Catechesis and Episcopal Authority in the Life of Gregory Thaumaturgus

مرکز و کتابخانه مطالعات اسلامی به زبان های اروپایی

منو

" Catechesis and Episcopal Authority in the Life of Gregory Thaumaturgus "
Allison L. Gray

Document Type	:	AL
Record Number	:	1085544
Doc. No	:	LA129173
Call No	:	‭10.1163/15700720-12341450‬
Language of Document	:	English
Main Entry	:	Allison L. Gray
Title & Author	:	Catechesis and Episcopal Authority in the Life of Gregory Thaumaturgus [Article]\ Allison L. Gray
Publication Statement	:	Leiden: Brill
Title of Periodical	:	Vigiliae Christianae
Date	:	2020
Volume/ Issue Number	:	74/5
Page No	:	515–539
Abstract	:	In a seldom discussed episode from Gregory of Nyssa’s Life of Gregory Thaumaturgus, the wonderworking bishop converts a pagan temple custodian using the written word and a miracle. Physical proofs seem essential for teaching this outsider about divine power. Yet in the very next episode the narrator praises Thaumaturgus for disregarding physical appearances and for keeping silent. A close reading of the Life 34-47 demonstrates that Gregory of Nyssa models, within the narrative, a progression from basic catechesis through signs to the more complex work of interpreting signs, making inferences from what is seen to that which remains unseen. Contextualizing this paradoxical sequence of Thaumaturgus vignettes in Cappadocian discussions of divine condescension and principles of fourth-century Christian paideia, I show that Gregory of Nyssa uses the juxtaposition between Thaumaturgus’ teaching and conduct to model the flexible approach required for bishops to communicate the nature of divine power to varied audiences. In a seldom discussed episode from Gregory of Nyssa’s Life of Gregory Thaumaturgus, the wonderworking bishop converts a pagan temple custodian using the written word and a miracle. Physical proofs seem essential for teaching this outsider about divine power. Yet in the very next episode the narrator praises Thaumaturgus for disregarding physical appearances and for keeping silent. A close reading of the Life 34-47 demonstrates that Gregory of Nyssa models, within the narrative, a progression from basic catechesis through signs to the more complex work of interpreting signs, making inferences from what is seen to that which remains unseen. Contextualizing this paradoxical sequence of Thaumaturgus vignettes in Cappadocian discussions of divine condescension and principles of fourth-century Christian paideia, I show that Gregory of Nyssa uses the juxtaposition between Thaumaturgus’ teaching and conduct to model the flexible approach required for bishops to communicate the nature of divine power to varied audiences.
Descriptor	:	biography
Descriptor	:	bishops
Descriptor	:	Cappadocians
Descriptor	:	catechesis
Descriptor	:	miracles
Descriptor	:	paideia
Location & Call number	:	‭10.1163/15700720-12341450‬