Gregory Thaumaturgus
Home > Church Fathers > Gregory Thaumaturgus Gregory Thaumaturgus At a Glance Treatise Genre: (5/5) ***** Reliability of Dating: (5/5) ***** Length of Text: Greek Original Language: Ancient Translations: Modern Translations: English Estimated Range of Dating: 265-282 A.D. Chronological List of Early Christian Writings Discuss this text on the Early Writings forum. Text Gregory Thaumaturgus Homily of Gregory Thaumaturgus Offsite Links Wace's Dictionary: Gregory Thaumaturgus Bardenhewer's Patrology Books Claudio Moreschini and Enrico Norelli, Early Christian Greek and Latin Literature, Vol. 1, pp. 308-313 Johannes Quasten, Patrology (4 Volume Set), vol. 2, pp. 123-128 U. Hamm, Dictionary of Early Christian Literature, pp.
479-480 Recommended Books for the Study of Early Christian Writings Information on Gregory Thaumaturgus Enrico Norelli writes, "We begin with the writings attributable with certainty to Gregory. The Canonical Letter is a set of eleven canons (the 11th being a later addition), addressed by Gregory the Wonderworker to another bishop, having to do with the attitude to be adopted in the church toward problems raised by the invasion of the Goths and Borads: What attitude was to be taken toward women who had been violated and toward Christians who had taken advantage of the situation to enrich themselves by expropriating the possessions of their own brethren, or who had joined the barbarian invaders and participated in the killings?
The norms to be followed are taken from the Bible. But in his determination to restore order, Gregory displays a balance and a leniency towards all who are ready to repent. Gregory has also left a Metaphrasis of Ecclesiastes, that is, a word-for-word transcription of that book into classical Greek." (Early Christian Greek and Latin Literature, vol. 1, p. 309) H. Schneider writes, "In the panegyric on Origen (pan. Or.), Gregory sees divine providence at work in the complicated events leading to his meeting with Origen in Caesarea. This speech of thanks and farewell gives valuable information on Origen's dealings with his students and his program of studies. In addition to the study of the natural sciences, all the ancient poets and philosophers were read and explained, except for the atheists.
Dialectical abilities were trained more socratico in penetrating discussions. Ethical instruction aimed not only at the four cardinal virtues and self-knowledge in accordance with the Delphic oracle's 'know thyself' (gnothi seauton) but also at the specifically Christian virtues of patience (hypomone, i.e., of the martyrs) and piety (eusebeia, 'the mother of all virtues'). Theology was the high point in the course of studies. Origen proved an expositor of genius in biblical exegesis. The panegyric is an eloquent testimony to the extraordinarily close and friendly relationship between student and master. Gregory describes Origen as the paradigm of the wise man (paradeigma sophou).
Gregory thought of his stay with Origen in Caesarea as 'paradise' (to use the language of the panegyric). When he had to say farewell, he felt like a second Adam being expelled form the garden." (Dictionary of Early Christian Literature, p. 270) Enrico Norelli writes, "The traditional reconstruction of Gregory's youthful years depends on his identification as the author of the Address of Gratitude to Origen, an identification based not only on the attribution of the work to him in the manuscripts but also and above all on Eusebius (Hist. eccl. 6.30), who says that among the most illustrious of Origen's students in Caesarea, he himself knew 'Theodore, who was the Gregory famous among the bishops of our time, and his brother Athenodorus.' But P.