St. Gregory of Nyssa

St. Gregory of Nyssa was born around 335 at Caesarea in Cappadocia (in modern Turkey), the younger brother of St. Basil the Great and St. Macrina the Younger, and died around 395. At first he pursued a secular career as a teacher of rhetoric and married, but under the influence of his family he embraced the service of the Church and was made bishop of the small town of Nyssa. Though he suffered exile at the hands of the Arians, he emerged after Basil's death as a leading champion of the Nicene faith.

He is honored as one of the three great Cappadocian Fathers and, of the three, the most speculative and mystical theologian. His works on the Trinity helped secure the orthodox teaching affirmed at the First Council of Constantinople in 381, and his spiritual writings, especially the Life of Moses, traced the soul's endless ascent into the infinite God. He is venerated as a Father of the Church and a foundational figure of Christian mystical theology.