The Nicene Age · AD 313–400
Gregory the Elder of Nazianzus
c. 276 – 374 · Bishop of Nazianzus · Father of Gregory the Theologian · Nazianzus, Cappadocia
The Nicene Age
Who Gregory the Elder of Nazianzus was
A convert from an eccentric monotheist sect (the Hypsistarii), won to the church by his wife Nonna, who became bishop of Nazianzus and governed it for forty-five years to the age of nearly a hundred. He ordained his reluctant son, the future Theologian, sometimes clumsily (once signing an ambiguous creed that grieved the son), but his long, gentle episcopate and his wife’s piety formed the household from which one of the four great Eastern doctors emerged. Gregory preached his funeral oration with Basil present. The father whose see and faith his son immortalized.
His son alone (Oration 18 and the epitaphs).
Also listed in bishops beyond the great sees.
Common questions
When did Gregory live?
Gregory the Elder of Nazianzus is dated c. 276 – 374 in the archive, which places Gregory in the Nicene Age (AD 313–400). The dating is traditional and approximate; the archive marks it as uncertain rather than fixing a year the sources do not give.
Which early sources mention Gregory?
Gregory the Elder of Nazianzus is named in 1 primary-source passage catalogued here, drawn from Gregory of Nazianzus. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Gregory from?
The archive associates Gregory the Elder of Nazianzus with Nazianzus, Cappadocia. The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.
Who were Gregory’s contemporaries?
The archive links Gregory the Elder of Nazianzus to 4 other figures, including Gregory of Nazianzus, Nonna of Nazianzus, Gorgonia of Nazianzus and Caesarius of Nazianzus. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.
Primary-source mentions (1)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Oration 18 (funeral for his father)
c. AD 380He was ours before he belonged to the fold… a Christian long before the name; ours in disposition though not yet in confession, like those who under the Law were before the Law.Gregory of Nazianzus · 18 · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 306 · The Council of Elvira, AD 306
- AD 311 · Galerius’ edict of Serdica, AD 311
- AD 313 · The Edict of Milan, AD 313
- AD 314 · The Council of Arles, AD 314
- AD 320 · Silvanus tried before Zenophilus, AD 320
- AD 325 · The Council of Nicaea, AD 325
- AD 339 · The persecution of Shapur II, AD 339
- AD 343 · The Council of Serdica, AD 343
- AD 361 · Julian’s pagan restoration, AD 361
- AD 366 · Damasus and the catacomb epigrams, AD 366
- AD 367 · Athanasius lists the 27 NT books, AD 367
- AD 372 · The martyrdom of Sabbas the Goth, AD 372
Place
Places served
The 2 places the sources put Gregory, in the order the record moves through them. This is what the sources attest, not a reconstructed route.
- 1Nazianzus
- 2Cappadociaprovince only