EarlyChurch.co.uk > Reading Room > St Gregory of Nazianzus

Home Courses Reading Room Get in Touch Stay in Touch Favourites Thoughts

Extracts from St Gregory of Nazianzus' Works
The following documents contain quotations from St Gregory of Nazianzus, grouped around some of his characteristic themes:

The Kenosis of the Son		The Hallowing of Humanity
The Son is not a slave to the Father		Balancing Biblical passages about Christ
Theology and the "Knowledge" of God		The Trinity
The Deity of the Holy Spirit		The Cure of Souls

All of the above quotations are included in this document Gregory of Nazianzus - All Quotes

Books About St Gregory of Nazianzus

	*J. A. McGuckin, St Gregory of Nazianzus: An Intellectual Biography* (New York: St Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2001) ISBN: 0881412228 (paperback) 0881412295 (hardback)**
	McGuckin provides an exceptionally insightful and detailed analysis of the life & work of St Gregory, yet manages to do so in a very easy to read style. This book contains much easily-digestible information on the important theological debates and history of the 4th century, arranged around Gregory’s life. If you’re intrigued by the sensitive figure of St Gregory, this book is an absolute must! The book on Gregory - highly recommended. Note: The hardback edition is listed as “hard to find”, so you may also want to try looking on Abebooks.

	*R. R. Ruether, Gregory of Nazianzus: Rhetor and Philosopher* (Lima, Ohio: Academic Renewal Press, 2003) ISBN: 0788099140**
	Gregory had a long (and undoubtedly very expensive) classical education, steeped in Greek culture & philosophy. This inheritance comes across in Gregory’s style of writing which spans several genres - theological treatises, poetry, panegyrics and other orations. This book examines both Gregory’s use of his cultural background in his writings as well as Gregory’s attempt to combine the life of an educated gentleman with the ascetic and contemplative life. This book provides many good insights into Gregory’s life and personality. Note: Originally published by Oxford University Press in 1969, but reprinted in 2003. The details above are for the reprinted edition which seems to be available second hand via Abebooks for Ł10-20.

	*D. F. Winslow, The Dynamics of Salvation: A Study in Gregory of Nazianzus* (Patristic Monograph Series #7) (Cambridge, MA: The Philadelphia Patristics Foundation, 1979) ISBN: 0915646064**
	This book is a reshaped PhD thesis on the concept of theosis (deification) - “one of the major soteriological themes absent from the New Testament but very prominent in patristic literature” - and a constant theme in St Gregory's vision of the God-human interaction. Not a book for the newcomer to Early Church study, but once you’ve read some of Gregory’s writings (and perhaps some works by St Athanasius and/or Cyril of Alexandria) it would be well worth trying to get hold of a copy if you’re trying to grapple with theosis. The final chapter has a useful discussion of what theosis is not as well as what it is. Not in print, but available second hand for about Ł25-30.

St Gregory of Nazianzus' Works in Translation

	P. Schaff and H. Wace (editors), The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church: Second Series, Volume 7: Cyril of Jerusalem, Gregory of Nazianzen
	This one volume contains a large selection of Gregory's writings - 24 of his 45 orations and 95 of his 245 letters - making it great value and a very good "one stop shop". The major drawback is that these translations are not always light reading, due to the Victorian language employed. In addition, none of Gregory’s poetry is included (but you can make up for that with one or both of the collections of his poetry below). However, it’s still very worth obtaining and is commonly available second hand for around Ł10 (+ p&p). Alternatively, view, download and print the texts for FREE! See the CCEL website.

	*F. Williams and L. Wickham (translators), On God and Christ: The Five Theological Orations and Two Letters to Cledonius* (New York: SVS Press, 2002) ISBN: 0881412406**
	This affordable little paperback collects together Gregory’s classic speeches on the Trinity (the Five Theological Orations) with two important letters discussing Christology, in an easy to read modern translation. All of these texts are also in the Nicene and Post Nicene Fathers collection (above), but I’d recommend reading these works in this version - it just makes life easier. Note: Amazon doesn’t seem to list this book as available new. You might want to try searching on the Blackwell's, or Abebooks websites.

	*Peter Gilbert (translator), On God and Man: The Theological Poetry of St Gregory of Nazianzus* (New York: St Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2001) ISBN: 0881412201**
	This small paperback contains a useful short introduction to, and overview of, Gregory’s poetry as well as a selection of translations. I’m not convinced the translator has managed to convey the gravitas which Gregory would have intended in certain places, but then, what do I know? Listed as “hard to find” on Amazon, so you might want to try Abebooks as well.

	*J. A. McGuckin (translator), Saint Gregory Nazianzen: Selected Poems* (Oxford: SLG Press, 1986) ISBN: 0728301075**
	A booklet containing a handful of Gregory’s poems in translation. Some of these are also translated by Gilbert (see above), but where they overlap, I prefer McGuckin’s version. Since this text only costs a couple of pounds (+ p&p) second hand, it would be a crime not to get a copy of both…

	*C. White, Gregory of Nazianzus: Autobiographical Poems* (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996) ISBN: 0521472814**
	In contrast to the two books of Gregory’s poetry mentioned above, this text concentrates on Gregory’s autobiographical poems. Most importantly this book contains a translation of his long De Vita Sua (“Concerning his own life”), in which Gregory recalls and reviews his (sad) life story from the perspective of retirement on his family’s estate. If you want to get in touch with Gregory at his most melancholy, this is the book for you! If you’re able to read a little Greek, you may also appreciate the Greek text on the facing pages which you can dip into whilst reading the English translation. You might also want to see if Abebooks has a copy.

	*M. M. Vinson (translator), St Gregory of Nazianzus: Select Orations, Fathers of the Church 107 (Washington DC: Catholic University of America Press, 2003) ISBN: 0813201071*
	This book consists of translations of 19 further orations which were not included in the Nicene and Post Nicene Fathers collection (above). There are still 2 other orations (the invectives against the Emperor Julian) which are unfortunately not included in either collection. But if you’re looking to collect an (almost) full set of Gregory’s orations, you might want to pick up this book as well.

Want more?
For more suggested reading, you may also wish to visit the Reading Room page on (All three of) The Cappadocian Fathers.