St. Gregory of Nyssa

Feast date: Jan 10

Gregory of Nyssa was born into a deeply religious family. His mother, Emmelia, was the daughter of a martyr, and two of his brothers, Basil of Cæsarea and Peter of Sebaste, became bishops like himself. His eldest sister, Macrina, became a model of piety and is also honored as a Saint. It would seem that the young Gregory married at some point: there exists a letter addressed to him by Gregory of Nazianzus condoling him on the loss of a woman named Theosebeia, who must have been his wife and is venerated as a Saint in the Orthodox faith.

According to Gregory of Nazianzus, it was his brother Basil who performed the episcopal consecration of Gregory around 371.

On arriving in his see, Gregory had to face great difficulties. Demosthenes, Governor of Pontus, ordered the Bishop of Nyssa to be seized and brought before him. A Synod of Nyssa deposed him, and he was reduced to wander from town to town, until the death of Emperor Valens in 378. The new emperor, Gratian, published an edict of tolerance, and Gregory was able to return to his see, where he was received with joy. In 379 he assisted at the Council of Antioch, which had been summoned because of the Meletian schism. He also asserted the faith of Nicaea, and tried to put an end to Arianism and Pneumatism in the East.

It is very probable that Gregory was present at another council, the Council of Constantinople in 383. Between 385 and 386 he disappears from history, but not without leaving a significant number of theological writings. He made significant contributions to the doctrine of the Trinity and the Nicene Creed

St. Gregory of Nyssa

Feast date: Jan 10

The son of two saints, Basil and Emmilia, young Gregory was raised by his older brother, St. Basil the Great, and his sister, Macrina, in modern-day Turkey. Gregory's success in his studies suggested great things were ahead for him. After becoming a professor of rhetoric, he was persuaded to devote his learning and efforts to the Church. Although married by then, Gregory went on to study for the priesthood and become ordained, as at that time celibacy was not a matter of law for priests.

He was elected Bishop of Nyssa (in Lower Armenia) in 372, a period of great tension over the Arian heresy, which denied the divinity of Christ. After being briefly arrested under the false accusation of embezzling Church funds, Gregory was restored to his see in 378; an act met with great joy by his people.

It was after the death of his beloved brother, Basil, that Gregory really came into his own. He wrote with great effectiveness against Arianism and other questionable doctrines, gaining a reputation as a defender of orthodoxy. He was sent on missions to counter other heresies and held a position of prominence at the Council of Constantinople. His fine reputation stayed with him for the remainder of his life, but over the centuries it gradually declined as the authorship of his writings became less and less certain. But, thanks to the work of scholars in the 20th century, his stature is once again appreciated. Indeed, St. Gregory of Nyssa is seen not simply as a pillar of orthodoxy but as one of the great contributors to the mystical tradition in Christian spirituality and to monasticism itself.

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Representatives of the Melkite Greek, Maronite, Chaldean, Syriac, and Armenian Catholic Churches were present at the Mass celebrated by Auxiliary Bishop Iyad Twal of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Diplomats from ten nations were also present.

“We extend a sincere invitation to pilgrims from all over the world,” Bishop Twal said. “Come to the Holy Land, come to the Jordan River, come to this holy place, visit this church, and be blessed by the waters of the Jordan.”