Gregory of Nazianzus, a 4th-century bishop of Constantinople, receives relatively little attention from modern Western scholars, yet he is one of the most influential theologians in the history of Christian doctrine. Many modern Christians understand their religious beliefs through ideas originally expounded by Gregory, yet probably would not recognize his name. As an advocate for the conceptual understanding of the Trinity, Gregory set precedents for the way his fellow and future Christians would perceive and worship God. Holding that Jesus was both fully divine and fully human, Gregory added new complexity to Christianitys grasp of the mysterious relationship between the Son and the Father. He also explored the nature of the Holy Spirit by means of scriptural analysis, both in the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament. Gregorys enlightening revelations resonate throughout the varied religious landscape of Christian creed, cult, and code. Christopher A. Beeley examines Gregorys doctrine of the Trinity in the full range of his theological and practical vision of the Christian life.Beeley examines and analyzes Gregorys teachings on the purification, illumination, and limitations of the theologian; the saving work of Christ within the context of Gregorys understanding of salvation; the place of the Holy Spirit in the work of the Trinity; and the Trinitarian purpose of pastoral ministry.
This book combines expansive coverage of Gregorys works with meticulous close-readings and analyses to impart new interpretations in the areas of Christology, Pneumatology, and Christian ministry.
Gregory of Nazianzus (329-390 CE), "the Theologian," is the premier teacher on the Holy Trinity in Eastern Christian tradition, yet for over a century historians and theologians have largely neglected his work. Christopher Beeley's groundbreaking study -- the first comprehensive study in modern Western scholarship -- examines Gregory's doctrine of the Trinity within the full range of his theological and practical vision. Following an overviewof Gregory's life and major works, Beeley traces the central soteriological meaning of Gregory's doctrine in the spiritual dialectic of purification and illumination; the dynamic process of divinization(theosis); the singular identity of Jesus Christ as the eternal Son of God; the divinity and essential presence of the Holy Spirit; and the interpretation of Scripture "according to the Spirit." The book culminates in Gregory's understanding of the Trinity as a whole -- which is "theology" in the fullest sense -- rooted in the monarchy of God the Father and uniquely known in the divine economy of salvation. Finally, Beeley identifies the Trinitarian shape of pastoral ministry, on whichGregory is also the foundational teacher for later Christian tradition. Beeley offers new insights in several key areas, reinterpreting the famous Theological Orations and Christologicalepistles within the full corpus of Gregory's orations, poems, and letters. Gregory stands out as the leading ecclesiastical figure in the Eastern Roman Empire and the most powerful theologian of his age, who produced the definitive expression of Trinitarian orthodoxy from a characteristically Eastern tradition of Origenist theology, independent of the work of Athanasius and in several respects more insightful than his Cappadocian contemporaries. Long eclipsed in modernscholarship, Gregory Nazianzen is now brought into full view as the major witness to the Trinity among the Greek fathers of the Church.
Christopher A. Beeley is the Walter H. Gray Assistant Professor of Anglican Studies and Patristics at Yale University Divinity School and Berkeley Divinity School at Yale, and an Episcopal priest.
Introduction: Gregory's Life and Work1: God and the Theologian2: Jesus Christ3: The Holy Spirit4: The Trinity5: Pastoral Ministry and the Trinity
"Christopher Beeley's book sheds new light on important aspects of Gregory's theology. But the major contribution of his argument is to show persuasively how all Gregory's doctrinal themes cohere in his soteriological understanding of the Trinity, an understanding that Beeley carefully locates in Gregory's own experience both as a Christian leader in controversial times and as a Christian thinker informed by scripture and by the classical Greek heritage. Thebook demonstrates how, for Gregory, the Trinity not only frames the entire Christian message of salvation but also functions as the wellspring for the spiritual life and for pastoral care." Rowan A.Greer, Professor Emeritus, Yale Divinity School, and author of Christian Hope and Christian Life"This fine book hones in on the place of the doctrine of the Trinity in Gregory of Nazianzus' theology. Christopher Beeley shows how the Trinity was the glowing heart of Gregory's theology, informing every aspect of it-his understanding of Christ, of the Holy Spirit, his pastoral theology and the place of prayer in the knowledge of God. Everything starts from and returns to the love flowing from 'My Trinity', as Gregory daringly calls it." --Andrew Louth,author of St John Damascene: Tradition and Originality in Byzantine Theology"This brilliant book is the first full-length study since the late 1940s of Gregory of Nazianzus's contribution to the development of classical Christian theology. Gregory is sometimes written off by modern Western scholars as unoriginal and lacking in speculative substance, a skillful rhetorician but little more. Christopher Beeley brings together historical erudition, thorough knowledge of Gregory's many writings, and deep critical insight into his creativeachievement as preacher, poet, and systematic thinker, in a way bound to change permanently our appreciation of the radical newness and the practical implications of his work. Now it should beclearer than ever why the Greek Christian tradition, since shortly after his death, has called this fourth-century humanist and bishop 'Gregory the Theologian.'" --Brian E. Daley, SJ, Professor of Theology, University of Notre Dame, and author of Gregory of Nazianzus"Christopher Beeley's book sheds new light on important aspects of Gregory's theology. But the major contribution of his argument is to show persuasively how all Gregory's doctrinal themes cohere in his soteriological understanding of the Trinity, an understanding that Beeley carefully locates in Gregory's own experience both as a Christian leader in controversial times and as a Christian thinker informed by scripture and by the classical Greek heritage. Thebook demonstrates how, for Gregory, the Trinity not only frames the entire Christian message of salvation but also functions as the wellspring for the spiritual life and for pastoral care." Rowan A.Greer, Professor Emeritus, Yale Divinity School, and author of Christian Hope and Christian Life"This fine book hones in on the place of the doctrine of the Trinity in Gregory of Nazianzus' theology. Christopher Beeley shows how the Trinity was the glowing heart of Gregory's theology, informing every aspect of it-his understanding of Christ, of the Holy Spirit, his pastoral theology and the place of prayer in the knowledge of God. Everything starts from and returns to the love flowing from 'My Trinity', as Gregory daringly calls it." --Andrew Louth,author of St John Damascene: Tradition and Originality in Byzantine Theology"This brilliant book is the first full-length study since the late 1940s of Gregory of Nazianzus's contribution to the development of classical Christian theology. Gregory is sometimes written off by modern Western scholars as unoriginal and lacking in speculative substance, a skillful rhetorician but little more. Christopher Beeley brings together historical erudition, thorough knowledge of Gregory's many writings, and deep critical insight into his creativeachievement as preacher, poet, and systematic thinker, in a way bound to change permanently our appreciation of the radical newness and the practical implications of his work. Now it should beclearer than ever why the Greek Christian tradition, since shortly after his death, has called this fourth-century humanist and bishop 'Gregory the Theologian.'" --Brian E. Daley, SJ, Professor of Theology, University of Notre Dame, and author of Gregory of Nazianzus"This brilliant book is the first full-length study since the late 1940s of Gregory of Nazianzus's contribution to the development of classical Christian theology. Gregory is sometimes written off by modern Western scholars as unoriginal and lacking in speculative substance, a skillful rhetorician but little more. Christopher Beeley brings together historical erudition, thorough knowledge of Gregory's many writings, and deep critical insight into his creativeachievement as preacher, poet, and systematic thinker, in a way bound to change permanently our appreciation of the radical newness and the practical implications of his work. Now it should beclearer than ever why the Greek Christian tradition, since shortly after his death, has called this fourth-century humanist and bishop 'Gregory the Theologian.'" --Brian E. Daley, SJ, Professor of Theology, University of Notre Dame, and author of Gregory of Nazianzus"A worthy addition...Beeley's holistic approach to Nazianzen is the volume's strength."--Church History
Winner of Winner of The John Templeton Award for Theological Promise 2010.
Gregory of Nazianzus (329-390 CE), "the Theologian," is the premier teacher on the Holy Trinity in Eastern Christian tradition, yet for over a century historians and theologians have largely neglected his work. Christopher Beeley's groundbreaking study -- the first comprehensive study in modern Western scholarship -- examines Gregory's doctrine of the Trinity within the full range of his theological and practical vision. Following an overview
of Gregory's life and major works, Beeley traces the central soteriological meaning of Gregory's doctrine in the spiritual dialectic of purification and illumination; the dynamic process of divinization (theosis); the singular identity of Jesus Christ as the eternal Son of God; the divinity and
essential presence of the Holy Spirit; and the interpretation of Scripture "according to the Spirit." The book culminates in Gregory's understanding of the Trinity as a whole -- which is "theology" in the fullest sense -- rooted in the monarchy of God the Father and uniquely known in the divine economy of salvation. Finally, Beeley identifies the Trinitarian shape of pastoral ministry, on which Gregory is also the foundational teacher for later Christian tradition. Beeley
offers new insights in several key areas, reinterpreting the famous Theological Orations and Christological epistles within the full corpus of Gregory's orations, poems, and letters. Gregory stands out as the leading ecclesiastical figure in the Eastern Roman Empire and the most powerful theologian
of his age, who produced the definitive expression of Trinitarian orthodoxy from a characteristically Eastern tradition of Origenist theology, independent of the work of Athanasius and in several respects more insightful than his Cappadocian contemporaries. Long eclipsed in modern scholarship, Gregory Nazianzen is now brought into full view as the major witness to the Trinity among the Greek fathers of the Church.
"Christopher Beeley's book sheds new light on important aspects of Gregory's theology. But the major contribution of his argument is to show persuasively how all Gregory's doctrinal themes cohere in his soteriological understanding of the Trinity, an understanding that Beeley carefully locates in Gregory's own experience both as a Christian leader in controversial times and as a Christian thinker informed by scripture and by the classical Greek heritage. The
book demonstrates how, for Gregory, the Trinity not only frames the entire Christian message of salvation but also functions as the wellspring for the spiritual life and for pastoral care." Rowan A. Greer, Professor Emeritus, Yale Divinity School, and author of Christian Hope and Christian Life
"This fine book hones in on the place of the doctrine of the Trinity in Gregory of Nazianzus' theology. Christopher Beeley shows how the Trinity was the glowing heart of Gregory's theology, informing every aspect of it-his understanding of Christ, of the Holy Spirit, his pastoral theology and the place of prayer in the knowledge of God. Everything starts from and returns to the love flowing from 'My Trinity', as Gregory daringly calls it." --Andrew Louth,
author of St John Damascene: Tradition and Originality in Byzantine Theology
"This brilliant book is the first full-length study since the late 1940s of Gregory of Nazianzus's contribution to the development of classical Christian theology. Gregory is sometimes written off by modern Western scholars as unoriginal and lacking in speculative substance, a skillful rhetorician but little more. Christopher Beeley brings together historical erudition, thorough knowledge of Gregory's many writings, and deep critical insight into his creative
achievement as preacher, poet, and systematic thinker, in a way bound to change permanently our appreciation of the radical newness and the practical implications of his work. Now it should be clearer than ever why the Greek Christian tradition, since shortly after his death, has called this
fourth-century humanist and bishop 'Gregory the Theologian.'" --Brian E. Daley, SJ, Professor of Theology, University of Notre Dame, and author of Gregory of Nazianzus
"Christopher Beeley's book sheds new light on important aspects of Gregory's theology. But the major contribution of his argument is to show persuasively how all Gregory's doctrinal themes cohere in his soteriological understanding of the Trinity, an understanding that Beeley carefully locates in Gregory's own experience both as a Christian leader in controversial times and as a Christian thinker informed by scripture and by the classical Greek heritage. The
book demonstrates how, for Gregory, the Trinity not only frames the entire Christian message of salvation but also functions as the wellspring for the spiritual life and for pastoral care." Rowan A. Greer, Professor Emeritus, Yale Divinity School, and author of Christian Hope and Christian Life
"This fine book hones in on the place of the doctrine of the Trinity in Gregory of Nazianzus' theology. Christopher Beeley shows how the Trinity was the glowing heart of Gregory's theology, informing every aspect of it-his understanding of Christ, of the Holy Spirit, his pastoral theology and the place of prayer in the knowledge of God. Everything starts from and returns to the love flowing from 'My Trinity', as Gregory daringly calls it." --Andrew Louth,
author of St John Damascene: Tradition and Originality in Byzantine Theology
"This brilliant book is the first full-length study since the late 1940s of Gregory of Nazianzus's contribution to the development of classical Christian theology. Gregory is sometimes written off by modern Western scholars as unoriginal and lacking in speculative substance, a skillful rhetorician but little more. Christopher Beeley brings together historical erudition, thorough knowledge of Gregory's many writings, and deep critical insight into his creative
achievement as preacher, poet, and systematic thinker, in a way bound to change permanently our appreciation of the radical newness and the practical implications of his work. Now it should be clearer than ever why the Greek Christian tradition, since shortly after his death, has called this
fourth-century humanist and bishop 'Gregory the Theologian.'" --Brian E. Daley, SJ, Professor of Theology, University of Notre Dame, and author of Gregory of Nazianzus
"This brilliant book is the first full-length study since the late 1940s of Gregory of Nazianzus's contribution to the development of classical Christian theology. Gregory is sometimes written off by modern Western scholars as unoriginal and lacking in speculative substance, a skillful rhetorician but little more. Christopher Beeley brings together historical erudition, thorough knowledge of Gregory's many writings, and deep critical insight into his creative
achievement as preacher, poet, and systematic thinker, in a way bound to change permanently our appreciation of the radical newness and the practical implications of his work. Now it should be clearer than ever why the Greek Christian tradition, since shortly after his death, has called this
fourth-century humanist and bishop 'Gregory the Theologian.'" --Brian E. Daley, SJ, Professor of Theology, University of Notre Dame, and author of Gregory of Nazianzus
"A worthy addition...Beeley's holistic approach to Nazianzen is the volume's strength."--Church History
"This fine book hones in on the place of the doctrine of the Trinity in Gregory of Nazianzus' theology. Christopher Beeley shows how the Trinity was the glowing heart of Gregory's theology, informing every aspect of it-his understanding of Christ, of the Holy Spirit, his pastoral theology andthe place of prayer in the knowledge of God. Everything starts from and returns to the love flowing from 'My Trinity', as Gregory daringly calls it." --Andrew Louth, author of St John Damascene: Tradition and Originality in Byzantine Theology
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