St Gregory of Nyssa is known to theologians as one of the three great Cappadocian Fathers who are credited with the final clarification of the doctrine of the Trinity in the late fourth century. Few have ventured to study his role as a bishop who took pains to teach his flock the mysteries of the faith and how to lead a good Christian life. This short study delves into the moral teaching that St Gregory delivered to his audience by analyzing the specific sins about which he is teaching. Given that he preached all over Roman Anatolia, the details found in his homilies give us some insight into which sins were most notorious in the lands of Asia Minor and which, therefore, needed to be addressed.
Jonathan Farrugia (b. 1978) is a Maltese scholar of early Christian thought. He is the Head of Department of Church History, Patrology and Palaeochristian Archaeology at the University of Malta. In 2016 he received his doctorate in Patristic Studies from the Pontifical Augustinian Patristic Institute in Rome. His thesis was entitled ‘ἁμαρτία in the homilies of Gregory of Nyssa’, and he has since published a number of studies on Gregory of Nyssa’s homilies. He also has a passion for the history of religious artefacts of his homeland, and his book Ir-Redentur: History, Art and Cult of the Miraculous Effigy of Christ the Redeemer at Senglea, Malta, won the national book prize for bibliographical research in 2020.