عنوان

Catechesis and Episcopal Authority in the Life of Gregory Thaumaturgus

شماره

LA129173

زبان متن نوشتاري يا گفتاري و مانند آن

انگلیسی

عنوان اصلي

Catechesis and Episcopal Authority in the Life of Gregory Thaumaturgus

نام عام مواد

[Article]

نام نخستين پديدآور

Allison L. Gray

محل نشرو پخش و غیره

Leiden

نام ناشر، پخش کننده و غيره

Brill

متن يادداشت

In a seldom discussed episode from Gregory of Nyssa's Life of Gregory Thaumaturgus, the wonderworking bishop converts a pagan temple custodian using the written word and a miracle. Physical proofs seem essential for teaching this outsider about divine power. Yet in the very next episode the narrator praises Thaumaturgus for disregarding physical appearances and for keeping silent. A close reading of the Life 34-47 demonstrates that Gregory of Nyssa models, within the narrative, a progression from basic catechesis through signs to the more complex work of interpreting signs, making inferences from what is seen to that which remains unseen. Contextualizing this paradoxical sequence of Thaumaturgus vignettes in Cappadocian discussions of divine condescension and principles of fourth-century Christian paideia, I show that Gregory of Nyssa uses the juxtaposition between Thaumaturgus' teaching and conduct to model the flexible approach required for bishops to communicate the nature of divine power to varied audiences. In a seldom discussed episode from Gregory of Nyssa's Life of Gregory Thaumaturgus, the wonderworking bishop converts a pagan temple custodian using the written word and a miracle. Physical proofs seem essential for teaching this outsider about divine power. Yet in the very next episode the narrator praises Thaumaturgus for disregarding physical appearances and for keeping silent. A close reading of the Life 34-47 demonstrates that Gregory of Nyssa models, within the narrative, a progression from basic catechesis through signs to the more complex work of interpreting signs, making inferences from what is seen to that which remains unseen. Contextualizing this paradoxical sequence of Thaumaturgus vignettes in Cappadocian discussions of divine condescension and principles of fourth-century Christian paideia, I show that Gregory of Nyssa uses the juxtaposition between Thaumaturgus' teaching and conduct to model the flexible approach required for bishops to communicate the nature of divine power to varied audiences.

تاريخ نشر

2020

توصيف ظاهري

515-539

عنوان

Vigiliae Christianae

شماره جلد

74/5

شماره استاندارد بين المللي پياييندها

1570-0720

اصطلاح موضوعی

biography

اصطلاح موضوعی

bishops

اصطلاح موضوعی

Cappadocians

اصطلاح موضوعی

catechesis

اصطلاح موضوعی

miracles

اصطلاح موضوعی

paideia

مستند نام اشخاص تاييد نشده

Allison L. Gray

شماره بازیابی

10.1163/15700720-12341450

نام الکترونيکي

فرمت انتشار

p

نوع ماده

[Article]

کد کاربرگه

275578

سطح دسترسي

a

تكميل شده

Y