthodox Church, he is reckoned as one of the Three Holy Hierarchs, along with St. Basil the Great and St. John Chrysostom. The theological brilliance of St. Gregory is forcefully displayed in these five orations in which he expounds upon of the mystery of the Trinity, which would later be formally enshrined in the Nicene Creed. The source texts for these orations are: "The five theological orations of Gregory of Nazianzus," by St. Gregory of Nazianzus and Arthur James Mason (1851-1928), Cambridge [England] The University Press, 1899; and "A select library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian church / Second series Vol. 7, S. Cyril of Jerusalem. S. Gregory Nazianzen." New York: The Christian literature company; Oxford [etc.]: Parker, 1894. by Philip Schaff(1819-1893); Henry Wace (1836-1924). The original footnotes and Bible references are preserved in the text. Also included is a short sketch of the life of St. Gregory along with illustrations of the people and events referred to in the text.
This translation makes available nineteen orations by the fourth-century Cappadocian father Gregory of Nazianzus. Most are appearing here in English for the first time. These homilies span all the phases of Gregory's ecclesiastical career, beginning with his service as a parish priest assisting his father, the elder Gregory, in his hometown of Nazianzus in the early 360s, to his stormy tenure as bishop of Constantinople from 379 to 381, to his subsequent return to Nazianzus and role as interim caretaker of his home church (382-83). Composed in a variety of rhetorical formats such as the lalia and encomium, the sermons treat topics that range from the purely theological to the deeply personal. Up until now, Gregory has been known primarily for his contributions as a theologian, indifferent to the social and political concerns that consumed his friend Basil. This view will change. It has been due in large measure to the interests and prejudices of the nineteenth-century editors who excluded the sermons translated here from the Select Library of Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Church. This new translation will help the English-speaking reader appreciate just how deeply Gregory was engaged in the social and political issues of his day. Exemplifying the perfect synthesis of classical and Christian paideia, these homilies will be required reading for anyone interested in late antiquity. The introduction and notes accompanying the translation will assist both the specialist and the general reader as they seek to navigate the complex environment in which Gregory lived and worked.
The translation is interweaved with a commentary to provide the reader with some guidance through the complexities of Gregory's arguments. The introduction includes an overview of the history of Apollinarianism and discusses the extent to which it is possible to reconstruct, from the fragments quoted by Gregory, the arguments of Apolinarius's Apodeixis to which he is responding. It also examines the background to and the chronology of both of Gregory's anti-Apollinarian works, and looks critically at the arguments that they deploy.
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