Gregory

In the Christian tradition

Multiple Gregorys are honored across the Christian traditions. In Orthodox tradition, the three principal Gregorys are: Gregory of Nazianzus ("the Theologian," fourth-century Cappadocian Father); Gregory of Nyssa (his brother, also Cappadocian Father); and Gregory Palamas (fourteenth-century Hesychast theologian). In Catholic tradition, the principal Gregory is Gregory the Great (Pope, 590-604), who shaped Catholic liturgy and missionary tradition. Sixteen popes have taken the name. The Catholic calendar honors Gregory the Great on September 3.

The four Gregorys whose names dominate Christian tradition occupy different but converging places. Gregory of Nazianzus, "the Theologian" (c. 329-390), is one of the three Cappadocian Fathers and the principal figure of the First Council of Constantinople (381) which defined the orthodox Trinitarian faith. Gregory of Nyssa (c. 335-394) is his brother, a profound mystical theologian. Gregory the Great (c. 540-604) is Pope Gregory I, the Latin Doctor of the Church whose pastoral writings, liturgical reforms, and missionary policy (sending Augustine of Canterbury to England) shaped the medieval Western Church; the term "Gregorian chant" comes from him. Gregory Palamas (c. 1296-1359) is the fourteenth-century Athonite monk whose defense of Hesychast prayer practice and the distinction between God's essence and energies are central to Orthodox theology. The Orthodox calendar commemorates the Three Hierarchs (Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, and John Chrysostom) together on January 30; the Catholic calendar honors Gregory the Great on September 3. The name has been in continuous Christian use.