Gregory of Nyssa and his reproachful view of the Eunomians (360-394 AD)

• Grant number: 10/09747-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date until: November 01, 2010
• End date until: June 30, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - History - Ancient and Medieval History
• Principal Investigator: Margarida Maria de Carvalho
• Grantee: Helena Amália Papa
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Humanas e Sociais (FCHS). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Franca. Franca , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 12/05665-8 - Gregory of Nyssa and his reproachful view of the Eunomians (360-394 AD), BE.EP.DR

Abstract

Continuing with the theme analyzed in the Research Initiation and Masters (both funded by FAPESP bursaries), our aim is to investigate the dispute among Christian groups of the 4th century AD: the Eunomian Aryans (disciples of the Bishop Eunomius of Cyzicum) and the Niceans. Such groups distinguished themselves in the way in which they applied their Paideia to constitute their politico-religious ideals, or in other words, Eunomians and Niceans interpreted Biblical data in a different way. In the last phase of our research we had our first contact with the speech Adversus Eunomius (380-383 AD) from the Nicean Bishop, Gregory of Nissa (335-394 AD). This last attestation revealed to be a continuation of the verbal clash studied in that occasion between his brother and also Nicean, the Bishop Basil of Cesareia and the Aryan Bishop Eunomius of Cyzicum. It seems intriguing that for a long time such a sequence of discourses, by way of rebuttals, refutations and answers to refutations, reached almost the whole of the second half of the 4th century AD. Our work objectives and hypotheses were set from the fact that despite the active participation of Gregory of Nyssa in verbal clashes, we sought to understand the reason the ecclesiastic historiography and literature despised this Priest of the Church. With the purpose of understanding who Gregory of Nyssa was and what his participation in the Eunomenian Aryan dispute was, we chose our document for analysis, the Adversus Eunomius. Furthermore, we proposed to read all of his works and the correspondence he had exchanged with the Capadocian Priests to find assistance in analyzing the target-discourse. With the help of the Analysis of Content, Analysis of Category and Intertextuality we sought to understand the reproachful view of Gregory of Nyssa toward the Eunomian Aryan Bishop of Cyzicum who was involved in politico-religious conflicts peculiar to the eastern region of the Roman Empire in the 4th century AD.

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

PAPA, Helena Amália. A autoafirmação de um Bispo: Gregório de Nissa e sua visão condenatória aos Eunomianos (360-394 d.C.). 2014. Doctoral Thesis - Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp). Faculdade de Ciências Humanas e Sociais. Franca Franca.