Saint Gregory of Nyssa Ascetical Works

The Fathers of the Church #58

by Gregory of Nyssa

In the Christian world of the fourth century, the family of St. Gregory of Nyssa was distinguished for its leadership in civic and religious affairs in the region of the Roman Empire known as Pontus. Cardinal Newman, in an essay on the trials of St. Basil, refers to the family circle which produced these two eminent Fathers as 'a sort of nursery of bishops and saints.' From St. Gregory's life of his sister, St. Macrina, a work included in this volume, we learn of the fortitude of the three preceding generations. On her death-bed, St. Macrina, recalling details of their family history, speaks of a great-grandfather martyred and all his property confiscated, and grandparents deprived of their possessions at the time of the Dioceltian persecutions. Their father, Basil of Caesarea, a successful rhetorician, outstanding for his judgment and well known for the dignity of his life, died leaving to his wife, Emmelia, the care of four sons and five daughters. St. Gregory praises his mother for her virtue and for her eagerness to have her children educated in Holy Scripture. After managing their estate and arranging for the future of her children, she was persuaded by St. Macrina to retire from the world and to enter a life common with her maids as sisters and equals. This community of women would have been a counterpart of the monastery founded nearby by St. Basil on the banks of the Iris River. In a moving scene, St. Gregory tells of his mother's death at a rich old age in the arms of her oldest and youngest children, Macrina and Peter. Blessing all of her children, she prays in particular for the sanctification of these two who were, indeed, later canonized as saints. Newman notes the strong influence of the women in the family, and in one of his letters, St. Basil gives credit to his mother and his grandmother, the elder Macrina, for his clear and steadfast idea of God.

Genres: Theology, Christianity, Nonfiction, Religion, Philosophy

314 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1967

About the author

Gregory of Nyssa was a Christian bishop and saint. He was a younger brother of Basil the Great and a good friend of Gregory Nazianzus. His significance has long been recognized in the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Roman Catholic branches of Christianity.

Gregory along with his brother Basil of Caesarea and Gregory of Nazianzus are known as the Cappadocian Fathers. They attempted to establish Christian philosophy as superior to Greek philosophy.

Reviews

[Tyler Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I did not read this whole book but only Gregory's work "On Perfection" for my Special Topics in Theology: Gregory of Nyssa course under Dr. Jacob Lett. I was extremely challenged and convicted by Gregory's understanding of the Christian life and the "perfection" which we are to seek in the Christian life. This is definitely a work to read and ponder again . . . and perhaps again.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic and tidy volume. The translations are generally readable and defensible (though one can always nitpick). The particular collection of texts is a bit contrived; Nyssa never organized his texts this way. Given the degree to which the topic of gender appears in these various treatises (especially On Virginity and the Life of Macrina) and that two of the texts in here (Life of Macrina and On the Soul and Resurrection) were written at the same time as it, I particularly felt the absence of "On the Creation of Man." Alongside the "Life of Macrina" and "On the Soul and Resurrection," "On the Creation of Man" forms the third part of a triptych of texts in three genres (Hagiography, Platonic Dialogue, Scriptural Commentary) each dealing with a common set of topics in and surrounding anthropology (gender, mortality, salvation, the soul, the passions, etc.). They each inform and complicate one another (making them almost impossible to interpret synthetically), but marvelously raise questions which we, to this day, continue to struggle with. Basically, this volume gives you only two of those three, because one is not (apparently) an "Ascetical Work." Oh well. At least that leaves room for "On Virginity" which is, though perhaps 9 years earlier in composition, every bit as maddeningly and profoundly complex in its interplay of gender roles (a "virtuous virgin" was, in terms of gender, oxymoronic for a society where virtue was male - think virility - and virginity was a word synonymous with "maiden" and "purity"). Also, for the general cost of volumes in this series, this particular volume remains quite affordable (I got it new for less than $30).

[Joshua · Rating 4 out of 5]

I initially came to discover Gregory of Nyssa through some of his modern interpreters: Sarah Coakley ("God, Sexuality, and the Self: An Essay 'On the Trinity'"), J. Kameron Carter ("Race: A Theological Account"), Natalie Carnes ("Beauty: A Theological Engagement with Gregory of Nyssa"), and David Bentley Hart ("That All Shall Be Saved: Heaven, Hell, and Universal Salvation"). My appreciation for Nyssen, and for the other Cappadocian Fathers, has grown into admiration as I have dug into their own writings for myself. I have found them to be sure-footed guides for theological and spiritual formation during a tumultuous sociopolitical era, and I love them for different reasons: Basil of Caesarea is dazzilingly brilliant; Gregory of Nazianzus is savagely incisive; while Gregory of Nyssa is quietly effective, characterized by biblical competence and doctrinal comprehensiveness. This volume features an accessible translation of six of the latter's ascetical treatises. Here are my personal rankings:

On Virginity - 3
On What It Means to Call Oneself a Christian - 5
On Perfection - 3
On the Christian Mode of Life - 5
The Life of Saint Macrina - 4
On the Soul and the Resurrection - 4

Take up and read!

[Ephrem Arcement · Rating 4 out of 5]

In addition to the Ascetical Works, this volume contains the theological treatise On the Soul and Resurrection, appropriately situated after The Life of St. Macrina. This one volume, then, demonstrates the intimate relation between speculative theology and spirituality in the mind of the Fathers of the Church.

[Alex]

Only read:

“On What It Means to Call Oneself a Christian”