Pastoral Gleanings from Gregory of Nazianzus' Oration 2

Gregory the Theologian1 also known as Gregory of Nazianzus, has been treated as one of the brightest stars in the firmament of the Christian tradition. He is mostly credited for paving the way for the final defeat of the Arians at the Council of Nicaea. His “five theological orations”2 which was the threshold of the Nicene doctrine of the Trinity is viewed as the ultimate turning point in the Arian controversy. He is credited with the theological acumen and ecumenical ability for preparing the imperial city for the Nicene ascension. Jacques Noret has argued, “Gregory as the most cited author, after the Bible, in Byzantine ecclesiastical literature.”3 The Byzantine connoisseur of Greek letters, Michael Psellos, considers Gregory not simply the Theologian par excellence but Christian Hellenism’s worthy counterpart to the orator Demosthenes.4 This paper provides a gist initially looking at the life of Gregory, and then briefly attempts to delve upon the pastoral gleanings solely from Oration 25 – an important work of Gregory of Nazianzus and its implications.