Gregory of Nazianzus: Poemata Arcana

Known as "the Theologian", St Gregory of Nazianzus (in the eastern part of Turkey) is, with St Basil and St Gregory of Nyssa, one of the celebrated Cappadocian Fathers of the fourth-century Christian Church. Highly educated in both Christian theology and classical Greek literature, he found himself torn between a solitary, contemplative life and the reluctantly accepted, though in actuality relished, public figure of bishop, vigorous in defence of orthodoxy against the attacks of the Arians. He was even, briefly, Bishop of Constantinople and chairman of the Council in 381 which produced what we now know as the Nicene Creed. This edition of his poems brings together his theological acumen in a formative period and shows his ability to operate in the genre of didactic verse going back to the eighth century BC. The poems cover a range of topics, from the strictly theological to others dealing more broadly with the creation of the world, providence, the world of spiritual beings, and the human soul. They give a unique new insight both on the theological ideas of the period and on the uneasy emergence of Christian culture from the pagan past.