The Nicene Age · AD 313–400
Nonna of Nazianzus
c. 300 – 374 · Deaconess · Mother of Gregory the Theologian · Nazianzus, Cappadocia
The Nicene Age
Who Nonna of Nazianzus was
Wife of the elder Gregory and mother of Gregory the Theologian, Gorgonia, and Caesarius — a woman of formidable piety who converted her husband, dedicated her son to God before his birth (naming him for the temple-child Samuel), and served as a deaconess of Nazianzus. Her son’s poems and orations paint her as the spiritual engine of the family, praying in the church where she would die at the altar. One of the mothers — with Emmelia and Monica — through whom the age’s greatest theologians were made.
Her son alone.
Also listed in women.
Common questions
When did Nonna live?
Nonna of Nazianzus is dated c. 300 – 374 in the archive, which places Nonna 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 Nonna?
Nonna 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 Nonna from?
The archive associates Nonna 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 Nonna’s contemporaries?
The archive links Nonna of Nazianzus to 4 other figures, including Gregory the Elder of Nazianzus, Gregory 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 & the funeral epigrams
c. AD 380My mother… who inherited godliness as a family possession, and handed on this necessary heritage to her children… she gave herself wholly to God, and gave me, her gift, before I was born.Gregory of Nazianzus · 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 Nonna, in the order the record moves through them. This is what the sources attest, not a reconstructed route.
- 1Nazianzus
- 2Cappadociaprovince only