Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Second Series Volume V Gregory of Nyssa: Dogmatic Treatises

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series #5

by Gregory of Nyssa, Philip Schaff (Editor)

No Dust Jacket Present, Tight Seemingly Unread, No Chipping or Tears to Edges, No Markings or Creasing

Genres: Theology, Church History, Christianity

584 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1954

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

[Jacob Aitken]

As is usually the case with the Schaff editions of the Church Fathers, the individual volumes are marked both by triumph and failure (the failure always on the part of the editors). First, a few critical comments on the arrangement of the material. Then, an examination of Gregory's theology. Gregory's response to the Second Book of Eunomius does not have subsections, making it difficult to follow and impossible to cross-reference. Yet, many of the leading monographs point to key arguments in this book by subsection, which the editors left out. The same applies to On the Soul and the Resurrection. Thirdly, the editors have frequent footnotes to material and sidebars that have little to do with the current discussion. Concentrating on reading small font, double-columned pages is difficult enough without distractions. .



The Content of Gregory's Theology

Gregory's theology can be seen as a division between Uncreated reality and created reality. While capable of standing alone, it is best seen as a critique of Eunomius' heresy. The main point of contention is Eunomius maintains that the Son and the Holy Spirit are part of created reality (p. 56; all page references are to the specific pages in the Schaff edition). Eunomius would also reduce the divine essence to "Ungenerateness." He does this because he knows the Son is not Ungenerate; therefore, the Son is not of the essence of the Father and is reduced to created reality.



Gregory is at pains to respond accordingly: we cannot know the divine essence (103; 257). If we cannot know the divine essence, then Eunomius cannot define and reduce the divine essence to "Ungenerateness." Rather, we know God by his operations/energies (221--God is above every name; God's names are not interchangeable with his essence, contra later Augustinians; God's names are rather identified with his energies. Cf David Bradshaw's response to David Bentley Hart in Orthodox Readings of Augustine; see p. 265 for a very clear distinction between essence and energies; see page 328--we can only know the divine nature by the operations).



How successful was St Gregory in refuting Eunomius? In terms of clarity he wasn't very successful. St Basil was more clear and St Gregory Nazianzus had more rhetorical flair.



To be fair, there is a section early in the first response to Eunomius where Gregory identifies God with the Good.

[David Withun · Rating 4 out of 5]

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[Alex]

Only read "On Virginity".

Gregory is forced in one part to acknowledge that marriage is not evil (i.e. it is God's institution). However, he so bewails the evils attending the married life and exalts the single-ascetic life, that he renders marriage and child-rearing as doomed to worldliness.

On a positive note, I do appreciate Gregory's illustrations and analogies. I find them useful for other moral lessons.

[Daniel Klawitter]

The best parts of this collection are not the extended treaties Against Eunomius, which take up the vast majority of the book. Which isn't to say there are no good insults used against Gregory's primary theological opponent, as in the following: "By mixing his heretical opinions with sound doctrines, he makes uneatable even that which is in itself nutritious, by the gravel which he has mingled with it." Pretty good snide aside by the orthodox Father.

[Jeni Enjaian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I come once again to those books where I am not nearly qualified to review nor spend enough time in detailed reading to review. These free PDFs available online and are excellent resources for those interested in the church fathers and definitely an excellent resource for those studying anything to do with the period. These few words will have to suffice.

[CJ Bowen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Heroic work on the Trinity, some advances over Origen, some excellent typological work, and some astonishingly farcical allegorizing. The range of letters at the end was fascinating, but the final letter seemed petty, and the wrong way to end.

[Wyatt Houtz · Rating 3 out of 5]

See my review here:
http://houtz.tv/2013/09/11/saint-gregory-of-nyssa/