Theological Oration 1: Against the Eunomians, as a Preliminary Discourse

Oratio 27, Adversus Eunomianos · Λόγος Κζʹ, Κατὰ Εὐνομιανῶν προδιάλεξις

Translation in progress.

1Gregory opens by aiming his sermon at the clever debaters who love disputes about words more than good deeds.
2Because the debaters have turned the faith into a public contest, Gregory asks them to listen patiently to a word of correction.
3Theology is not for everyone, always, or on every subject: it needs purified hearers, a fit time, and a measure suited to the listener.
4Gregory does not forbid remembering God constantly, only theological debate that is untimely and without measure.
5Christians should keep their disputes within bounds and not expose the mysteries of the faith to hostile outsiders.
6Public quarrels about the begetting of the Son hand pagan critics weapons and serve their own immoral gods.
7Instead of cultivating prayer, fasting, and self-control, the disputers neglect the virtues and reward impiety with licence.
8In a mock dialogue Gregory shows that there are many ways to God, so it is folly to reduce the Christian life to argument alone.
9Gregory mocks the self-made theologians and sends their love of argument to pagan philosophy and to open questions where error is harmless.

About this work

Author: Gregory of Nazianzus
Attribution: authentic · The first of the Five Theological Orations; universally accepted as Gregory's, delivered at Constantinople in 380.
Standing: Honoured by the Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant traditions. Honoured as a saint or in a church calendar by: Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant.
Older English translation: Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 7 (1894) (public domain, at CCEL; for comparison: our translation is made from the original first and checked against it afterwards)
Date: 380 (probable) · Delivered at Constantinople during Gregory's tenure there (379–381), before the Council of 381.
Written at: Constantinople, Thrace (probable)
Addressed to: the Eunomians
Language: Greek
Genre: homily
Reference system: chapter
SBL abbreviation: Or. Theol.Not yet checked
Clavis: CPG 3010.27 (not yet checked)
Text from: Arthur James Mason, ed., The Five Theological Orations of Gregory of Nazianzus (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1899) (Printed edition in the public domain; digital text CC BY-SA 4.0)
Critical editions: Paul Gallay, ed., Grégoire de Nazianze, Discours 27-31 (Discours théologiques), Sources Chrétiennes 250 (Paris: Cerf, 1978) (cited, not reproduced)
CTS URN: urn:cts:greekLit:tlg2022.tlg007