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

by Christopher A. Beeley

Overview

Gregory of Nazianzus, a 4th-century bishop of Constantinople, receives relatively little attention from modern Western scholars, yet he is one of the most influential theologians in the history of Christian doctrine. As an advocate for the conceptual understanding of the Trinity, Gregory set precedents for the way his fellow and future Christians would perceive and worship God. Christopher A. Beeley presents the first comprehensive study in modern Western scholarship of Gregory's doctrine of the Trinity in the full range of his theological and practical vision of the Christian life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199886135
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	06/27/2008
Series:	Oxford Studies in Historical Theology
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Christopher A. Beeley is the Walter H. Gray Assistant Professor of Anglican Studies and Patristics at Yale University Divinity School and Berkeley Divinity School at Yale, and an Episcopal priest.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Gregory's Life and Work
1. God and the Theologian
2. Jesus Christ
3. The Holy Spirit
4. The Trinity
5. Pastoral Ministry and the Trinity

Editorial Reviews

"Christopher Beeley's book sheds new light on important aspects of Gregory's theology. But the major contribution of his argument is to show persuasively how all Gregory's doctrinal themes cohere in his soteriological understanding of the Trinity, an understanding that Beeley carefully locates in Gregory's own experience both as a Christian leader in controversial times and as a Christian thinker informed by scripture and by the classical Greek heritage. The book demonstrates how, for Gregory, the Trinity not only frames the entire Christian message of salvation but also functions as the wellspring for the spiritual life and for pastoral care." Rowan A. Greer, Professor Emeritus, Yale Divinity School, and author of Christian Hope and Christian Life

"This fine book hones in on the place of the doctrine of the Trinity in Gregory of Nazianzus' theology. Christopher Beeley shows how the Trinity was the glowing heart of Gregory's theology, informing every aspect of it-his understanding of Christ, of the Holy Spirit, his pastoral theology and the place of prayer in the knowledge of God. Everything starts from and returns to the love flowing from 'My Trinity', as Gregory daringly calls it." —Andrew Louth, author of St John Damascene: Tradition and Originality in Byzantine Theology

"This brilliant book is the first full-length study since the late 1940s of Gregory of Nazianzus's contribution to the development of classical Christian theology. Gregory is sometimes written off by modern Western scholars as unoriginal and lacking in speculative substance, a skillful rhetorician but little more. Christopher Beeley brings together historical erudition, thorough knowledge of Gregory's many writings, and deep critical insight into his creative achievement as preacher, poet, and systematic thinker, in a way bound to change permanently our appreciation of the radical newness and the practical implications of his work. Now it should be clearer than ever why the Greek Christian tradition, since shortly after his death, has called this fourth-century humanist and bishop 'Gregory the Theologian.'" —Brian E. Daley, SJ, Professor of Theology, University of Notre Dame

From the Publisher