The Poetry of Gregory of Nazianzus

Gregory of Nazianzus was a personality of first rank in the complex world of the 4th Christian century. Famous for his theological orations and for his role in the development of the Second Ecumenical Council in 381 in Constantinople, where he was the Patriarch of the Orthodox Church, he was one of the most celebrated poets of his time, even though today he is known in particular for his major contributions to the establishment of the Orthodox theology that was confronted with the heresies of the time.

This book will allow the reader to discover not the theologian, but the poet in Gregory, as his poetry is the place where one can see the all-too-human aspects of his personality. As such, it represents a significant contribution to scholarship on Gregory, bringing to light new and defining characteristics of his life, thought and practice.