Showing results by author "St. Gregory" in All Categories

The Life of Saint Macrina is a significant work of early Christian literature written by Bishop Gregory of Nyssa. In the form of a letter to the monk Olympus, Gregory describes the life and influence of his sister Macrina. Macrina – also known as "Macrina the Younger" – had helped to establish a monastery and convent in Pontus (in modern-day Turkey) in the fourth century AD. The story centres on Gregory’s final visit to Macrina and is written as testimony to her piety, sanctity, and holy influence.

The resurrection from death is a strong component of the Christian faith, which the Nicene Creed, affirms stating: "We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come." The early Christian writers Irenaeus and Justin Martyr, in the second century, wrote against the widespread idea of their time that only the soul survived. In like manner, we have this later writing of St. Gregory of Nyssa (335-395 AD) which clearly articulates the position that a person is both soul and body and that Christ has promised to raise them both.

St. Gregory of Nyssa (AD 335 - 395), the great theologian and bishop of Nyssa, turned his considerable skill to finishing the work that his brother St. Basil the Great had started on the creation of the world (the Hexaemeron). The result is this book, which examines how humans are formed as a "mean between the divine and brute beasts".

The seven works in this volume (some translated for the first time) explore the great human mystery of death and the promise of eternal life. They present—along with On the Soul and the Resurrection (PPS 12)—a vision that is consistent, philosophically profound, and characteristic of Gregory’s wider theology.

St Gregory of Nyssa wrote the Catechetical Discourse as a handbook for his catechists, to help them defend and articulate the foundations of the faith, the Trinity, creation and the image of God, the fall and the nature of evil, the saving work of Christ, and the sacraments of baptism and the Eucharist. The Discourse draws upon the previous tradition—especially Origen, St Methodius of Olympus, and, above all, St Athanasius' On the Incarnation (PPS 44)—and influences later fathers like St John of Damascus in his On the Orthodox Faith (translation coming soon to SVS Press).

The Saving Work of Christ, the second volume in the series Sermons by Saint Gregory Palamas, covers all the major events in God’s dispensation in the flesh, from the Birth of Christ to the Day of Pentecost.

The spiritual wisdom of Saint Benedict has endured for centuries and quite literally shaped Western culture from its inception. Tenets of the order, like its motto and Saint Benedict’s Rule, are just as influential for lay people as they are for the Benedictine monks and nuns. The cross and medal of St. Benedict is also among the gifts bestowed by the Benedictine Order. For centuries, it has been a conduit for God’s power against malicious spirits.

On the Saints is the third volume in the series Sermons by Saint Gregory Palamas, in which the saints of both the Old and New Testaments are presented for the encouragement and edification of the faithful.

This sermon is Homily 53 in the surviving corpus, and may be found in the complete edition (with notes) in Saint Gregory Palamas: The Homilies (2009 and 2014), and an earlier translation (without the notes) may also be found in Mary the Mother of God: Sermons by Saint Gregory Palamas (2005), which is also available in Kindle format. See Sample Passage: "She lived, as though in paradise, in a place removed from the earth, or rather, as though in the courts of heaven, for that sanctuary was a symbol of those courts. Thus she led an unencumbered life without cares or occupation, free from ...

Contents: 1. That True Faith is Impossible Without Works of Repentance. St. Gregory represents Orthodox theology at its most sublime. Patristic theology in the fourteenth century, of which St. Gregory is indubitably the greatest exponent, touched the very boundaries of theological expression. St. Gregory’s sermons are among the finest in Patristic literature. In his treatment of the manifold themes contained therein, he is remarkably consistent in maintaining a balance between originality of thought and strict adherence to the tradition of his predecessors. Moreover, his genius resides in...

Mary the Mother of God, the first volume in the series Sermons by Saint Gregory Palamas, is a collection of some of the greatest homilies on the Theotokos ever written, including the most celebrated of all Palamas’ writings, his sermon “On the Entry of the Mother of God into the Holy of Holies”.

Homily XXIV from the corpus, in Saint Gregory Palamas: The Homilies (2009 and 2014), with introduction and detailed notes. Also published in The Saving Work of Christ: Sermons by Saint Gregory Palamas (2008). Excerpt:- "Those miracles accomplished by the Lord in the flesh, which bore witness that He was God’s only-begotten Son in His own person, united with us in the last days, came to an end. On the other hand, those wonders began which proclaimed the Holy Spirit as a divine person in His own right, that we might come to know and contemplate the great and venerable mystery of the Holy ...

Contents: 1. That True Faith is Impossible Without Works of Repentance; 2. That Baptism Alone is Not Sufficient to Save Without Keeping God’s Commandments; 3. and On Why God Made Those Who Would Perish. St. Gregory represents Orthodox theology at its most sublime. Patristic theology in the fourteenth century, of which St. Gregory is indubitably the greatest exponent, touched the very boundaries of theological expression. St. Gregory’s sermons are among the finest in Patristic literature. In his treatment of the manifold themes contained therein, he is remarkably consistent in ...

"I shall start by quoting to your charity the end of the Lord’s parable in today’s Gospel reading, “Many are called, but few are chosen” (Matt. 22:14). The Lord teaches us this through the whole parable, that we might strive to be not merely among those invited, but among the elect. For anyone who is just one of those called, but not one of the chosen, is not only deprived of the light without evening, but is also led away into outer darkness. After his hands have been bound, because they did not do God’s work, and his feet, because they did not run towards God, he is delivered up...

Miracles of the Lord is the fifth volume in the series Sermons by Saint Gregory Palamas, and covers the Healing of the Paralysed Man in Capernaum, the Raising of Lazarus, the Healing of the Blind Men, the Raising of the Widows Child, the Healing of the Man Possessed by Devils, and the Healing of the Ten Lepers.

These two sermons are Homilies 21 and 22 in the surviving corpus, and may be found in the complete edition, Saint Gregory Palamas: The Homilies (2009 and 2014), as well as in The Saving Work of Christ: Sermons by Saint Gregory Palamas (2008), the latter of which is also available in Kindle format. The two sermons are: 1) On the Ascension of Our Lord and God and Saviour Jesus Christ: Also Describing How the Sabbath as Laid Down in the Law is Fulfilled. 2) On the Same Feast: Referring also to Passions and Virtues

The Parables of Jesus, the fourth volume in the series Sermons by Saint Gregory Palamas, covers the parables of the Publican and the Pharisee, the Prodigal Son, the Second Coming, the Unforgiving Servant, the Marriage Feast, the Sower, and of Lazarus and the Rich Man.

"The unseen patron of evil is full of evil ingenuity. Right at the beginning he can drag away, by means of hopelessness and lack of faith, the foundations of virtue already laid in the soul. Again, by means of indifference and laziness,he can make an attempt on the walls of virtue’s house just when they are being built up. Or he can bring down the roof of good works after its construction, by means of pride and madness. But stand firm, do not be alarmed, for a diligent man is even more ingenious in good things, and virtue has superior forces to deploy against evil. It has at its disposal ...

"That evil which is evil in itself, namely sin, originates from us. On the other hand, what our senses perceive as evil, because it is grievous and painful, can also be from God who, like a physician, uses it to restrain and heal what is truly evil. When those who have sinned can be cured, He tends them in all sorts of ways, but if they are incurable, He even takes away their life for the salvation of the rest. Therefore we are to blame for our own misfortunes, since we make ourselves deserving of cauterizations, whereas He is our benefactor and Saviour in this, as He removes the real evil....

This is a performance reading script, edited and as performed by Gregory Nassif St. John based on Dickens' own reading texts, academic studies, and eyewitness accounts.