Cappadocian Fathers

JOHN A. MCGUCKIN

This is the collective name given to the leading Neo-Nicene theologians of the patristic era who took on the direction of the Nicene movement after the death of St. Athanasius of Alexandria. They were closely related by family bonds or ties of close friendship, and came from the same upper echelon of ancient society, most of them demonstrating advanced rhe­torical and philosophical skills which they put to the service of the church in fighting against the second generation Arians (espe­cially Aetios and Eunomios), and thus emerged as among the greatest of all the church fathers. They have traditionally been designated as the “Three Cappadocian Fathers”: St. Basil the Great of Caesarea (330–79), St. Gregory the Theologian (of Nazianzus: 329–90) who was Basil’s life­long and close friend, and St. Gregory of Nyssa, Basil’s younger brother (ca. 331–95). But there was also a wider circle that ought to expand the designation to include St. Macrina (a Cappadocian “Mother” who did not leave any extant writings of her own but who educated and formed her younger brother, Gregory of Nyssa, deci­sively and who was an important monastic founder in her own right) and also St. Amphilokios of Ikonium, who was St. Gregory the Theologian’s relative and a disciple of St. Basil, who has left important writings and canonical letters. They all came from the region of Cappadocia – present-day eastern Turkey near the Syrian border – especially the towns of Guzelyurt where Gregory Nazianzen lived; Kaisariye, the home of Basil; and Nevsehir, which was the base of St. Gregory of Nyssa. In all three places colonies of monastics grew up, many of which survived intact from the early – Middle Ages until the exchange of popu­lations after the Greek-Turkish War of 1922.

St. Basil was a major influence on the developing monastic movement and, along with Sts. Antony and Pachomius, has been regarded as the “father of monasticism” in the Eastern Church. The divine liturgy attributed to his name was the standard one used in the East before that of St. John Chrysostom (an abbreviated version) superseded it. It remains the common liturgy in use during Lent, and reflects elements of his lofty theology and spiritual­ity. In his lifetime he was renowned as a vigorous church leader, organizer of phi­lanthropy, and profound theologian. Today, he is perhaps best known for his treatise On the Holy Spirit. The two St. Gregories went to Constantinople for the occasion of the ecumenical council there in 338, and were leading architects of the Nicene theology it promulgated. St. Gregory the Theologian, one of the most learned men in the whole of Antiquity, composed in advance of the council his renowned Five Theological Orations (Orations 27–31) which have been called, ever afterwards, the synopsis of the trinitarian dogma of the Orthodox Church. St. Gregory of Nyssa assisted him on that occasion and continued the struggle against radical Arianism with an array of impressive theological and spiritual works. Two of the Cappadocians, Sts. Basil and Gregory the Theologian, are included among the “Three Holy Hierarchs” (the third being St. John Chrysostom), who were seen by the Byzantines as the brightest lights among all the fathers.

SEE ALSO: Arianism; Council of Constanti­nople 1 (381); Council of Nicea I (325); St. Athanasius of Alexandria (ca. 293–373)

REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED READINGS

McGuckin, J. A. (2001) St. Gregory of Nazianzus: An Intellectual Biography. Crestowood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press.

Meredith, A. (1995) The Cappadocians. Crestowood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press.

Meredith, A. (1999) Gregory of Nyssa. London: Routledge.

Rousseau, P. (1994) Basil of Caesarea. Berkeley: University of California Press.