Gregory of Nazianzus on the Trinity and the Knowledge of God: In Your Light We Shall See Light

Oxford Studies in Historical Theology

by Christopher A. Beeley

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.

Genres: Theology, History

416 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Carson Harraman · Rating 5 out of 5]

An unbelievable book.

[Amy Hughes · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's always a delight to marinate in all that is the poet-theologian Gregory of Nazianzus. He's the kind of theologian people don't realize that they would enjoy reading. He is known for his direct and clear articulation of difficult concepts and loses himself easily in the mysteries he finds in Scripture. Beeley offers an excellent introduction and an emphasis on his theology in a more sustained way that I appreciated. While I think he tips to scales too much on what is owed to Origen and not enough to his other influences, I did appreciate the navigation of Gregory's influences (especially the teasing out of what if any contact he had with Athanasius's work). Beeley also tended to overplay his hand at times. When he wanted to stress Gregory's contributions to understanding the Trinity, Beeley would often slide into what read a bit like caricatures of the modern receptions of early trinitarian theology. I agree with Valerie Karras's reading that he tended to overstate Gregory's uniqueness.

With these caveats in mind, Beeley's work is well worth the read for its emphasis on Gregory's soteriological paradigm, contributions to the doctrine of the Holy Spirit, and his approach to pastoral ministry in addition to the strong introduction and the sustained look at his trinitarian thought.

[Josef Muench · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deeply stimulating. Beeley is to be thanked for demonstrating the richness of Gregory’s theology from every side and restoring his legacy as “the Theologian.” His account of Gregory’s emphasis on the monarchy of the Father as the center of his robustly trinitarian theology is very helpful. The concluding chapter is also interesting for situating Gregory in relation to other theologians, particularly the other “Cappadocian fathers.”

[Scott Bielinski · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really great book with a remarkable final sentence: "Among his theological, ecclesiastical, and literary accomplishments, Gregory's greatest achievement and the just case of his renown was to show with practical and theoretical skill that the divine light of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is the very meaning of the Christian life and indeed of all creaturely existence" (323).

Beeley's book is excellent, though I can't help but feel he overstates some of Gregory and Basil's differences. Some of Beeley's interpretations of Gregory seemed to lean a bit too hard on the overwrought "East vs West" models of the Trinity, too.

Minor criticisms aside, this book was a joy to read. The opening chapter on Gregory himself and the final chapter on the trinitarian shape of pastoral ministry were particularly excellent.

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

A magisterial treatment of Gregory of Nazianzus' entire theological project, both stimulating and challenging. I'm not a patristics scholar, but it seems to me that this book is a landmark contribution to that field...

[Jacob Aitken · Rating 5 out of 5]

Christopher Beeley gives a fine summary and exposition of Gregory's key orations. Beeley argues that Knowledge of God is a two-fold dialectic of purification and illumination. Our knowledge of God is intimately rooted in who God is. In the sense of God’s grandeur, he cannot be fully known or mastered (95). God isn’t different from us in degree, but kind. He is fully beyond time and space (Or. 2.5; 76).

Gregory’s epistemology: anything that can be understood, and all language, is mentally ‘embodied,’ so that we are incapable of transcending the corporeality of our knowing (99-100). This is the negative way of saying we know God. The positive is by the concept of “illumination.” God’s being/light overflows and fills us. This is a dynamic process in which we grow.

Jesus Christ: The Son of God

Gregory’s Christology is connected to the theosis tradition (116ff). As Beeley notes, “We have been created in a state of dynamic movement towards God” (118). Gregory is primarily interested in the dynamic economy of Christ’s divinity. Beeley has a fine explanation of Kenotic Christology: Kenosis and condescension are relative, not absolute terms. They describe the shape of Christ’s assumption (127).
The Holy Spirit

Like his Christology, the Holy Spirit is soteriological in character. Since the Holy Spirit deifies and is not deifies, then he is God, full stop. Gregory is drawing upon Origen’s Spirit-Letter dichotomy (166).

The Spirit is involved in the self-revelation of the Trinity. “The sequential self-revelation of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit reflects an increase in the power and intensity of that revelation, so that each successive stage prepares the recipients for the next one” (171).

The Trinity

Gregory is more interested in the theology of the divine economy than he is in consubstantiality. “Economy” refers to God’s governance. Monarchia of God the Father: Gregory anchors each person in the unique role of God the father as source and cause (204). It is the ground of the divine unity. In response to Meyendorff, Beeley notes that the first principle of the Trinity is not simply “personhood” but hypostasis + divine essence (212).

Conclusion

The book is top-notch scholarship. While it can't stand alone as a text on St Gregory, if read in conjunction with McGuckin it will give the student a firm foundation in Patristic studies.

[Tyson Guthrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent treatment of Gregory's pastoral theology as it relates to the knowledge of God as Trinity.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book presents the field of scholarship on Gregory of Nazianzus in a rather negative light, but has great summaries of research of the past 50 years. Helpful resource

[Samantha Barbery · Rating 5 out of 5]

AWESOME! I haven't read it, but it's by my uncle, so o yea!