Gregory of Nyssa

(c. 335-c. 395). Theologian and leading defender of the Nicene faith. He was consecrated Bishop of Nyssa in 372. Gregory attended the Second Ecumenical Council at Constantinople in 381, where he asserted the unity of the three Persons in the one Godhead. With regard to the Trinity, Gregory taught a doctrine of coinherence or perichoresis, that the three Persons of the Trinity are equally involved in all the operations of the Godhead and do not act independently. He is remembered for his mysticism, his asceticism, and his understanding of salvation as deification. Gregory of Nyssa is recognized as a leading Greek theologian of the fourth century. He, his brother, Basil of Caesarea, and Gregory of Nazianzus, are known as the “Cappadocian Fathers.” Gregory is commemorated in the Episcopal calendar of the church year on Mar. 9. See Theosis.