Saint Gregory of Nyssa

Gregory of Nyssa , also known as Gregory Nyssen , was an early Christian theologian who served as the bishop of Nyssa from 372 to 376 and from 378 until his death in 394. He is venerated as a saint in Eastern Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church, Oriental Orthodox Churches, Anglicanism, and Lutheranism. Gregory, his younger brother Basil of Caesarea, and their friend Gregory of Nazianzus are collectively known as the Cappadocian Fathers. Gregory lacked the administrative ability of his brother Basil or the contemporary influence of Gregory of Nazianzus, but he was an erudite Christian theologian who made significant contributions to the doctrine of the Trinity and the Nicene Creed. Gregory's philosophical writings were influenced by Origen. Since the mid-twentieth century, there has been a significant increase in interest in Gregory's works from the academic community, particularly involving universal salvation, which has resulted in challenges to many traditional interpretations of his theology. Gregory is also notable for being the first person in recorded history to have written against all forms of slavery, declaring the institution inherently sinful. The Acts of the Apostles depicts that on the Pentecost there were visiting Jews who were "residents of ...Cappadocia" in attendance in Acts 2:9. In the First Epistle of Peter, written after 65, the author greets Christians who are "exiles scattered throughout…Cappadocia". There is no further reference to Cappadocia in the rest of the New Testament. Early Christianity arose in Cappadocia relatively late, with no evidence of a Christian community before the late second century. Alexander of Jerusalem was the first bishop of the province in the early to mid-third century, a period in which Christians suffered persecution from the local Roman authorities. The community remained very small throughout the third century: when Gregory Thaumaturgus acceded to the bishopric in c.