The Cappadocian Mothers

Deification Exemplified in the Writings of Basil, Gregory, and Gregory

Sunberg

• Publisher: Pickwick Publications
• Year: 2017
• eBook ISBN: 9781498282420
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Theology

The Cappadocian Fathers had great influence on the church of the fourth century, having brought their passion for Christ and theological expertise to life in their ministry. Their work was not devoid of influence, including that of their immediate family members. Within their writings we uncover the lives of seven women, the Cappadocian Mothers, who may have had more influence on the theology of the church than previously believed. As the Cappadocians wrestle with the Christianization of the concept of deification, we find the women in their lives becoming models for their theological understanding. The lives of the women become points of intersection in the kenosis-theosis parabola. Not only are the Cappadocian Mothers uncovered in the texts, but they become models of an optimistic theology of restoration for all of humanity without constraint of gender.

chapter 1

Introduction

The Cappadocian Fathers of the fourth century, Basil of Caesarea, his brother, Gregory of Nyssa, and his friend Gregory of Nazianzus, are best remembered as theologians of the Trinity. However, theologians of their day not only wrote theology, they embodied theology. Wilken reminds us, “The intellectual effort of the early church was at the service of a much loftier goal than giving conceptual form to Christian belief. Its mission was to win the hearts and minds of men and women to change their lives.”1 For the Cappadocians, it was their life, but it was also a lifestyle. This included a lifelong quest to grow in a relationship with, and seek the face of God, intent on becoming more like God. Within the writings of the Cappadocians we discover a unique pathway to their understanding of theosis, one which broadens our understanding for it includes the women in their lives. These women, the Cappadocian Mothers, both married and virgins, exemplified deification for the Fathers and provided a model for a female restored in the image of God. The result is an optimistic message that provides a road map for pathways to deification for women but even more, a fuller understanding of the Cappadocians’ theology when all of humanity is taken into account.

This early Christian theology “is the work of an unparalleled company of gifted thinkers whose lives are interwoven with their thought.”2 These theologians were not necessarily trying to establish something as they were trying to understand and explain what they were personally experiencing. “The desire to understand is as much part of believing as is the drive to act on what one believes.”3 According to Sheldrake, “Being a theologian is as much a quality of being in relation to the reality we reflect upon as a concern for the technology of a specific discipline.”4 Sheldrake’s conclusion is that “some kind of transformation is implied by the search for knowledge.”5 The result is that doctrine traditionally develops because of an embodiment of spiritual traditions within the lives of people and is not simply the result of abstract ideas.6 The Cappadocians’ relationships, involvement in the life of the church, social origins and education all helped to form their theology, which in turn was fundamentally pastoral.7

The synthesis of Cappadocian theology “encapsulates an idea of Christian knowledge in which biblical exegesis, speculative reasoning and mystical contemplation are fused.”8 This synthesis included the relationships and sociological world of their families. Basil and Gregory of Nyssa grew up in a Christian family consisting of five boys and five girls. Their Christian roots can be traced back to their grandparents who had been disciples of Gregory Thaumaturgus, missionary to Pontus. The turn of the fourth century had been greeted with the persecution of Christians. Basil and Gregory’s grandparents were survivors of this persecution. Their grandmother, Macrina the Elder, taught them sayings she had learned from Gregory Thaumaturgus.9 Basil, in the midst of the great Trinitarian debates, comments, “Nay, the conception of God which I received in childhood from my blessed mother and my grandmother Macrina, this, developed, have I held within me; for I did not change from one opinion to another with the maturity of reason, but I perfected the principles handed down to me by them. . . . The teaching about God which I had received as a boy from my blessed mother and my grandmother Macrina, I have ever held with increased conviction.”10

Basil’s friend, Gregory of Nazianzus, was also raised in a Christian home. Basil and Nazianzen, both of whom were raised in Cappadocia, studied classical literature but did not meet until their paths led them to Athens. Here while continuing their studies they met and became lifelong friends.11 While they studied at Athens these two young Cappadocians became known for their “diligence and success in work, their stainless and devout life, and their close mutual affection.”12 Gregory described their behavior while in Athens: “The sole object of us both was virtue and living for future hopes, having detached ourselves from this world before depa...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Foreword
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Abbreviations
• Chapter 1: Introduction
• Chapter 2: The Christianization of Deification
• Chapter 3: Christocentric Development
• Chapter 4: The Development of Monasticism and the Role of Virginity in the Cappadocian Understanding of Theosis
• Chapter 5: The Fallen Virgin
• Chapter 6: Married Women as the New Eve: Nonna and Gorgonia
• Chapter 7: Macrina, the Perfect Virgin Bride
• Chapter 8: Practical Implications for Life and Ministry: Macrina the Elder, Emmelia, and Theosebia
• Chapter 9: The Mothers Exemplify Deification
• Bibliography