RT Article
T1 Catechesis and Episcopal Authority in the "Life of Gregory Thaumaturgus"
JF Vigiliae Christianae
VO 74
IS 5
SP 515
OP 539
A1 Gray, Allison L. 1983-
LA English
PB Brill
YR 2020
UL https://www.ixtheo.de/Record/1741194857
AB 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.
K1 Cappadocians
K1 Biography
K1 Bishops
K1 Catechesis
K1 Miracles
K1 Paideia
DO 10.1163/15700720-12341450