Gregory of Nazianzus on the Trinity and Knowledge of God: in Your Light We Shall See Light.

Norris, Frederick W.

GREGORY OF NAZIANZUS ON THE TRINITY AND KNOWLEDGE OF GOD: IN YOUR LIGHT WE SHALL SEE LIGHT. By Christopher A. Beeley. Oxford Studies in Historical Theology. New York: Oxford University, 2008. Pp. xvi + 396. $49.95.

Few revised doctoral dissertations, even those from Notre Dame in patristics, under Brian Daley's direction, emerge as classics. This volume has. It belongs with the best books on Gregory written in the past 25 years. Actually, no full book on Gregory's theology has appeared since the 1940s; and none of the earlier ones is as detailed and compelling as Beeley's. The quality of his work is grounded in his penetrating translations and his broad learning in early Christian history and theology.

B.'s preface plainly states the centrality of the Trinity for Gregory, and the principal thesis of this book. "The doctrine of the Trinity ... represents the fundamental origin and goal of the Christian life"; it is neither "a quasi-mathematical problem" nor "the abstract logic of the Christian God.... Gregory's doctrine of the Trinity is at every point about salvation" (viii). "Gregory's doctrine does not recognize the sort of division between knowledge and experience, theory and practice, or theology and spirituality to which many moderns are so accustomed" (x). That is why Gregory was known as "the Theologian"; much contemporary theology withers in comparison. B. has captured the dynamics of Gregory's theology so thoroughly that this book could easily serve as a first, somewhat demanding introduction to a course on the nature of theology. It should always be among the last consulted in the education of any theologian, whatever his or her specialties and career plans.

The presentation is well thought-out. The introduction offers a biographical and intellectual sketch of Gregory. Chapter 1 treats "God and the Theologian" with emphasis on the "purification" and "illumination" involved in Gregory's understanding of the very task of theological reflection. Chapter 2 concerns Gregory's understanding of Jesus Christ, tracing both his high Christology and concluding with a section on christological spirituality. Chapter 3 concentrates on the Holy Spirit, treating Gregory's high Pneumatology and ending with a section aimed at lived spirituality, "Spiritual Exegesis and the Rhetoric of Piety." Chapter 4, on the Trinity itself, spells out topics such as the divine economy, the monarchy of God the Father, and conceptions of the Trinity, and closes with spirituality concerns, "Participation in the Trinity." After a first chapter on theology conceived as a living with God and the final "spirituality" sections of the subsequent directly trinitarian chapters, we come to an often missing but absolutely necessary final chapter dealing with "Pastoral Ministry." Too many works on Gregory paint him as a confused and whining thinker who wished to avoid being a pastor. Such a reading will not be possible after B.'s final chapter: it includes a grand excursus on "The Love of the Poor" in the middle of four other pastoral sections. Finally, B.'s conclusion puts Gregory in his context from Origen in the East to Damasus in the West, and insists on Gregory's formative influence upon all orthodox theology. A number of scholars helped B. along his way, but this is his own wisdom. The book is strong and at most points entirely persuasive.

Several of B.'s judgments will be questioned. Are Gregory's theological letters primarily focused on Diodore and only "merely" concerned with Apollinaris? In 1899, Arthur James Mason pointed out twelve passages in the Theological Orations that to him resembled Nestorius. And, does B.'s brilliant solution deal well with all the NT verses Gregory mentions that speak of Jesus Christ's words and actions? Also, several interesting paths along the lines of this tome could be pursued--for example, the question of Gregory's influence on Maximus the Confessor (d. 662). Maximus praised Cyril's solution and wrote thoughtful praise and commentary on some of Gregory's texts, sensing that some ambiguities needed explanation. Another example: Timothy I of Baghdad, catholicos, "arch bishop" 780-823 of the East Syrian (Nestorian) Church that stretched from Cyprus to Beijing, unexpectedly quoted Gregory more favorably in his limited extant letters than he praised Nestorius. Sebastian Brock claims that East Syrian theologians should not be seen as Nestorians. Are they more like Gregory and thus in some ways akin to Cyril, or do they see Gregory as safely related to a tamed Nestorius?

These are not quibbles; they require articles and books on passages not meant to be dealt with in this volume, which is sound and pushes our research to another level.

FREDERICK W. NORRIS (Emeritus)

Emmanuel School of Religion, Johnson City, Tenn.