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11
would like to use this opportunity to thank all the members of our
workshop. Their contributions far exceed what transpires in the footnotes. Gr.
Naz. Or. 7. 8; T. Kopecek, The Social Class o f the Cappadocian Fathers, in Church
History 42, 1972, p. 453-466; R. R. Ruether, Gregory o f Nazianzus. Rhetor and
Philosopher; Oxford, 1969, p. 19-28.
2
Cf. Gr. Naz. Or. 18. 5 sq. and 18. 12 on his father's career, and e.g. Gr. Naz.
Ep. 249 (= Gr. Nyss. Ep. 1) on his own status. P. Bourdieu, Distinction. A Social
Critique o f the Judgment o f Taste, trans. R. Nice, Cambridge, 1984, p. 24-25.
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O r a t i o n 6:
t h e n a t u r e o f t h e t e n s io n s
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from the "precious body o f Christ 11. Their dissent originated in 360
or 361, and had developed into a fully-fledged schism by 363: some
members of Gregorys "choir had "set up their own private chorus,
without rhythm or harmony"12. A conciliatory oration On peace was
not the place to belabor the cause o f the dissent: only in 374, on the
occasion of his fathers death, did Gregory divulge the true extent
and as well as the reason for the rupture.
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O r a t i o n 2:
These are the opening words of Oration 2, and they set the tone:
ordination into the priesthood as defeat and submission under a will
more powerful than that o f the chosen. Gregory did not mince his
words. A few paragraphs later, he characterized his flight as a revolt
(stasis) against tyrannis. The tyrannis o f his father who had ordained
him, but more to the point, the tyrannis of the priesthood itself,
which had brutally torn him away from his "true" calling: the
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Be calm and patient under the imposition o f this burden [...] put
aside your nostalgic thoughts o f leisure (o tiu m ) [...] be tolerant, as
you are, o f all duties, and perform this obligation which you owe to
the emperors; fo r in exacting it they have considered more your
abilities than your desires.
P e tr o n iu s
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This, namely the necessity to rule and the high honor thereby
conferred, is one aspect, which makes the office o f priesthood such
a tyrannis.
However, priesthood exacts even more severe demands: it is in
its very essence "a servitude and a command (leiturgia kai
hegemone)39. Both these aspects as well as their combination create
a yoke that is nearly impossible to carry40. Gregory himself must
serve three different masters. First and foremost, filiar duty
demands obedience to his father: he had to heed his father s wishes.
Secondly, he must submit to the tyrannis o f his congregation. It is
his duty as a priest to serve them; that is, he is beholden to the
tyranny of those who are his subjects41. Last but not least, to become
a priest is to become God's slave (tou Theou [...] doulein)42. As Gods
slave, the priest must obey him absolutely. Such obedience requires
commanding others, and to guide human souls towards the divine
good - a task o f near impossible magnitude.
Difficult as it may be to obey, to command human beings is a
harder task. For, Gregory is not one to think that to lead humans is
the same thing as to herd a flock of sheep or a herd o f cows. A
wandering sheep is easily discerned and disciplined, moreover, no
one is concerned with a sheep's virtue. To guide human souls,
however, requires skills a mere mortal rarely possesses. The soul as
opposed to the body cannot be guided by force; its guidance
requires the power o f persuasion43. For that, one must possess the
persuasive force o f the exemplar, o f the man who moves his
audience through the power o f skillful words supported by his
appropriate conduct. T radition ally, according to Gregory,
physicians display those skills most often. Yet, a physician need only
cure the ills of the body, and hard as this may be, at least his
patients are usually desperate for a cure. A priest, on the other hand,
must be the physician o f the soul, an altogether more exacting
task44. Human souls resist being drawn towards the good, tending
by nature rather toward evil. Moreover, their souls are multi-
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[His hair is] dry and neglected, his feet are nude [...] his tonsure
is becoming, his dress without ostentation, his belt simple, [...] his
walk measured, his smile discreet; his words without flattery.
O r a t i o n 6:
im p l e m e n t a t io n a n d r e c o n c il ia t io n
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adoring the Father, the Son and the H oly Spirit, recognizing in the
Son the Father and in the Spirit the Son [...] distinguishing them
before uniting and uniting them before distinguishing them [...] since
they are One not through hypostaseis but because o f their divinity61.
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