#Gregory of Nyssa

[thepatristictradition]

A Christian's Confusion on Syncretic Paganism

Though I'm an Orthodox Christian, I am good friends with a number of serious pagans-- especially Thelemites. From them, I've observed some controversies in the online and apparently IRL pagan communities. An idea I find confusing (frankly, ridiculous) is that Aphrodite, Venus, Ishtar, Freyja etc., are merely facets of the same essential deity: the "Love Goddess."

Orthodox Christians interact with Paganism in two main ways: First, we believe in the Seed of The Word. Basically, we believe that every religion, more or less, gets something right. Even theistic satanism gets about as much right as the Gnostics of old. It's good that pagans have a spiritually alive world-view-- something that is difficult to come by these days. Faithfulness is a virtue wherever you find it. Second, we believe in spiritual entities besides God. They were created by Him and ultimately work for his will, but they can either follow His deign or turn away from it, exactly as humans can.

There are some Christians that have a tendency to pull a similar sort of syncretism with paganism (Roman paganism in the Renaissance is especially irritating). They insist that figures like Jove were simply a halfway understood facet of The One True God. This is hardly even a historical opinion; the more common opinion is that the ancient and contemporary pagans were worshiping angles or demons, depending on their kind(1).

The Orthodox instinct is against syncretism and towards a highly alive and regional spirituality. Not only are there single guardian angles for each person, but there are angles of families, churches, dioceses, cities, countries, etc.; there are heavenly hosts. There are hosts of angles whose jobs are not to please or protect human beings. He has filled our earth with Spirits. The Orthodox theology on spirits is more similar to the more well-known Mohammadian theology on spirits. Western Christianity would tend to say that spirits who made themselves into demons by accepting worship cannot repent and serve God again, but the saints say differently. It is never our place to try to "convert demons", but it is possible.

Because of this near-animism, it seems natural to me that different regions are filled with different spirits. The recognition of that is something that I admire about paganism and something I wish my protestant brothers and sisters would become more comfortable with.

I want to know how this kind of syncretism is received by other serious pagans. Thus far, I've only met those who are against it.

1) There is argument about what constitutes a pagan culture that has worshiped demons and one that mistakenly worshiped angels. My take, the correct one, is that every pagan culture has done both. Further, there are most likely many spirits being mistaken for one figure. This is the opposite of the syncretic take.

[dramoor]

"Manifest in yourself Him who begot you."

~St. Gregory of Nyssa

(Image via johnsandinopoulos.com)

[begottaum]

“You alone have been made the image of the Reality that transcends all understanding, the likeness of imperishable beauty, the imprint of true divinity, the recipient of beatitude, the seal of the true light. When you turn to him you become that which he is himself.”

 - Gregory of Nyssa, “Second Homily on the Song of Songs”

[alive on all channels]

[theridgebeyond]

“I frequently take consolation in Gregory’s sense that with God there is always more unfolding, that what we can glimpse of the divine is always enough, and never enough.”

— The Cloister Walk by Kathleen Norris, from the chapter “January 10: Gregory of Nyssa”

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

“You alone have been made the image of the Reality that transcends all understanding, the likeness of imperishable beauty, the imprint of true divinity, the recipient of beatitude, the seal of the true light. When you turn to him you become that which he is himself.” - Gregory of Nyssa, “Second Homily on the Song of Songs”

[justana0kguy]

2023 OCTOBER 07 Saturday

"I want to say pure hearts where they make a place, there where the Son of God could rest His head, when the breed of the foxes would no longer have a home in hearts. The Word says to them: all these powers of the earth against which man leads his struggle, are only small foxes, cunning but pitiful if compared to your power. If you master them, then our vineyard, that is to say human nature, will cover its own beauty, and it will prelude to the clusters by the flowers of virtuous life."

~ Saint Gregory of Nyssa, The little foxes, Spiritual writings "From Glory to Glory"

[cruger2984]

THE DESCRIPTION OF SAINT GREGORY OF NYSSA The Cappadocian Church Father and Patron of Musicians, Singers, Students and Teachers Feast Day: January 10

"Since with all my soul I behold the face of my beloved, therefore all the beauty of his form is seen in me."

The son of two saints, Basil and Emmilia, young Gregory was raised by his older brother, St. Basil the Great, and his sister, Macrina, in modern-day Turkey. Gregory's success in his studies suggested great things were ahead for him. After becoming a professor of rhetoric, he was persuaded to devote his learning and efforts to the Church. By then married, Gregory went on to study for the priesthood and become ordained (this at a time when celibacy was not a matter of law for priests).

He was elected Bishop of Nyssa in 372, a period of great tension over the Arian heresy, which denied the divinity of Christ. Briefly arrested after being falsely accused of embezzling Church funds, Gregory was restored to his see in 378, an act met with great joy by his people.

It was after the death of his beloved brother Basil, that Gregory really came into his own. He wrote with great effectiveness against Arianism and other questionable doctrines, gaining a reputation as a defender of orthodoxy. He was sent on missions to counter other heresies and held a position of prominence at the Council of Constantinople. His fine reputation stayed with him for the remainder of his life, but over the centuries it gradually declined as the authorship of his writings became less and less certain. But, thanks to the work of scholars in the 20th century, his stature is once again appreciated. Indeed, St. Gregory of Nyssa is seen not simply as a pillar of orthodoxy but as one of the great contributors to the mystical tradition in Christian spirituality and to monasticism itself.

Source: Franciscan Media

[transangledlozengeggbutt]

[apesoformythoughts]

“‘Have dominion . . . over every living thing.’ How though, you may ask, since I have a beast within? Actually, there are a myriad, a countless number of beasts within you. You should not take offense in these words. Rage is a small beast, yet when it growls in the heart is any dog more savage? Is not the treacherous soul like fresh bait staked in front of a bear’s den? Is not the hypocrite a beast? [Rule] then over the beasts inside you. Rule your thoughts so that you will become a ruler over all things. So the same one who provides the power to rule over all living things provides power for us to rule over ourselves.”

— St. Gregory of Nyssa

[orthodoxadventure]

Saint Gregory of Nyssa believed that even in heaven perfection is growth. In a fine paradox he says that the essence of perfection consists precisely in never becoming perfect, but in always reaching forward to some higher perfection that lies beyond. Because God is infinite, this constant 'reaching forward' or epektasis, as the Greek Fathers termed it, proves limitless. The soul possesses God, and yet still seeks Him; her joy is full, and yet grows always more intense. God grows ever nearer to us, yet He still remains the Other; we behold Him face to face, yet we still continue to advance further and further into the divine mystery. Although strangers no longer, we do not cease to be pilgrims. We go forward 'from glory to glory' (2 Cor. 3:18), and then to a glory that is greater still. Never, in all eternity, shall we reach a point where we have accomplished all that there is to do, or discovered all that there is to know. 'Not only in this present age but also in the Age to come', says St Irenaeus, 'God will always have something more to teach man, and man will always have something more to learn from God'.

-- Kallistos Ware, The Orthodox Way

[apenitentialprayer]

Peace is defined as harmony among those who are divided. When, therefore, we end that civil war within our nature and cultivate peace within ourselves, we become peace […] flesh will then no longer be opposed to spirit, nor the spirit to the flesh. Once we subject the wisdom of the flesh to God's law, we shall be re-created as one single man at peace.

Gregory of Nyssa (On Perfection)

[thepastisalreadywritten]

SAINT OF THE DAY (January 10)

Gregory of Nyssa was born into a deeply religious family.

His mother, Emmelia, was the daughter of a martyr. Two of his brothers, Basil of Cæsarea and Peter of Sebaste, became bishops like himself.

His eldest sister, Macrina, became a model of piety and is also honored as a Saint.

It would seem that the young Gregory married at some point:

There exists a letter addressed to him by Gregory of Nazianzus condoling him on the loss of a woman named Theosebeia, who must have been his wife and is venerated as a Saint in the Orthodox faith.

According to Gregory of Nazianzus, it was his brother Basil who performed the episcopal consecration of Gregory around 371.

On arriving in his see, Gregory had to face great difficulties.

Demosthenes, governor of Pontus, ordered the Bishop of Nyssa to be seized and brought before him.

A Synod of Nyssa deposed him. He was reduced to wander from town to town, until the death of Emperor Valens in 378.

The new emperor, Gratian, published an edict of tolerance, and Gregory was able to return to his see, where he was received with joy. 

In 379, he assisted at the Council of Antioch, which had been summoned because of the Meletian schism. 

He also asserted the faith of Nicaea and tried to put an end to Arianism and Pneumatism in the East.

It is very probable that Gregory was present at another council, the Council of Constantinople in 383. 

Between 385 and 386, he disappears from history but not without leaving a significant number of theological writings.

He made significant contributions to the doctrine of the Trinity and the Nicene Creed.

[dramoor]

“As no darkness can be seen by anyone surrounded by light, so no trivialities can capture the attention of anyone who has his eyes set on Christ."

~St. Gregory of Nyssa

(Image via Pinterest)

[anastpaul]

Quote/s of the Day – 12 June – ' ... Shake the deep sleep from our eyes ... and watch carefully'

Quote/s of the Day – 12 June – Ecclesiasticus i 31:8-11; Luke 12:35-40– Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org “Let your loins be girt aboutand your lamps burning …” Luke 12:35 “So that our minds might be free of these illusions,the Word invites us to shake this deep sleepfrom the eyes of our soul, so that we might not slip awayfrom the true realities, by becoming attachedto that which…

[theridgebeyond]

”Gregory [of Nyssa] saw it as our lifelong task to find out what part of the divine image God has chosen to reveal in us.”

— The Cloister Walk by Kathleen Norris

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

"For when one considers the universe, can anyone be so simple-minded as not to believe that the Divine is present in everything, pervading, embracing and penetrating it?"

~St. Gregory of Nyssa

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"You are accepted by that which is greater than you, and the name of which you do not know. Do not seek for anything. Do not perform anything, do not intend anything. Simply accept the fact that you are accepted."

-Paul Tillich