Gregory A. Beeley
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195313970
- eISBN:
- 9780199871827
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195313970.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History
The introduction provides an orientation to Gregory's' life and works within his multiple contexts. It covers Gregory's family, childhood, education, training in biblical study and Greek ...
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The introduction provides an orientation to Gregory's' life and works within his multiple contexts. It covers Gregory's family, childhood, education, training in biblical study and Greek philosophical rhetoric; his pioneering, moderate form of monasticism as a “middle path” between solitude and public service; his strong influence by Origen and complicated relationship with Basil; his theological and ecclesiastical leadership as a priest and bishop; his central role in the consolidation of the Trinitarian faith and the pro‐Nicene movement in Constantinople; and his retirement, literary corpus, and the distinctive character of the Theological Orations. In addition, it offers a summary narrative of the mid‐fourth‐century theological controversies, in which Gregory played a key part—with attention to Marcellus of Ancyra, the Council of Nicaea 325, Eusebius of Caesarea, Athanasius, Basil of Ancyra, George of Laodicea, Melitius of Antioch, Damasus and the Western synods, Eunomius and the Heterousians, the Homoiousians, the Pneumatomachians, the homoian regimes of Constantius and Valens, the synod of Antioch in 372, the religious policy of Theodosius, and other church councils; an account of the negative effects of the Antiochene schism, and a reconstruction of the Council of Constantinople 381.Less
The introduction provides an orientation to Gregory's' life and works within his multiple contexts. It covers Gregory's family, childhood, education, training in biblical study and Greek philosophical rhetoric; his pioneering, moderate form of monasticism as a “middle path” between solitude and public service; his strong influence by Origen and complicated relationship with Basil; his theological and ecclesiastical leadership as a priest and bishop; his central role in the consolidation of the Trinitarian faith and the pro‐Nicene movement in Constantinople; and his retirement, literary corpus, and the distinctive character of the Theological Orations. In addition, it offers a summary narrative of the mid‐fourth‐century theological controversies, in which Gregory played a key part—with attention to Marcellus of Ancyra, the Council of Nicaea 325, Eusebius of Caesarea, Athanasius, Basil of Ancyra, George of Laodicea, Melitius of Antioch, Damasus and the Western synods, Eunomius and the Heterousians, the Homoiousians, the Pneumatomachians, the homoian regimes of Constantius and Valens, the synod of Antioch in 372, the religious policy of Theodosius, and other church councils; an account of the negative effects of the Antiochene schism, and a reconstruction of the Council of Constantinople 381.
Mark S. Smith
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- December 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780198835271
- eISBN:
- 9780191872938
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198835271.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
This chapter sets the scene for the various appeals to Nicaea during the Nestorian controversy, by analysing the nature of Nicaea’s earlier reception. It begins by examining the Council of Nicaea ...
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This chapter sets the scene for the various appeals to Nicaea during the Nestorian controversy, by analysing the nature of Nicaea’s earlier reception. It begins by examining the Council of Nicaea itself, and the terminology of the Creed. It then explains how attempts to replace Nicaea with superior councils and creeds during the 340s and 350s were gradually eclipsed by the widespread acceptance of the Athanasian polemic of Nicaea’s unique authority and sole sufficiency. Athanasius’ spirited ‘re-reception’ of Nicaea, however, itself necessitated an uneasy reshaping of the Nicene past, and served to raise more sharply the dilemma of how the Nicene Creed’s status could be preserved amidst the increasing inadequacy of its text to speak into new doctrinal controversies. This analysis is extended into the early fifth century, and identifies a growing tension between the rhetorical focus on Nicaea’s textual sufficiency and the more fluid use of Nicene credal statements ‘on the ground’.Less
This chapter sets the scene for the various appeals to Nicaea during the Nestorian controversy, by analysing the nature of Nicaea’s earlier reception. It begins by examining the Council of Nicaea itself, and the terminology of the Creed. It then explains how attempts to replace Nicaea with superior councils and creeds during the 340s and 350s were gradually eclipsed by the widespread acceptance of the Athanasian polemic of Nicaea’s unique authority and sole sufficiency. Athanasius’ spirited ‘re-reception’ of Nicaea, however, itself necessitated an uneasy reshaping of the Nicene past, and served to raise more sharply the dilemma of how the Nicene Creed’s status could be preserved amidst the increasing inadequacy of its text to speak into new doctrinal controversies. This analysis is extended into the early fifth century, and identifies a growing tension between the rhetorical focus on Nicaea’s textual sufficiency and the more fluid use of Nicene credal statements ‘on the ground’.
