Gregory closes his fourth oration by analyzing the actual titles of the Son. While the being of God “cannot be expressed in words,” Gregory does believe it is possible to “sketch Him by His attributes, and so obtain a certain … Continue reading
Category Archives: Learning Our Faith from the Church Fathers
Gregory lays down a crucial principle in his biblical analysis of Proverbs 8:22, “The Lord created me at the beginning of his ways with a view to his works.” Many early Christian exegetes (scholars who study the meaning of biblical … Continue reading
Although I realize that this article might seem to be very dense for many, what I do hope happens, if you read this, that you may gain a deeper appreciation of what has gone into the formulation of our religion … Continue reading
Gregory asks: What if the difference between the Father and the Son, between the unbegotten and the begotten, “is outside the essence”? On a human level, for instance, I can be a father within certain relationships, but my fatherhood is … Continue reading
I would continue sharing the thoughts of St. Gregory about the mystery and wonder of the Trinity. He posed this further question: IF the Father as unbegotten and the Son as begotten are indeed distinct from one another, they are … Continue reading
Although I realize that this article, which deals with the “mystery and wonder of the Trinity” as expressed by the debates of the Fathers of the Church, may be difficult to follow and understand, I think it is valuable. What … Continue reading
I have been sharing St. Gregory’s thoughts about the “mystery and wonder of the Trinity.” Indeed it is the one dogma – the Trinity – that makes our Christian religion so very different from other religions. It is an idea … Continue reading
It is obvious, if we consider Trinitarian language, that we are stretching the capabilities of human reason and also language. God’s begetting of the Son is indescribable or “ineffable.” Just as the Son’s “generation according to the flesh differs from … Continue reading
Gregory states about the Persons of God: There was never a time when there was not a Father, A Son and a Holy Spirit. The Father has always been unbegotten, the Son always begotten and the Spirit always proceeding from … Continue reading
Why, Gregory speculates, is our knowledge of God for the present fragmentary at best? His answered was that in this life we simply are too weak to view God’s nature and essence directly. Gregory held the hope that such will … Continue reading