Saint Gregory the Miracle-Worker

Summary:

Gregory, bishop of Nyssa, brother of Saint Basil - himself bishop of Caesarea of Cappadocia - and of Saint Macrina, a virgin consecrated to the Lord, delivered his Eulogy of Gregory Thaumaturgust probably in 379, when he was in the province of Pontus (a region on the southern coast of the Black Sea, located in the modern-day eastern Black Sea Region of Turkey): the other Gregory from the previous century, who had been the first bishop of Neocaesarea (now Niksar, in north-central Turkey), was a hero of his. He says he was a monk. This matches the canons of sanctity of the period in which he was writing: after the great waves of persecutions against Christians (effectively implemented for the western part by the Edict of Galerius in 311, and for the eastern part of the empire by the "Edict of Milan" of 313, which returned to the Christians the property confiscated since 303 when Diocletian's "great persecution" started), the highest form of sanctity, which had been martyrdom, was replaced by the monastic life.

But Gregory of Nyssa also portrays Gregory Thaumartugus as a miracle-worker (thaumaturgus (ὁ θαυματουργός) is, in the Christian era, a person who performs miracles). Thus we read - under the pen of the writer - that, during his secular studies in Alexandria, as several of his classmates (debauched boys) were envious of his virtuous reputation, dispatched a courtesan who interrupted the philosophy lecture which Gregory was attending, pretending he was one of her habitual clients. Gregory was unmoved, and just asked one of his fellow students to give the woman the money she demanded. When she received it, she screamed, her eyes rolling back in her head, and rolled on the floor, pulling out her hair. Gregory's prayer calmed her immediately, proving to everyone not only that her accusation was baseless, but also that his soul enjoyed intimacy with Almighty God.

Afterwards, Gregory was put in charge of the diocese of Neocesarea - against his wish, as he preferred to live in the peace of solitude with God - and he travelled through the territory entrusted to him: the countryside was still mostly pagan, and demon worship was widespread and regular. He went to one of the most prominent temples and, by his persevering prayers repeated throughout the night before the Holy Trinity, forced the demons that inhabited it to leave and forbade them to return. The next day, the guardian of the temple found it empty of evil spirits. In fury, he poured out his invectives against the saint, threatening to denounce him before the magistrates and the emperor himself! "Gregory responded to all his threats by offering him the covenant of the true God in exchange; he explained that, thanks to the power of the one who was fighting for him, he was endowed with such great strength that he had the power to cast out demons wherever he wished." (In Praise of Gregory the Thaumaturgist, Part IV). The man asked the bishop to prove his spiritual power once again, by ordering the demons to return: Gregory's written note on a piece of parchment: ("Gregory to Satan : 'Come!'"), placed on the temple altar by the guardian, was effective. A third miracle, requested and performed this time on a huge stone, which the saint's prayer moved to the place designated by the guardian, finally convinced him: he converted to the true God and, leaving his home, his family and all his possessions, he became a disciple of the saint in order to study the divine word with him. For miracles have no other purpose than to lead to God: "If indeed the power of the servant is so great... that he can command even created things without souls, we can imagine how much more superior the power of the master of the universe must be - he whose will became matter, organisation and power of the universe itself, of everything in it and everything that transcends it." ( ibid.) Through the admiration they arouse about divine omnipotence in the minds of those who witness them, miracles point to God as the One who watches over the good of every human being.

Going further:

Life and Panegyric of Gregory by St. Gregory of Nyssa (P.G., XLVI, col. 893 sqq.)

More information:

• Historia Miraculorum, by Rufinus;
• an account in Syriac of the great actions of Blessed Gregory (sixth-century manuscript);
• St. Basil, De Spiritu Sancto.
• The monastery of Osios Loukas - i.e. the monastery of St Luke, near Delphi - is famous for its 11th-century gold mosaics. One of them depicts Saint GregoryThaumaturgus