Category Archives: Gregory Nazianzen

“He dies, but He gives life, and by His death destroys death”

Posted on 22 April 2022 by Fr Aidan Kimel

He was baptized as Man but He remitted sins as God not because He needed purification rites Himself, but that He might sanctify the element of water. He was tempted as Man, but He conquered as God. Yes, He commands … Continue reading →

Posted in Gregory Nazianzen | Comments Off on “He dies, but He gives life, and by His death destroys death”

To See God Crucified: The Theopaschism of St Gregory Nazianzen

Posted on 2 January 2022 by Fr Aidan Kimel

Before there was Jürgen Moltmann and his celebrated book The Crucified God, there was St Gregory the Theologian. Of the early Church Fathers none spoke more directly and more unitively of the death of the eternal Son. The gospel is … Continue reading →

Posted in Gregory Nazianzen | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

St Gregory the Theologian and the Apollinarian Nonsense

Posted on 28 December 2021 by Fr Aidan Kimel

A God-man without a human mind—that appears to have been the view advanced by Apollinarius in the late 4th century. I suppose it makes some kind of sense. If the divine spirit effectively substitutes for the human mind in Jesus … Continue reading →

Posted in Gregory Nazianzen | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on St Gregory the Theologian and the Apollinarian Nonsense

Mixing and Blending: The Orthodox Recipe for Theanthropos

Posted on 21 December 2021 by Fr Aidan Kimel

“He comes forth, God with what he assumed, one from two opposites, flesh and spirit, the one deifying and the other deified. O the new mixture! O the paradoxical blending! He who is comes into being, and the uncreated is … Continue reading →

Posted in Gregory Nazianzen | Tagged , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

The Unitive Christology of St Gregory the Theologian

Posted on 20 December 2021 by Fr Aidan Kimel

The christology of St Gregory the Theologian, writes Christopher Beeley, “remains one of the great theological achievements of Christian tradition.”1 One is struck by how Gregory antici­pates the christology of St Cyril of Alexandria. Here is no God dressed in … Continue reading →

Posted in Gregory Nazianzen | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on The Unitive Christology of St Gregory the Theologian

St Gregory the Theologian: Purifying the Theologians into the Holy Trinity

Posted on 24 June 2021 by Fr Aidan Kimel

On 9 August 378 the Eastern Roman Emperor and earnest supporter of Arianism, Valens, was killed by the Goths at the Battle of Adrianople. Emperor Gratian subsequently appoint­ed one of his ablest generals as co-emperor and Augustus of the East—Theodosius … Continue reading →

Posted in Gregory Nazianzen | Comments Off on St Gregory the Theologian: Purifying the Theologians into the Holy Trinity

St Gregory the Theologian: How to Purify Pagans into the Holy Trinity

Posted on 21 June 2021 by Fr Aidan Kimel

Oration 39 was most likely delivered by St Gregory the Theologian at the evening vigil of the Feast of the Epi­phany (A.D. 381). His audience would have included the cate­chu­mens who were expecting to be baptized on the next day. … Continue reading →

Posted in Gregory Nazianzen | Comments Off on St Gregory the Theologian: How to Purify Pagans into the Holy Trinity

St Gregory the Theologian: Incomprehensible Deity and the Glory of Theosis

Posted on 16 June 2021 by Fr Aidan Kimel

In the winter of A.D. 380-381, St Gregory the Theologian, recently appointed Archbishop of Constantinople, delivered his famous Epiphany Homilies (Orations 38, 39, and 40) to the congregation of the Church of the Holy Apostles.1 Scholars debate whether the churches … Continue reading →

Posted in Gregory Nazianzen | 3 Comments