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Gregory of Nazianzus
This book brings together a new, original survey of the significance of Gregory's life and work with translations of eight beautiful and profound orations. Gregory of Nazianzus portrays a vivid picture of a fascinating character of vital importance who deserves to be regarded as the first true Christian humanist. The eight orations, each representing a different aspect of his writing, are examined alongside a selection of his shorter poems in verse translation, letters, and a translation of Gregory's own will. Author Brian Daley offers extensive commentary on the works translated and an ample bibliography. With an extensive introduction to Gregory's life, thought and writings, and including detailed notes, this study places Gregory in his correct historical context, and gives students access to a deeper understanding of this fascinating figure from the past.
288 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2005
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About the author
Brian E. Daley
24 books12 followersBrian Edward Daley, S.J. (born in 1940) is an American Catholic priest and theologian. He is currently the Catherine F. Huisking Professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame and was the recipient of a Ratzinger Prize for Theology in 2012.
Daley's primary academic field is Patristics, the study of the Fathers of the Church. The Patristic topics on which he has published include Christology, eschatology, Mariology, philanthropy, and scriptural exegesis.
In addition to his academic commitments, Daley is active in ecumenical dialogue and serves as the executive secretary of the North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation.
Background and education
Daley was born in 1940 in Orange, New Jersey, USA.[citation needed] He attended the Jesuit-run St. Peter's Preparatory School and did his first undergraduate degree at Fordham University, where he received a B.A. in Classics in 1961. Daley was the first Fordham alumnus to receive a Rhodes Scholarship, which he used to read Literae Humaniores (also known as "Greats") at Merton College, Oxford. While there, he was tutored by the philosopher J. R. Lucas. He obtained a B.A. in 1964 and entered the Society of Jesus the same year.
After receiving a Ph.L. at Loyola Seminary (Shrub Oak, New York) in 1966, Daley returned to Oxford and obtained an M.A. in 1967.[6] He was ordained a priest in 1970 and then traveled to Frankfurt, where he studied at the Sankt Georgen Graduate School of Philosophy and Theology and worked as the research assistant of Aloys Grillmeier, S.J. In 1972, he earned a Lic.theol. from Sankt Georgen, after which he returned to Oxford again to pursue a D.Phil. at Campion Hall under the supervision of Henry Chadwick.[8] He defended his thesis, entitled "Leontius of Byzantium: A Critical Edition of his Works, with Prolegomena," in 1978. His examiners were Kallistos Ware and Lionel Wickham.
Professional and ecumenical work
From 1978 to 1996, Daley taught at the Weston School of Theology. In 1996, took a position at the University of Notre Dame, where he is currently the Catherine F. Huisking Professor of Theology. He was president of the North American Patristics Society from 1997 to 1998.
Daley has long been committed to ecumenical dialogue and was one of the signatories of the 2003 "Princeton Proposal for Christian Unity," which was sponsored by the Center for Catholic and Evangelical Theology. He is also the current executive secretary for the North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation, which is co-sponsored by SCOBA, the USCCB, and the CCCB.
Honors and awards
A Festschrift was published in Daley's honor in 2008.Notable contributors include Lewis Ayres, John Anthony McGuckin, and Rowan Williams.
Daley received the Ratzinger Prize for Theology on October 20, 2012.
At the conferral ceremony, Pope Benedict XVI praised Daley for his ecumenical work with the following words: "Father Daley, through his in-depth study of the Fathers of the Church, has placed himself in the best school for knowing and loving the one and undivided Church, though in the richness of her diverse traditions; for this reason, he also performs a responsible service in relations with the Orthodox Churches." The other recipient of the Ratzinger Prize in 2012 was the French philosopher Rémi Brague.
In 2013, Daley was awarded the Johannes Quasten Medal by the School of Theology and Religious Studies of the Catholic University of America
Daley's primary academic field is Patristics, the study of the Fathers of the Church. The Patristic topics on which he has published include Christology, eschatology, Mariology, philanthropy, and scriptural exegesis.
In addition to his academic commitments, Daley is active in ecumenical dialogue and serves as the executive secretary of the North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation.
Background and education
Daley was born in 1940 in Orange, New Jersey, USA.[citation needed] He attended the Jesuit-run St. Peter's Preparatory School and did his first undergraduate degree at Fordham University, where he received a B.A. in Classics in 1961. Daley was the first Fordham alumnus to receive a Rhodes Scholarship, which he used to read Literae Humaniores (also known as "Greats") at Merton College, Oxford. While there, he was tutored by the philosopher J. R. Lucas. He obtained a B.A. in 1964 and entered the Society of Jesus the same year.
After receiving a Ph.L. at Loyola Seminary (Shrub Oak, New York) in 1966, Daley returned to Oxford and obtained an M.A. in 1967.[6] He was ordained a priest in 1970 and then traveled to Frankfurt, where he studied at the Sankt Georgen Graduate School of Philosophy and Theology and worked as the research assistant of Aloys Grillmeier, S.J. In 1972, he earned a Lic.theol. from Sankt Georgen, after which he returned to Oxford again to pursue a D.Phil. at Campion Hall under the supervision of Henry Chadwick.[8] He defended his thesis, entitled "Leontius of Byzantium: A Critical Edition of his Works, with Prolegomena," in 1978. His examiners were Kallistos Ware and Lionel Wickham.
Professional and ecumenical work
From 1978 to 1996, Daley taught at the Weston School of Theology. In 1996, took a position at the University of Notre Dame, where he is currently the Catherine F. Huisking Professor of Theology. He was president of the North American Patristics Society from 1997 to 1998.
Daley has long been committed to ecumenical dialogue and was one of the signatories of the 2003 "Princeton Proposal for Christian Unity," which was sponsored by the Center for Catholic and Evangelical Theology. He is also the current executive secretary for the North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation, which is co-sponsored by SCOBA, the USCCB, and the CCCB.
Honors and awards
A Festschrift was published in Daley's honor in 2008.Notable contributors include Lewis Ayres, John Anthony McGuckin, and Rowan Williams.
Daley received the Ratzinger Prize for Theology on October 20, 2012.
At the conferral ceremony, Pope Benedict XVI praised Daley for his ecumenical work with the following words: "Father Daley, through his in-depth study of the Fathers of the Church, has placed himself in the best school for knowing and loving the one and undivided Church, though in the richness of her diverse traditions; for this reason, he also performs a responsible service in relations with the Orthodox Churches." The other recipient of the Ratzinger Prize in 2012 was the French philosopher Rémi Brague.
In 2013, Daley was awarded the Johannes Quasten Medal by the School of Theology and Religious Studies of the Catholic University of America
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 8, 2018
This is a very decent text on Gregory of Nazianzus, serving as an introduction to this Cappadocian Father, who was nicknamed 'The Theologian,' with the intent to offer works not often translated in other editions. This latter point is what distinguishes this work - yet Daley does a good job of providing a wholesome introduction, in which he covers his life, and manifests details about his thought and character through motifs of Gregory as Priest, Theologian, Humanist, Philosopher etc.
The key value of this work doesn't lie in its theological depth, since the crème de la crème of Gregory's theological corpus do not appear herein. Still, it remains a treasure chest for theological insight. Nevertheless, its main value resides in the unique snapshot it offers into the person of Gregory, in all his facets - profoundly human; and the uncommon selections of works presented in a digestible volume.
Historically the book is of great interest; but spiritually and pastorally is where I'd say the work finds its strength. Spiritually, because Daley creates a platform for encounter with St. Gregory, and as such his charisma is felt along with the presence of his intercession. Pastorally, because here is shown the human struggle with positions of pastoral authority and responsibility, and the pastoral ideals of a man who is deeply Logocentric.
The key value of this work doesn't lie in its theological depth, since the crème de la crème of Gregory's theological corpus do not appear herein. Still, it remains a treasure chest for theological insight. Nevertheless, its main value resides in the unique snapshot it offers into the person of Gregory, in all his facets - profoundly human; and the uncommon selections of works presented in a digestible volume.
Historically the book is of great interest; but spiritually and pastorally is where I'd say the work finds its strength. Spiritually, because Daley creates a platform for encounter with St. Gregory, and as such his charisma is felt along with the presence of his intercession. Pastorally, because here is shown the human struggle with positions of pastoral authority and responsibility, and the pastoral ideals of a man who is deeply Logocentric.
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August 4, 2011Weary postmoderns, rejoice, for you have a theo-poet among you in Gregory of Nazianzus. And since Gregory worked his vocabulary around the economy of the Incarnation, one can even say he was a narrative theologian! (Okay, I'll stop poking fun at postmodernists now). I had reservations about this volume at first. I thought Daley was going to interpret Gregory as *merely* a Christian humanist interested only in "a new Hellenic and Christian literature." Daley does pull that line, but there is more to it. Daley approached Gregory in a unique way: most people simply focus on Gregory's five theological orations (more on that later); Daley's approach is to translate and view Gregory's works which have not received that much attention. The positive is that we get a stunning array of Gregory's lyrical prose and poetry. With the exception of Augustine, we can't a strange glimpse into the struggles of an ancient writer, which is unusual for the time.
The downside to Daley's approach is we don't get a lot of interaction with the rich theological corpus that Gregory leaves. True, Daley does translate, and occasionally gloss, the "Christmas Orations," but he generally doesn't deal with the theological orations except for a few pages in the introduction. This is not Daley's fault, for he did not set out to do that. (Interestingly, Daley does admit that for Gregory, the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father. There is nothing in here about Filioque and Daley, unlike the Schaff editors on Gregory of Nyssa, has the honesty to admit that.)
For Daley, Gregory sought to create a new theological vocabulary reminiscent of Hellenic literature, yet remaining faithful to the Christian Tradition, and he largely succeeded. Gregory saw himself, not only as a theologian--as he is known to us today--but also as a Christian philosopher, and routinely encouraged the contemplation-oriented youth to pursue philosophy.
Observations:
The selection on Gregory's poetry was beautiful. The modern world would be hard-pressed to find Gregory's equal on poetry. Daley's inclusion of Gregory's will was a neat addition to the volume, though probably not of much interest to theological studies. All in all this is a good read. A word of caution, though: If you have the Schaff edition on Gregory of Nyssa, you might not want to buy this book. Most of the material in the book, excluding the poetry and the introduction, is in the Schaff edition.
The downside to Daley's approach is we don't get a lot of interaction with the rich theological corpus that Gregory leaves. True, Daley does translate, and occasionally gloss, the "Christmas Orations," but he generally doesn't deal with the theological orations except for a few pages in the introduction. This is not Daley's fault, for he did not set out to do that. (Interestingly, Daley does admit that for Gregory, the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father. There is nothing in here about Filioque and Daley, unlike the Schaff editors on Gregory of Nyssa, has the honesty to admit that.)
For Daley, Gregory sought to create a new theological vocabulary reminiscent of Hellenic literature, yet remaining faithful to the Christian Tradition, and he largely succeeded. Gregory saw himself, not only as a theologian--as he is known to us today--but also as a Christian philosopher, and routinely encouraged the contemplation-oriented youth to pursue philosophy.
Observations:
The selection on Gregory's poetry was beautiful. The modern world would be hard-pressed to find Gregory's equal on poetry. Daley's inclusion of Gregory's will was a neat addition to the volume, though probably not of much interest to theological studies. All in all this is a good read. A word of caution, though: If you have the Schaff edition on Gregory of Nyssa, you might not want to buy this book. Most of the material in the book, excluding the poetry and the introduction, is in the Schaff edition.
September 20, 2011
Gregory is an excellent character to read about. I connected in many ways to him. His theological writing is so influential that he is called Gregory the Theologian in the East, comparable to St. John the gospel. He is essentially the architect of the classic Trinitarian doctrine. He is not the architect of the Trinity. That's an important difference. After Gregory's description and consistent letter writing and preaching, the controversial and/or heretical views of the Trinity fell away. A new era was born in the Church (starting in the 400's) where the Trinity was the starting point of theology and not a point to be argued through (as in Augustine's theology).
Despite his craft of language and rhetoric and his theological prowess, perhaps what is so moving about him to me is that the bottom line still comes down to a humble faith and a desire for holiness. This is evident in his writings. The book is in two parts: an overview of his life and its context, and then a selection of writings from Gregory. Daley says that there are generally non-typical writings because so many have already translated some of the more popular ones. There's even some of his poetry. Of course its translated, so it loses some of its punch. Its still interesting to read the poetry of such a learned and holy theologian.
Despite his craft of language and rhetoric and his theological prowess, perhaps what is so moving about him to me is that the bottom line still comes down to a humble faith and a desire for holiness. This is evident in his writings. The book is in two parts: an overview of his life and its context, and then a selection of writings from Gregory. Daley says that there are generally non-typical writings because so many have already translated some of the more popular ones. There's even some of his poetry. Of course its translated, so it loses some of its punch. Its still interesting to read the poetry of such a learned and holy theologian.
March 16, 2013
Daley does not include the famous five "Theological Orations" in this collection since they can be readily found elsewhere. Instead, he chooses to highlight a variety of orations, poems, and letters so as to give a rounded view of Gregory the Theologian. His Oration 14: On the Love of the Poor was particularly striking. I could not help but think that if Martin Luther King Jr. or Mother Teresa had been his contemporaries they would have been friends. Even in print, Gregory's passion is so acute that to run out and immediately hug a leper would have been a sane and appropriate response. His prayers in particular are honest and transparent. Everything he writes is carefully wrought and obviously indicative of great skill, but what is also immediately apparent is that this Cappadocian wears his heart on his sleeve and is in no way ashamed of it. His love for God, his passion for justice, his hurt, his frustration and his driving desire for others to know God courses through his works.
Daley also offers a good introduction that includes a large amount of excerpts from other works as well.
Daley also offers a good introduction that includes a large amount of excerpts from other works as well.
July 29, 2015
As always, Fr Daley's translations are approachable and retain strong accuracy with respect to the text. What gives this volume a 5-star rating is the selection of texts Daley translates. They are not the "standards" of Nazianzus, but some of the less-often read poems and orations by the moody and saintly hierarch. If you've read some of Nazianzus and want to get deeper into his lesser known texts, this is the perfect volume. It is English only (no accompanying Greek text), so scholars will want additional resources for deeper study, but non-specialists will likely find the text more approachable as a result.
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May 13, 2014All of it was good. Enjoyed the poetry - well translated.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews