The IV century in the history of the ancient Christian Church was marked by the activity of many prominent hierarchs who made a great contribution to the preaching of Christianity. One of these prominent preachers was St. Gregory of Nyssa.
Saint Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa, was the younger brother of one of the three ecumenical teachers and saints of the Church of St. Basil the Great. Gregory received childhood education with his older brother from the pious grandmother Makrina, who is also revered as a saint in Orthodoxy. Gregory acquired further education from prominent secular mentors, which determined the high secular education of the future saint. It is known from the life of St. Gregory that the future luminary of the Church was a teacher of eloquence.
St. Gregory the Theologian persuaded the sophist to abandon worldly vanity and devote his life to the service of God and his neighbors. After the admonition of Gregory the Theologian, the future bishop of Nyssa retired to the desert for feat.
Soon after, Basil the Great decided to put his younger brother in the bishops of the city of Nyssa. Saint Basil wanted to see a reliable assistant in the enlightenment of people by the Christian faith, as well as in helping to combat the widespread Arian heresy that tormented the Church in the III-V centuries.
After the episcopal ordination, Gregory became an ardent defender of Orthodoxy and a strict denouncer of Arianism. Heretics, dissatisfied with the behavior of the saint, began to openly slander Gregory, which led to the expulsion of St. Nyssa. However, even in exile, Gregory preached the foundations of the gospel doctrine, affirming people everywhere in the Orthodox faith.
After the death of the Arian emperor Valent, St. Gregory was returned to his department.
A special place in the life of the saint is occupied by his presence among other Orthodox bishops at the Second Ecumenical Council. It should also be noted that Gregory of Nyssa is known for many compositions of a dogmatic nature, affirming the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The saint died about 395. The memory of the great saint is celebrated by the Church on January 23 in a new style.
