ST. GREGORY, BISHOP OF NEOCAESAREA, SURNAMED THE THAUMATURGE. HISTORICAL AND LITERARY NOTICE
(Galland., *Vet. Patr. Biblioth.*, III, Proleg., p. xxv.)
A I. Gregory, formerly Theodore, educated in Greek and Roman studies, is consecrated bishop of Neocaesarea. At what time he departed this life.
Saint Gregory, formerly called Theodore, surnamed the Great, was the first bishop of Neocaesarea in Pontus, being called the Thaumaturge on account of the signs and miracles which he performed to the great glory of the churches, as Jerome says (1). According to the witness of Eusebius (2), this man and his brother Athenodorus, having been educated in Greek and Roman studies, were imbued with the first rudiments of the faith by Origen at Caesarea in Palestine and led to the meditation of divine things. Having returned to his homeland after five years, around the year of Christ 239, Gregory was, not long after, though unwilling, consecrated bishop by Phaedimus, the prelate of Amasea; not indeed, as some have said, by a mere invocation of the divine Number made from a distance upon an absent person, but by the solemn imposition of hands, *πάντων μετὰ ταῦτα τῶν νομίμων ἐπ' αὐτῷ τελεσθέντων*, "everything required by the rites of the Church having been subsequently performed upon him," as Nyssenus explicitly states in his Life (3), B as the illustrious Le Quien rightly notes (4). He therefore governed the Church committed to him with sedulous zeal and the highest pastoral solicitude for a very long time, as Saint Basil testifies (5), being called by Eusebius (6) "the most renowned of bishops in our age," *ὁ καθ' ἡμᾶς ἐπισκόπων διαβόητος*. Coming at last to his final hour, when he had inquired how many idol-worshippers still remained in the city; and when he learned that there were no more than seventeen, he gave thanks to God, saying: "There were just as many who professed the faith of Christ at the time when I undertook to govern this Church (7)." We pass over the rest of his deeds, which are to be repeated below, both from the testimonies which we have placed before his Works, and from his own Life written by Saint Gregory of Nyssa. C But in what year this holy prelate died is not clear. Only this much is understood from Eusebius (8), that he stood out greatly among those Fathers who first gathered at Antioch in the year 264 because of the heresy of Paul of Samosata. But if credence is to be given to the author of the *Libellus synodicus*, written down in the times of Photius, Gregory of Neocaesarea was still among the living in the year 270, inasmuch as he is said to have attended the second Council of Antioch, at which Paul of Samosata is finally reported to have been deposed and condemned. For thus the author of the *Synodicon* writes (9): *Σύνοδος θεία καὶ ἱερὰ τοπική, ἐν Ἀντιοχείᾳ συναθροισθεῖσα· ἧς ἔξαρχος ἦν Ἕλενος, ὁ Ταρσοῦ ἐπίσκοπος... ὁ Θαυματουργὸς Γρηγόριος, Καισαρείας Πόντου, κ. τ. λ.* "A divine and holy provincial synod, gathered at Antioch: its presiding officer was Helenus, bishop of Tarsus... the miracle-worker Gregory of Caesarea in Pontus, etc." D I would not, however, willingly assent to the opinion of this writer, although it is approved by learned men (10). For in the subscription of the synodal letter which the Fathers of this council wrote to Dionysius, bishop of the city of Rome, and to Maximus of Alexandria (11), although many bishops are named after Helenus of Tarsus, our Gregory nowhere appears: yet he ought to have been named if he had been present; he who is reported to have stood out remarkably among the Fathers of the previous Council of Antioch. And what we think concerning the author of the *Libellus synodicus*, we believe is to be understood also of Theodore Balsamon, who relates that Paul of Samosata was deposed by Gregory Thaumaturgus and others (12), who perhaps cited the aforementioned anonymous author.
followed. But omitting these matters, let the discourse turn to a brief review of the writings of our holy Father.
II. The Exposition of the Faith of St. Gregory, dictated by divine inspiration. It is asserted to be authentic by the testimony of the ancients.
Among the monuments of piety and doctrine left by Gregory to the Church of Neocaesarea as a precious patrimony, that Exposition of the Faith is rightly celebrated above all others, which, it is reported, that admirable man, having received it through divine dictation, immediately committed to writing. Gregory of Nyssa, who faithfully narrates this event in his Life, and who was the first of all to describe this same Symbol of faith (13), appeals to the autograph of the Thaumaturge himself in these words (14): "If anyone who is a friend to this [doctrine] wishes to be convinced of it, let him listen to the Church in which he proclaimed these things, among whom the draft itself A of that blessed hand is still preserved to this day." This means: "But if anyone desires to have faith produced for him regarding this matter, let him hear the Church in which he preached these things; among whom those very words, traced by that blessed hand, are even now still preserved." He adds that the Church of Neocaesarea, having been instructed in that profession of faith from his time down to his own, has remained untainted by any heretical pravity. Basil the Great, the own brother of Nyssen, testifies to the very same thing when addressing the Neocaesareans; his words—which are to be added to the testimonies of the ancients concerning the Thaumaturge mentioned below—are of this sort (15): "Of our faith, what more evident proof could there be than that we were reared by a blessed woman, our grandmother, who sprang from you? I speak of the renowned Macrina, from whom we were taught the words of the most blessed Gregory; all those things which, having been carried down to her by a continuous chain of memory, she, on the one hand, preserved, and on the other, fashioned and formed us, while we were still infants, with the dogmas of piety." This is: "But what more evident proof of our faith could there be than that we were educated under a blessed woman as our grandmother, who originated from you? I mean that most celebrated Macrina, from whom we have been taught the words of the most blessed Gregory; all that had reached her by a continuation of memory, she not only preserved, but also used to fashion and inform us, still infants, with the dogmas of piety." And elsewhere (16): "One, therefore, of the methods of the doxology—even that which is currently gainsaid—is held in the Church by his tradition, as one of Gregory's institutions." B Gregory Nazianzen supports Nyssen and Basil, who once and again (17) in certain recitations from the same Exposition, appends these words after the aforementioned passage: Ὡς τις τῶν μικρῷ πρόσθεν θεοφόρων ἐφιλοσόφησεν: "As someone inspired by the divine numen has philosophized not long ago." That by this manner of speaking he had regard for the revelation of the Thaumaturge, or the Symbol of faith revealed to him from heaven—whose words he had used a little before—was pointed out long ago by Elias of Crete, as we noted after Billius at that place. In addition to this, Rufinus incorporated this same Gregorian Exposition into his own version of Eusebius’s History, taken, as I indeed believe, from Nyssen (18). Furthermore, the Fathers gathered at the Fifth Ecumenical Synod acknowledged it as the genuine offspring of the Thaumaturge. I omit Nicetas (19) and other Greek writers cited in Allatius (20), who also praised it.
Since these things are so, there is now no place left to doubt the authority C of this Exposition. If anyone should object to the silence of Eusebius and Jerome, I for my part would not dare to affirm that the bishop of Caesarea omitted any mention of the Gregorian Symbol of faith solely for this reason, because it was a sufficiently accurate exposition regarding the most holy Trinity (consubstantial): though Photius long ago observed (21) that Eusebius was accustomed to omit in his History whatever seemed to impugn or overturn the Arian impiety. But as far as Jerome is concerned, no one is unaware that the holy doctor for the most part follows Eusebius himself in his book *De viris illustribus*. Moreover, whoever brings forward either Eusebius or Jerome as silent in order to disparage the credibility of the Gregorian Exposition, let him remember what we have said elsewhere both concerning the Syriac epistles of Clement of Rome (22) and the book of Claudius Apollinaris on the Pasch (23). But let us proceed with the discourse on the remaining writings of the holy Father.
III. The Metaphrase on Ecclesiastes is asserted to be St. Gregory’s. Concerning this work, what [says] Billius, what [says] Bengelius?
The Exposition of the Faith is followed by the Metaphrase on Ecclesiastes, which our Gregory wrote most magnificently, in the judgment of Rufinus (24); "a work short, indeed, but very useful," says Jerome (25): who, incorporating in his own Commentary on Ecclesiastes some things described from this same Metaphrase, has this to say (26): "The holy man, Gregory, bishop of Pontus, a disciple of Origen, in his Metaphrase of Ecclesiastes, understood this passage in this way, etc." "Therefore," to speak with Billius (27), "Jerome and Rufinus remove from us every ground for doubt, who assert this offspring to be the true one of its begetter, Gregory of Neocaesarea." But that such a work should have been attributed to Nazianzen D
in most Greek manuscripts, and even in that very ancient Royal one which the learned Montfaucon describes accurately, and thus it holds the last place among his orations—at least in the editions—not to mention that only a common name is at issue. For, although one cannot deny from the style that the person who composed it was highly learned and fluent, yet it does not in every respect reflect that elaborate and cultivated mode of discourse which shines everywhere in the writings of Nazianzen. The connections of the sentences are somewhat harder, and the transitions more abrupt. If certain words had been interspersed at times, the whole appearance of the context would be much smoother, and the sentences would not coincide so reluctantly with one another. However, perhaps it does not do so because the discourse does not run in a completely free field, but is circumscribed by the, as it were, bars of a translation. So far that learned man. Furthermore, to attribute this Metaphrase to its author, there is also the fact that certain peculiar locutions occur in it, which the Thaumaturge uses in his Panegyric to Origen, as can be seen in the following annotations of the learned Bengel, who adds also this relevant point: "Modesty," he says, "which indeed makes a certain unique character of Gregory entire... was the cause, I believe, why he should choose from all the books of Sacred Scripture the *Ecclesiastes* most especially, as a demonstrator of vanity, to be adorned with a Metaphrase, and should write so much and so opportunely in that work." Furthermore, we have based our edition on the Parisian one of the year 1621, with the addition of some notes by learned men, namely Vossius, Billius, Ducæus, and Bengel.
IV. On the age in which the Canonical Epistle of St. Gregory was written. What does the Quinisext Council say about it? Is its eleventh canon genuine?
Among the letters of our holy Father which were commonly circulated at the time the greatest doctor was writing, one remains, which has been printed many times among the canonical epistles of the Fathers and in the editions of the Councils. It is evident from the very introduction that it was inscribed to a certain bishop of Pontus, as Gregory, addressing him, calls him "most holy papa"—for bishops were commonly called popes in those days. But it is claimed that the holy Father wrote it at that time when the Boradi and the Goths, whom he himself mentions in the fifth canon, had invaded Pontus, among other provinces of Asia, during the reign of Valerian, as Zosimus relates; and thus the epistle seems to have been written in the year of Christ 258. Since, therefore, many Christians who had fallen into captivity through this barbarian incursion had committed many and grievous sins, the holy prelate of Neocaesarea wrote these canons so that the good shepherd might look to their salvation. A In the Quinisext Council this sanction was issued: "We seal all the remaining canons which have been set forth by our holy and blessed Fathers; that is, those of Gregory, bishop of Neocaesarea, the Thaumaturge, etc."
And the first ten canons are indeed acknowledged by the calculations of all scholars to belong to Gregory of Neocaesarea; but many reject the eleventh and last as spurious, led by the very learned man Joannes Morinus, who sets forth his opinion in these words: "That the last canon," he says, "attributed to Gregory Thaumaturge is not his own, as is commonly believed and as Balsamon thinks, but was collected from the preceding canons, and mostly from St. Basil, and annexed to Gregory's canons, is manifest first from the tenor of the language; for it is not a canon, but a commentary, explaining the words which Gregory had used. For he had used these stations and their names as things vulgar and known to all, just as St. Basil and the Councils of Nicaea, Ancyra, etc., did, nor did it come into their minds to interpret them, seeing that the matter was known to all. Then he reveals it himself when he writes: 'Auditio,' he says, etc.; for when the author was writing these things, he had in mind the canon of St. Basil, from which that interpretation was taken. There is in the library of the illustrious Chancellor of France a most ancient collection of Greek canons, compiled eight hundred years ago by Gregory, Patriarch of Constantinople, which includes the other canons of the Thaumaturge, except for this one; the evidence is clear that this commentary was appended to the Epistle of the Thaumaturge after some time." So far the aforementioned scholar.
On the other hand, Natalis Alexander vigorously defends the genuineness of this same eleventh canon, first from the authority of the most ancient manuscripts which were held by Balsamon, Patriarch of Antioch, who illustrated this letter of Gregory with his own commentaries; and then from the seventh, eighth, and ninth canons of the same epistle, which enumerate the same degrees of penance that are mentioned in the eleventh canon, which has been brought into doubt. Moreover, he uses other arguments for the same opinion, also meeting the objections of Morinus; to whom, therefore, we refer the readers. Furthermore, we present this epistle from the *Synodicon* of Beveridge, having additionally collated the Parisian editions of Balsamon (1620) and Zonaras (1621), at the end of the Works of the Thaumaturge.
V. On the Panegyrical Oration of St. Gregory to Origen. In what esteem it was held.
In the last place, we set forth the Panegyrical Oration to Origen, which, about the year of Christ 239, being about to say farewell to the Origenian school at Caesarea in Palestine, "and having gathered a great assembly," says Jerome, "with Origen himself also present, our [saint] recited it."
Gregory: and this, as Socrates testifies (38), the holy martyr Pamphilus had annexed to those books which he wrote in defense of Origen. And this oration is, as has been noted by learned men, truly excellent and very elegant, sufficiently abundant in every type of knowledge, and deservedly to be numbered among the most absolute works of antiquity for eloquence. But regarding its presentation, the judgment of the renowned Bengel pleases me more than the rest (39): "There are," he says, "men otherwise excellent, who sometimes admire a small book, filled with natural wit but empty of divine salt, so much that they prefer it to many volumes of the Fathers. If we weigh matters by this scale, we should in turn often attribute more to one passage of the Fathers, even when they are occupied with something else, than to the huge works of however subtle intellects. In this place, indeed, Gregory exquisitely embraces whatever can be said regarding virtues and vices." How much, furthermore, this very oration B profits for the confirmation of the supreme articles of the faith, Bull first (40), and then Maranus (41), have lucidly demonstrated.
As concerns the editions of this oration, Gerard Vossius, Provost of Tongeren, was the first to publish the Greek text, with the addition of the interpretation of Sirmond, at Mainz in the year 1604, and the Parisian edition of the year 1621 followed that one. But another had preceded this, which was produced at Augsburg in the year 1605 through the study of David Hoeschel with the version of Rhodoman, appended to the books of Origen against Celsus, with several notes from the editor, the translator, and Isaac Casaubon. In the year 1722 of this century, Johann Albert Bengel issued a fourth edition at Stuttgart, much more emended than the others, which he also illustrated with learned observations pertaining mostly to the text. And it is certainly to be regretted that the learned man who inserted this same oration of our Gregory C into the fourth volume of the *Origeniana*, published at Paris in the year 1759, passed over this Stuttgart edition. Provided with these aids, therefore, we have prepared our own, for the most part following Bengel; and we have distributed it according to our custom into chapters or sections, so that its reading may henceforth prove easier and more useful.
VI. These are the only genuine literary monuments of Gregory of Neocaesarea mentioned above. The rest are either doubtful or pseudepigraphical. The more prolix *Exposition of the Faith* is shown to be by Apollinaris. The same must be thought concerning the *Anathematisms*. Furthermore, these literary monuments, which we have discussed so far, are solely those which acknowledge Saint Gregory, bishop of Neocaesarea, as their author, by the authority of the ancients as well as by the consensus of recent scholars. But the remaining works, which are circulated in current editions under his name, are to be given D to others. We are even warned by Evagrius Scholasticus (42) that many of the books of Apollinaris have been falsely ascribed to Athanasius, Gregory Thaumaturgus, and Julius (the Acephali): *Πολλοὺς δὲ Ἀπολλιναρίου λόγους, Ἀθανασίῳ, καὶ Γρηγορίῳ τῷ Θαυματουργῷ καὶ Ἰουλίῳ, διὰ τῶν ἐπιγραφῶν ἀνατεθείκασι.* And of this sort is, in the first place, the more prolix *Exposition of the Faith*, inscribed *Ἡ κατὰ μέρος πίστις*, that is, *Faith digested part by part*: so called, as Gerard Vossius interprets (43), either because it hands down and explains what belongs to the faith by part, or because in it the faith is explained part by part. That Apollinaris is the genuine parent of this *Exposition* was plainly proven by the Palestinian monks and other defenders of the Council of Chalcedon under the Emperor Leo I, in the judgment of this heresiarch, which his disciple Timothy had once compiled. Which thing Leontius of Byzantium afterwards clearly testified in his book against the Apollinarists, the title of which in Latin is rendered, *To those who proffer to us certain things of Apollinaris, falsely inscribed with the name of the holy Fathers*. Thus, therefore, he [says] at the very beginning (45): "Certain ones from the heresy of Apollinaris or Eutyches or Dioscorus, when they wished to confirm their heresy, ascribed certain orations (*λόγους*) of Apollinaris to Gregory Thaumaturgus or Athanasius or Julius, in order to deceive the simpler-minded: which indeed they accomplished... And among many of those who rightly believe you will be able to find the book, whose title is *Ἡ κατὰ μέρος πίστις*, inscribed to Gregory." And the same judgment was expressed by Eulogius of Alexandria in Photius (46). And afterwards, Nicephorus of Constantinople also wrote similar things at the beginning of his dissertation against Epiphanides.
"Moreover (I use the words of the learned man (47) recently lauded), those twelve *Anathematisms* with their interpretation, which likewise have the name of the Thaumaturgus prefixed to them, are of the exact same bran. For although one nature is not clearly expressed in them, the expressions customary to the Apollinarists, with which they used to attack the poorly-conceived voices of Diodorus of Tarsus concerning the person and nature of Christ, and thus pretend to be professors of the Catholic faith, nevertheless indicate the hidden deceit. But also, from these same chapters we learn in the first place in what manner they twisted various passages of the Sacred Scriptures, by which [D (repeating for clarity)] Christ is signified to be perfect as much in his divinity as in his humanity, to satisfy their own meaning. Nor let them create a delusion where it appears that they deny the soul of the Lord to be *ἀνόητον*, a soul devoid of mind. For they do not understand it to be endowed with the human and native mind of a man, but with the divine spirit of the Word, as they say, from which it happened that *ἀνόητος*, devoid of mind, should not absolutely have been said of it. Wherefore, such formulas of faith and anathematisms to
that Lydian stone, which we produced a little earlier on account of the similar confession of Vitalis the Apollinarian to Gregory Nazianzen (48), must be recalled. Thus far the V. C., whom we also consult regarding the *Parallela Damascenica* (49), where a long excerpt is cited under the name of the Thaumaturgus from the 12th anathema.
VII. The opinion of learned men concerning the four homilies and the disputation on the soul attributed to the holy Father.
Whether those four orations or homilies which exist in published editions, and are ascribed to Gregory of Neocaesarea, are truly his or not, no one can state with certainty. The most learned Montfaucon attests (50) that he found the third homily on the Annunciation attributed in Greek manuscript codices to three authors: John Chrysostom, our Gregory, and Macarius of Philadelphia. B And Combefis (51) published it under the name of Chrysostom, though much expanded; he indeed considers it a learned and pious monument of erudite antiquity, yet, wavering in uncertainty as to which writer to assign it, he finally reached the point of saying that it is neither the genuine work of the Neocaesarean nor of Chrysostom (52). Vincentius Riccardus (53) suspects that the second homily on the Annunciation belongs to Proclus of Constantinople, whose sentiments it mimics and whose use of the word *Theotokos* it affects. Say the same of the remaining two, together with most learned men, who also dare not pronounce anything certain on either side regarding the disputation on the soul against Tatian, which is likewise attributed to our Gregory; for it appears too alien to his style and to be of a much later age (b).
VIII. Concerning the epistle of Origen inscribed to our Gregory: and also concerning his Life by St. Gregory of Nyssen. The perverse judgment of Dodwell is refuted.
Leaving aside these works, whether doubtful or pseudepigraphical, we have judged it better to subjoin those monuments of the holy Father which are known to pertain more closely to him. We present, first of all, from the 13th chapter of the *Philocalia*, with the addition of the notes of John Tarin, the epistle of Origen to Gregory Thaumaturgus, his disciple, in which he exhorts him that, having scorned the study of philosophy, C he should give himself wholly to the cultivation of the Holy Scriptures. It was written around the year of Christ 240. This Origenian epistle is followed by the Life of the same holy Gregory of Neocaesarea, written by St. Gregory of Nyssen (a). We have compared the Vossian Mainz exemplar, published in 1604, which is teeming with foul errors, with the Parisian edition of 1630, which is much more emended. Nor have we omitted the excerpt of this Gregorian Life which the most learned Montfaucon exhibits (54) from the Coislinian codex 106 as an unpublished work, even though it appears in previously published ones, as we noted in its proper place (55). Finally, for the easier use of this excellent little work, we have divided it into various sections.
I am by no means ignorant that Dodwell disparages the wondrous deeds of the Thaumaturgus narrated by Nyssen; for, if you listen to him (56), he claims they were added by the expectations of those who came later and by his own logical deductions. Indeed, I wonder that the critic did not accurately weigh the testimony of Basil the Great, by which Gregory the Great is reported to have been called a second Moses by the very enemies of the truth, *παρ' αὐτῶν τῶν ἐχθρῶν τῆς ἀληθείας*, on account of the excellence of the gifts of the Spirit which worked in him in all virtue, signs, and prodigies (57); nor that he paid heed to the great Doctor saying (58) that Gregory of Neocaesarea D "perpetrated signs and miracles to the glory of many Churches." Why should I mention Rufinus, who testifies (59) that "the deeds of such a great man are celebrated in the speech of all, under the eastern and northern axis"? Why Eusebius of Caesarea, preaching (60) that our Gregory was "the most celebrated of the bishops of his age," *τῶν καθ' ἡμᾶς ἐπισκόπων διαβόητον*? Therefore, let him rather admire those things which he spurns; he is a man of such sharp nose (I use the words of the great Baronius (61) criticizing Jean Bodin), and let him not deny history sufficiently and more than enough attested, proven, and confirmed by so many gravest authors, both Greek and Latin, and repeated by the custom of religion every year in the usual celebrated memory (62). But let us dismiss the man who is a follower of a somewhat intemperate criticism (c).
TESTIMONIA VETERUM. De S. Gregorio episcopo Neocaesariensi, cognomento Thaumaturgo.
I. Eusebius Hist. eccl. lib. VI, cap. 30.
A Interim while Origen was performing his customary duty of teaching at Caesarea, not only did the inhabitants of that region, but also many students from the most remote provinces, leaving their homelands, flock to him. Of these, we have learned that the most distinguished were Theodore, who is also called Gregory, most celebrated among the bishops of our time, and his brother Athenodorus. Seeing that they were overly devoted to the disciplines of the Greeks and Romans, Origen, instilling in their minds a love of philosophy, drew them away from their former studies to the meditation of divine matters. Therefore, having spent five full years in his lecture hall, they progressed so much in the divine oracles that, while both were still very young, they were appointed bishops of the Churches in Pontus.
Idem ibid. VII, cap. 14.
B At the same time, Xystus presided over the Roman Church; Demetrianus governed the church of Antioch after the death of Fabius; Firmilianus [presided] at Caesarea of Cappadocia; and in Pontus, Gregory and his brother Athenodorus, both disciples of Origen, governed the Churches.
II. S. Basilius Lib. De Spiritu sancto, cap. 29, 74, Opp. tom. III, pag. 62, edit. Paris. BB. 1730.
But where shall I place Gregory the Great and his utterances? Should I not place him with the apostles and the prophets, a man who lived by the same Spirit as they did, who followed the footsteps of the saints throughout his entire life, and who maintained the vigor of the evangelical way of life as long as he lived? For my part, I would say this: indeed, we would treat the truth with injustice if we did not count that soul among those who are joined with God, who shone in the Church of God like a bright and great lamp, and who, by the help of the Spirit, had C formidable power against demons. For he had received such grace for the obedience of faith among the Gentiles that, taking with him no more than seventeen Christians, he brought the entire population, both urban and rustic, to God through acknowledgement of the faith. He also turned the courses of rivers, commanding them in the great name of Christ; and he dried up a marsh that was providing a cause for war to avaricious brothers. Moreover, his predictions of future events are such that he is in no way inferior to the other prophets. And, in short, it would be a very long task to recount the miracles of the man who, on account of the excellence of the gifts which the Spirit worked in him, in every virtue, sign, and prodigy, was even called a second Moses by the very enemies of the truth. Thus, in him, in all his words and deeds executed through grace, there shone forth as it were a light,
A a message from the heavenly power that followed him from the unseen realm. To this day, the wonder of this is great for the people of that region, and the memory of him, fresh and ever-flourishing, is established in the Churches, never fading with time. Therefore, they have added nothing to the Church—no deed, no word, no mystical rite—beyond what he left for them. For this reason, many of the rites performed among them seem imperfect due to the antiquity of their institution. For those who succeeded him in the administration of the Churches could not bear to receive the additions that were invented after his time. Therefore, there was one mode of glorification which Gregory instituted, and it is this same mode, now contested, which has been preserved in the Church according to his tradition.
*Idem epist. 28, num. 1 et 2, ibid. pag. 107 seq.*
B May the blast of heretical winds never touch the Church of Neocaesarea, O Lord of all, who gavest the gift of the longest tranquillity to Thy servant Gregory, by whom the foundation of the Church was compacted from the beginning... He who, from the great president of your Church, Gregory, down to this blessed one (Musonius), supplying one in another's place and always adapting them, as if from a certain joining of precious stones, has bestowed a wonderful ornament upon your Church.
*Idem epist. 204 num. 2, ibid. pag. 303.*
C A second point to be added is: if anything contributes greatly to communion, it is that we should also use the same teachers; let the same men be masters of the mysteries of God and spiritual fathers both to you and to us, who from the beginning founded your Church—I speak of Gregory, that greatest of men, and as many as succeeded him in the episcopal throne among you, one after another, rising like certain stars, and walking in the same footprints, so that they have left no one in the dark concerning the memorials of the heavenly institution.
*Idem epist. 207, num. 4, ibid. pag. 311 et seqq.*
But these things, he says, were not at the time of the great Gregory... But whom do you have as witnesses that these things did not exist under the admirable Gregory? You, who have hitherto kept nothing of his institutions... Let those things that are primary be only sound, and suppress the innovations concerning the faith... Do not falsely interpret the words of Gregory.
D *Idem epist. 210 num. 3, 5, ibid. pag. 314, 316.*
The subversion of the faith is being devised among you, inimical to the apostolic and evangelical doctrines, inimical to the tradition of Gregory, who was truly great... For the evil of Sabellius, which had arisen long ago but was extinguished by the tradition of that great man, these men are now attempting to renew... They have even sent certain enticements by letter to our fellow-minister Anthimus, bishop of the Tyaneans, as if Gregory had said in his Exposition of the faith that the Father and the Son are two in mental conception, but one in hypostasis. And this, not for the sake of teaching, but...
A in a spirit of contention in the *Dialogue with Elianus*—this they were unable to grasp, those who pride themselves on the keenness of their wits. In that disputation there are many errors of the scribes, as we shall demonstrate from the words themselves, God willing. Furthermore, in persuading the pagan, he did not think it necessary to be precise about his terminology; rather, there is an aspect where he yields to the custom of the one being introduced, so as not to contend against him on crucial points. Hence, you would find many expressions there which now furnish the greatest strength to heretics, such as "creature" and "facture," and anything of that sort. Many things, moreover, spoken regarding the conjunction with man, are wrongly attributed to the discourse on the Godhead by those who hear the writings without instruction; such is this very thing which is bandied about by them.
III. St. Jerome, book *On Illustrious Men*, chapter 65, with the ancient interpreter.
Theodorus, who was later called Gregory, bishop of Neocaesarea in Pontus, being still a young man, went from Cappadocia to Berytus for the study of Greek and Latin letters, and thence to Caesarea in Palestine, accompanied by his brother Athenodorus. Origen, having seen their exceptional natural ability, exhorted them to philosophy, and gradually introducing them into the faith of Christ, made them his own followers. Therefore, after being trained by him for five years, they were sent back to their mother. From them, Theodorus, upon departing, wrote a panegyric of thanksgiving to Origen; and having assembled a great crowd, he read this discourse while Origen himself was present, which exists to this day. He also wrote a B *Metaphrase on Ecclesiastes*, a short but very wonderful discourse, and many other letters, while performing signs and wonders when he happened to be bishop.
Idem, *Commentary on Ecclesiastes*, chapter 4, Opp. Vol. I, p. 424, Verona edition.
A holy man, Gregory, bishop of Pontus, a disciple of Origen, interpreted this passage in his *Metaphrase on Ecclesiastes* thus: "But I prefer a poor and wise youth to a king who is old and foolish; who never came to mind that it is possible for anyone of those whom he had bound to go forth to a kingdom from prison, and to corrupt his own self from his unjust power thereafter." C It happens indeed at times that those who are under a young, wise man are without sorrow: yet so that they have previously lived under an old king. For those who were born later, because they did not know the past evils, cannot praise the youth who rose up afterwards, being led astray by a perverse opinion and the impulse of the adversary spirit.
*Idem, epist. 70, no. 4, Vol. I, p. 427.*
There exist also books of Theodorus, who was later called Gregory, a man of apostolic signs and virtues.
IV. Rufinus, *Ecclesiastical History*, book VII, chapter 25.
But since the text of the blessed Gregory’s history has mentioned D this narrative for the memory of posterity, I think it most worthy to insert the deeds of so great a man (which are celebrated in the speech of all under the eastern and northern axis), omitted I know not by what chance. There was a certain marshy pond situated in the regions of Pontus, rich in fish, from the catch of which very wealthy revenues were provided to the owners. This possession was once… Master Origen said of Christ: "The suppositum indeed is one, but by mental conception many names are applied to various things," *Homily 8 on Jeremiah*, p. 96. Maran in a note on this passage. See also Sirmond to Facundus, p. 740.
had fallen to the brothers by lot of inheritance; but the greed for money (which overcomes the hearts of almost all mortals) violated even their fraternal bond. They were assembling at the time of the catch, not so much to catch fish as to deceive men; slaughter and wars were stirred up, and human blood was shed for the sake of fish. But the providence of God arrived, as did relief and the advent of Gregory. He saw the battles and the deaths of men, and the brothers raging against one another; he inquired what cause lay beneath this, for which the brothers were being incited to the destruction of themselves and their own, and he discovered none other than the catch of fish. Then he, when both parties had fallen silent for a little while in honor of his arrival, said, "Do not, O little children, violate rational souls for the sake of mute animals, nor dissolve fraternal peace for the sake of the desire for gain, nor violate the laws of God and the rights of nature alike; but approach with me to the shore of the deadly pond. I shall now, through the power of the Lord, absolve you from every struggle of bloody contention." And when he had said these things, in the sight of everyone he fixed the rod he was holding in his hand to the edges of the shore, and he himself, placing his knees on the ground, stretched out his palms to heaven and A supplicated the high God with these words: "O Lord God of our fathers, you who, when the first man Adam had sinned against you and transgressed your commandment, tempered the punishment of that fault and diverted the sentence to the earth of the curse, saying: Cursed is the earth in your works. And now, therefore, having mercy on the fraternal blood of these young men which is in peril, command that these waters be cursed in their works, for which, incited by frenzy, they have forgotten fraternal piety; so that never in this place may even a fish appear, nor water settle, but may it be a field patient of the plow, and fruitful in crops, and remain a guardian of fraternal concord forever." As soon as he finished praying, the wave at once withdrew itself and, fleeing with a swifter course, returned to its own abysses, and abandoned the dry field to the brothers who were now in harmony, having been ordered to depart from the sight of the Most High. And to this day the soil is said to be fruitful in crops, which had previously been fruitful in ships.
*The same, ibid.* B And he left behind for us the greatest monuments of his genius in a small space: for the same Gregory wrote most magnificently a Paraphrase on Ecclesiastes; and he left behind a briefly edited exposition of the Catholic faith, which I have thought it convenient to associate for the edification of Churches: "One God, Father of the living Word, of subsistent wisdom, and of power and eternal character: perfect begetter of the perfect, Father of the only-begotten Son. One Lord, alone from alone, God from God, etc."
V. Socrates, *Hist. eccl.* lib. iv, cap. 27. The Pontic Gregory, who originated from the city of Neocaesarea in Pontus... was a disciple of Origen. Concerning this Gregory, there is great speech in Athens and Berytus, and throughout the entire Pontic diocese, and, so to speak, in all the world... And Pamphilus the martyr makes mention of him in the books which he wrote for the defense of Origen: to which is also joined the Oration of Gregory, which he composed in his praise as he was departing from Origen.
VI. Sozomenus, *Hist. eccl.* lib. vii, cap. 27. Moreover, it is pleasing to record another thing that is reported concerning him (Epiphanius). I have learned that this was done by the admirable Gregory who once ruled the Church of Neocaesarea; and I willingly believe it.
VII. Liberatus Diaconus, *Breviar.* cap. 10. A certain deacon named Basil, taking the *Tome* of Proclus D which he had written to the Armenians, came to Alexandria; and attaching the Armenians' booklets to his own books, he offered them to Cyril, the archbishop of that same city. By which (as rumors report) Cyril was moved to write four books: three against Diodorus and Theodore, and another book *On the Incarnation*. In which are contained the uncorrupted testimonies of the ancient Fathers, that is... of Gregory the wonderful, called Thaumaturgus.
VIII. Facundus bishop of Hermiane, lib. x, cap. 6, among the Works of Sirmond, vol. II, p. 740. Saint Basil defended the great Gregory, who received the surname of wonder-worker, so that he was and is called Thaumaturgus by the Greeks, not only against the Arians, who call the Son a creature and a product, but also against the error of the Sabellians who say that the substance of the Father and the Son is one; although this same Gregory might appear to have said these things. Hence the same St. Basil, speaking of certain ones who were attempting to excuse their own perfidy by the authority of this Gregory himself, says: "They have introduced," etc. (65) Concerning these four books of Cyril, which it is established have perished, see Fabricius, *Bibl. Gr.* vol. VIII, p. 591, no. 187.
TESTIMONIA VETERUM
IX. Evagrius Scholasticus, *Hist. eccl.* lib. III, cap. 31. For they have often falsified the books of the holy Fathers; and they have falsely ascribed many of Apollinaris’ books to Athanasius, and to Gregory the Wonderworker, and to Julius, by means of such inscriptions. A
X. Council Quinisext, can. 2. We seal/ratify all the remaining sacred canons which have been set forth by our holy and blessed Fathers: that is to say... Gregory who became bishop of Neocaesarea, the Wonderworker. B
XI. Menologium Graecorum, for the 17th day of November, part 1, page 194, edit. Urbin. 1727. Commemoration of our holy Father Gregory, bishop of Neocaesarea, the Wonderworker. He flourished under the Emperor Aurelian, born to infidel parents, but he himself was a Christian, and having been instructed in the mystery of the faith through a vision by the most holy Theotokos and by John the Theologian, he received also the gift of wonderworking, and was called the Wonderworker (Thaumaturgus), performing many miracles, of which these are some. For, traveling to Alexandria, and having been accused by a harlot, he sent a demon into her; but shortly after, he also drove it out. Then, while not present in Amasea, he was nonetheless, on account of his virtue, ordained bishop by Phaidimos of Amasea. Having made a great stone move, he baptized the custodian of the idols. And as two brothers were fighting over a lake, he dried it up. And having planted his staff, he checked a river; which even became a great tree. And having performed ten thousand other works, when he was about to depart to the Lord, he gave thanks to God, that he left behind in his city as many infidels as he had found Christians. And in this way he reached his end. C
XII. Suidas, in his *Lexicon*. Gregory, who is also called Theodore the Wonderworker, bishop of Neocaesarea in Pontus, while still a very young man, because of his study of Greek and Roman letters, went from Cappadocia to Berytus, and thence crossed over to Caesarea in Palestine, along with his brother Athenodorus. Origen, introducing them point by point to the faith of Christ, made them his own devoted followers. Having therefore been instructed by him for five years, they were sent back to their homeland. From which time, Gregory, departing, wrote a panegyrical speech of thanksgiving to Origen, and having summoned all the local people, with Origen himself being present, he read this speech, which exists even to the present day. He also wrote a Paraphrase on Ecclesiastes; a very short, but indeed very wonderful work. He also composed many other varied letters. And having performed signs and miracles beyond human power, when he was bishop, he died under Julian. D
XIII. Theodore Balsamon, *Scholion* on canon 21 of the Council of Nicaea. — In Beveridge, *Pandect. canon.*, vol. I, p. 85. This man (Paul of Samosata) was deposed at Antioch by the holy Gregory the Wonderworker and certain others.