# On the Lord's Prayer

- Author: [Gregory of Nyssa](https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/authors/gregory-of-nyssa/)
- Latin title: *De oratione dominica*
- Date: ca. 380–394 (approximate)
- Source: J.-P. Migne, ed., Patrologiae cursus completus, Series Graeca 44 (Paris: Migne, 1863), cols. 1119–1194

- Translation: Claude, from the original text, unless a passage says otherwise; each passage below gives the translator
- Work page: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/
- Passages: 38

## On the Lord's Prayer 1119

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1119/#p-1119
- Source: PG 44:1120b–1120a
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-14

Summary: Opening the first homily on the Lord’s Prayer, Gregory says his hearers must first learn that they ought to pray at all, since everyone, from shopkeeper to buyer, gives the hour of prayer to business.

### Greek text

nun ωε A’. Προσευχῆς ἡμῖν διδασκαλίαν ὁ θεῖος ὑφηγεῖται i6ᾑρηηω,,ηυγ υιυυιυιιυυιιαν ο υειος ῡφηγεῐται λά γος, διʼ ἦς τοῖς ἀξίοις αὑτοῦ μαθηταῖς, τοῖς ἐν σπουιη, ν.,,,υις αςιυις, αυτου μαυηταις, τοῖς ἐν σπου- δῇ τὴν γνῶσιν τῆς προσευχῆς ἐπιζητοῦσιν, ὅπως νη..μ ινωυιν -ιης προσευχῆς επιςητουσιν, ὅπως οἰκειοῦσθαι προσήκει τὴν θείαν ἀκοὴν, διὰ τῶν ρη-.- Δ-..-- Α ’ “ ---------ν... “tum”. up υειαν ακοην, om τῶν ρη- μάτων τῆς προσευχῆς ὑποτίθεται, Ἐγὼ δὲ τολμήσας ---η -\ ’ “ ‘ 7' ...νων δεμ, νηρυυευχης υποτιυεται, Ἐγὼ δὲ τολμήσας μικρὸν ἀντιπροσθείην τοῖς γεγραμμένοις· ὅτι οὐ τὸ ,ματη νηηεινυυςυμ υυιι, γεγραμμενοις οτι οὐ τὺ πῶς δεῖ προσεύχεσθαι τὸν παρόντα σύλλογον διδά- ...η νε....ρυυευχεουαι τον παροντα σύλλογον διδά- σκεσθαι χρὴ, ἀλλʼ ὅτι δεῖ πάντως προσεύχεσθαι θ ὅπερ· -P._-. -1 ν θ ’ Α --η--..- Mn“ νυνι υιι υει παντως προσευχεσυαι σ ὅπερ οὔπω τάχα δέδεκται ἡ τῶν πολλῶν ἀκοή. Ὴμέληται -..\.- ι-. ’ ηʼ " --.υ...χω “eum; η των πολλῶν axon. Ὴμέληται γὰρ ἐν τῷ βίῳ καὶ παρεῖται τοῖς πολλοῖς τὸ ἱερὸν ,Ὗ -.,Ἢ μιν και ιιυιρειται τοις πολλοῖς τὸ ἱερὸν τοῦτο καὶ ἔνθεον ἔργον, ή προσευχὴ. Περὶ τούτου ,νυν,ιιι ενυεον εργον, η προσευχὴ. Περὶ τούτου τοίνυν δοκεῖ μοι καλῶς ἔχειν, πρῶτον, ῶς ἔστι δυνα- .-.ην was. μυι nam}; εχειν, πρῶτον, ὡς ἔστι δυνα- τὸν, λόγῳ διαμαρτύρασθαι, τὸ δεῖν πάντως τῇ προσην, mm. υιυιμυιριυρασυαι, το οειν παντως τῇ προσ- ευχῇ προσκαρτερεῖν, καθώς φησιν ὁ Ἀπόστολος · εἶθʼ ..υχη “FW mycepuv, καυως φησιν o Ἀπόστολος · εἷθʼ οὕτως ἀκοῦσαι τῆς θείας φωνῆς, τῆς ὑποτιθεμένης wth υικυυοαι της υειας φωνῆς, τῆς ὑποτιθεμένης ἡμῖν τρόπον, ὅπως χρὴ προσάγειν τῷ Κυρίῳ τῆν ημιν τροπον, οπως χρη προσάγειν τῷ Κυρίῳ τῆν δέησιν. Ὁρῶ γὰρ ὅτι πάντα μᾶλλον ἐν τῷ παρόντι aequm υρω γάρ οτι πάντα μᾶλλον ἐν τῷ παρόντι σπουδάζεται βίῳ, άλλου πρὸς ἄλλο τι τῇ ψυχῇ τευιιυυυυιςεται Ριῳ, at.on προς ᾰλλο τι τῇ ψυχῇ τε· τραμμένου τὸ δὲ τῆς εὐχῆς ἀγαθὸν διὰ σπουδῆς τοῖς Ἰηηηηςνυυ ιν υε τιης ευχης αγαυον om σπουδῆς τοῖς ἀνθρώποις οὐκ ἐστιν. Ἐπορθρίζει ταῖς ἐμπορίαις ὁ υινυρωποις ουκ εστιν. Ἐπορθρίζει ταῖς ἐμπορίαις ὀ κάπηλος, πρὸ τῶν ὁμοτέχνων τὸν οἰκεῖον ἐπιδεῖξαι κάπηλος, προ των ομοτεχνων τὸν οἰκεῖον ἐπιδεῖξαι τοῖς ὠνουμένοις φιλονεικῶν, ὡς ἂν προλάβοι τοῦ δεο τινι, ωνυυμενυις φιλονεικῶν, ως αν προλάβοι τοῦ δεο- μένου τὴν χρείαν, ὑποφθάσας τοὺς ἄλλους, καὶ τὸ οξμενου την χρείαν, ὑποφθάσας τοὺς ἄλλους, καὶ τὸ οἱ. κεῖον ἀπεμπολήσειεν. Ὡσαύτως καὶ ὁ ὠνούμενος, τὸ κειον απεμπολησειεν. Ὡσαύτως καὶ ὁ ὠνούμενος, τὸ μὴ διαμαρτεῖν τοῦ πρὸς τὴν χρείαν ἐν τῷ προληφθῆμη οιαμαρτειν του πρὸς τὴν χρείαν ἐν τῷ προληφθῆ- ναι παρʼ ἐτέρου πρὸ ὀφθαλμῶν ἔχων, οὐκ ἐπὶ τὸ εὑναι παρʼ ἐτέρου πρὸ ὀφθαλμῶν ἔχων, οὐκ ἐπὶ τὸ εὺλ κτήριον, ἀλλʼ ἐπὶ τὸ πρατήριον τρέχει. Καὶ πάντων κτηριον, αλλʼ ἐπὶ τὸ πρατήριον τρέχει. Καὶ πάντων τὴν ἴσην πρὸς τὸ κέρδος ἐχόντων ἐπιθυμίαν, καὶ ἰ· σπουδαζομένων ἡ τῆς προσευχῆς ὥρα εἱς τὴν ἐμπορίαν μετατεθεῖσα. Οὕτως ὁ χειροτέχνης· οὗτῶς ὁ

### English translation (Claude)

Homily 1. The divine Word gives us teaching on prayer, in which he sets out for his worthy disciples, those who eagerly seek to know about prayer, how they should win the divine hearing through the words of prayer. But I, venturing a little, would add something to what is written: that the present assembly needs to be taught not how one ought to pray, but that one ought to pray at all — something the hearing of the many has perhaps not yet received. For this sacred and divine work, prayer, is neglected in life and passed over by the many. On this point, then, it seems right to me first to testify in words, as far as I can, that we must by all means persevere in prayer, as the Apostle says; and then to hear the divine voice that teaches us how we must bring our petition to the Lord. For I see that everything else is pursued with more zeal in the present life, each soul turned to one thing or another, while the good of prayer is not a matter of zeal for people. The shopkeeper is up at dawn for his business, eager to show his wares to buyers before his fellow tradesmen, so as to meet the customer’s need first, get ahead of the others, and sell his own goods. Likewise the buyer, keeping before his eyes the fear of missing what he needs because someone else has bought it first, runs not to the house of prayer but to the market. And since all have the same desire for gain, … the hour of prayer is transferred to trade. So it is with the craftsman; so with the

### Scripture references

- Rom 12:12: allusion, medium confidence
- Col 4:2: allusion, medium confidence
- Matt 6:9–13: allusion, medium confidence

### Translation notes

- Homily 1 on the Lord’s Prayer. Persevering in prayer: Rom 12:12; Col 4:2.
- The scan of this page interleaves the Greek with lines of garbled duplicate OCR (debris); these have not been removed by logged corrections and are not text of the work. Only the readable text is translated; a few garbled words near the end are marked ….

### Citation (SBL)

Gregory of Nyssa, Or. dom. 1119 (PG 44:1120b–1120a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1119/#p-1119).

## On the Lord's Prayer 1121

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1119/#p-1121
- Source: PG 44:1121a–1121d
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-14

Summary: Craftsmen, teachers, litigants, and judges forget prayer and trust their own skill; hence greed, quarrels, and injustice multiply; if prayer came first and God were remembered, sin would find no entry.

### Greek text

ΜʼΞί περὶ λόγους ἡσχολημένος ° οὕτως ὁ δικαζόμενος · οὕτως ό δικάζειν λαχὼν, περὶ τά ἐν χερσὶν ἕκαστος ὅλος τῇ σπουδῇ ῥέπων, ἐκλέλησται τῆς κατὰ τὴν εὐχὴν ἐργασίας, ζημίαν κρίνων πρὸς τὸ προκείμενον ἐαυτῷ, τὴν περὶ τὸν Θεὸν ἀσχολίαν. Δοκεῖ γὰρ ὁ μὲν τὴν τέχνην μετιὼν, ἀργόν τι χρῆμα καὶ ἄπρακτον εἶναι, τὴν Θείαν πρὸς τὸ προκείμενον συμμαχίανο διὸ καταλιπὼν τὴν εὐχὴν, ἐν ταῖς χερσὶ τὰς ἐλπίδας τίθεται, ἀμνημονῶν τοῦ δεδωκότος τὰς χεῖρας. Ὡσαύτως καὶ ό τὸν λόγον διʼ ἐπιμελείας κατορθῶν ἐαυτῷ, ού λογίζεται τὸν δεδωκότα τὸν λόγον ἀλλʼ ὡς ἐαυτὸν εἰς τὴν φύσιν ταύτην παραγαγὼν, οὕτως ἐαυτῴ καὶ ταῖς τῶν μαθητῶν προσανέχει σπουδαῖς, οὐδὲν αὐτῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐνεργείας αὐτῷ γενήσεσθαι τῶν ἀγαθῶν νομίζων, προτιμοτέραν ποιεῖται τῆς προσευχῆς τήν σπουδὴν, τὸν αὑτὸν τρόπον καὶ τά λοιπά τῶν ἐπιτηδευμάτων ἐκκρούει τὴν περὶ τὰ μείζω καὶ ούράνια τῆς ψυχῆς ἀσχολίαν, τῇ τῶν σωματικῶν τε καὶ γηΐνων φροντίδι. Διά τοῦτο πολλὴ κατά τὸν βίον ή ἁμαρτία, ἀεὶ ταῖς προσθήκαις ἐπὶ τὸ μεῖζον αὔξουσα, πάσαις ταῖς ἀνθρωπίναις σπουδαῖς ἐμπεπλεγμένη, διότι λήθη τοῦ Θεοῦ κατακρατεί τῶν πάντων, καὶ τὸ τῆς εὐχῆς ἀγαθὸν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις τῶν σπουδαζομένων οὐ συνεφάπτεται· τῇ ἐμπορία συνεισέρχεται ἡ πλεονεξία. Πλεονεξία δέ ἐστιν εἰδωλολατρεία. Οὕτως ὁ γεωργὸς οὑ ταῖς ἀναγκαίαις χρείαις συμμετρεῖ τὴν γεωπονίαν · ἀλλʼ ἀεὶ πρὸς τὰ πλείω τὴν σπουδὴν ἐπεκτείνων, πολλὴν δίδωσι τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ τοῦ ἐπιτηδεύματος εἴσοδον, τοῖς ἀλλοτρίοις ἐκπλατυνόμενος. Ὅθεν αἱ δυσθεράπευτοι φύονται φιλονεικίαι, περὶ τῶν τῆς γῆς ὅρων ἀντεγειρομένων. ἀλλήλοις, τῶν τῇ ὁμοίᾳ νόσῳ τῆς πλεονεξίας κεκρατημένων. Ἐντεῦθεν οἱ θυμοὶ, καὶ αἱ πρὸς τὺ κακὸν ὁρμαὶ, καὶ αἱ καταλλήλων ἐπιχειρήσεις, αἵματι καὶ φόνῳ πολλάκις καθίστανται. Ὡσαύτως αἱ περὶ τὰ δικαστήρια σπουδαὶ, ταῖς πολυτρόποις ἁμαρτίαις ὑπηρετοῦσι, μυρίας τῆς ἀδικίας συνηγορίας εὑρίσκουσαι. '0 δικαστὴς ἢ ἐκὼν πρὸς τὸ λῆμμα τὸν τοῦ δικαίου ζυγὸν ἀπέκλινεν, ἢ ἀκουσίως τῇ περιεργίᾳ τῶν τὴν ἀλήθειαν συγχεόντων παρακρουσθεὶς τὴν ἀδικίαν ἐκύρωσεν. Καὶ τί ἄν τις τά καθʼ ἕκαστον λέγοι, διʼ ὧν ἡ ἁμαρτία πολυσχιδῶς καὶ πολυτρόπως τῇ ἀνθρωπίνῃ ζωῇ καταμίγνυται; … αἴτιον οὐδὲν ἕτερόν ἐστιν, ἢ τὸ μὴ συμπαραλαμβάνεσθαι παρά τῶν ἀνθρώπων τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ σύμπάθειαν πρὸς τὰ ἐν χερσὶ σπουδαζόμενα. Ἐἀν εὐχὴ τῆς σπουδῆς προηγήσηται, ἡ ἁμαρτία πάροδον κατά τῆς ψυχῆς οὺχ εὑρήσει. Τῆς γὰρ τοῦ Θεοῦ μνήμης ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ καθιδρυμένης, ἄπρακτοι μένουσιν al τοῦ ἀντικειμένου ἐπίνοιαι · πανταχοῦ τῆς δικαιοσύνης ἐν τοῖς ἀμφισβητουμένοις μεσιτευούσης. Ἐπέχει καὶτὸν γεωργὸν τῆς ἁμαρτίαςή προσευχὴ. ἐν ὀλίγῳ τῆς γῆς τοὺς καρποὺς πλεονάζουσα, ὡς μηκέτι τῇ τοῦ πλείονος ἐπιθυμίᾳ συνεισιέναι τὴν

### English translation (Claude)

one busy with speeches; so with the man at law; so with the one appointed to judge. Each is wholly bent with zeal on what is in hand and has forgotten the work of prayer, judging the time spent on God a loss to his business. The one who practises a craft thinks that divine help is an idle and useless thing for what he has to do; so he abandons prayer and puts his hopes in his hands, forgetting the one who gave him hands. Likewise one who by diligence has gained skill in speaking does not think of the one who gave him speech; as though he had brought himself into this nature, he attends to himself and to the studies of his students, thinking that nothing good will come to him from God’s working, and he prefers study to prayer. In the same way all the other pursuits shut out the soul’s occupation with greater and heavenly things through care for bodily and earthly ones. That is why there is so much sin in life, always growing greater by addition and interwoven with every human pursuit: forgetfulness of God prevails over all, and people do not join the good of prayer to what they pursue. Greed comes in with trade; and greed is idolatry. So the farmer does not measure his farming by his necessary needs, but always stretching his efforts toward more, he gives sin a wide entrance into his occupation, spreading himself over what belongs to others. From this spring the quarrels that are hard to heal, as those held by the same disease of greed rise up against one another over the boundaries of land. Hence come angers, impulses to evil, and attacks on one another, often ending in blood and murder. Likewise zeal in the law courts serves sins of many kinds, finding countless ways to plead for injustice. The judge either willingly tipped the scale of justice toward gain, or unwillingly, misled by the cunning of those who confuse the truth, confirmed injustice. And why should one speak of every particular way in which sin mingles with human life, in many branches and many forms? … The cause is nothing other than that people do not take God’s help along with them in what they pursue. If prayer goes before our efforts, sin will find no way in against the soul. For when the memory of God is set firmly in the heart, the devices of the adversary remain ineffective, since justice everywhere stands between the parties in disputes. Prayer keeps the farmer too from sin, multiplying the fruits of the earth in a small space, so that

### Scripture references

- Col 3:5: quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- “Greed is idolatry”: Col 3:5.
- A word before “The cause” is unreadable in the scan (OCR debris).

### Citation (SBL)

Gregory of Nyssa, Or. dom. 1121 (PG 44:1121a–1121d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1119/#p-1121).

## On the Lord's Prayer 1123

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1119/#p-1123
- Source: PG 44:1124a–1124d
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-14

Summary: Every undertaking done with prayer is kept from sin, since prayer joins us to God; Gregory praises prayer in a long list of its benefits for every condition of life and recalls Jonah, Hezekiah, the three young men, Amalek, and Sennacherib’s army.

### Greek text

ΗΞὲ ἁμαρτίαν. (ιύτως ὁ ὁδοιπόρος, οὕτως ὁ ἐπὶ στρατείαν ἢ γάμον στελλόμενος· οὕτως πᾶς ὁστισοῦν τῶν πρός τι τὴν ὁρμὴν ἐχόντων, εί μετʼ εὐχῆς ἕκαστον πράττοιτο, τῇ πρὸς τὸ σπουδαζόμενον εὐοδίᾳ τοῦ ἁμαρτάνειν άποτραπήσεται, οὐδενὸς ἐναντίου τὴν ψυχὴν πρὸς πάθος καθέλκοντος. Εἰ δὲ ἀποστὰς τοῦ Θεοῦ ὅλος γένοιτο τῆς σπουδῆς, ἀνάγκη πᾶσα τὸν ἔξω τοῦ Θεοῦ ὄντα ἐν τῷ ἐναντίῳ πάντως εἶναι. Χωρίζεται δὲ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὁ μὴ συνάπτων ἑαυτὸν διὰ προσευχῆς τῷ Θεῷ. Οὐκοῦν τοῦτο χρὴ πρότερον ἡμᾶς διδαχθῆναι τῷ λόγῳ, ὅτι δεῖ πάντοτε προσεύχεσθαι, καὶ μὴ ὲκκακεῖν. Ἐκ γὰρ τοῦ προσεύχεσθαι περιγίνεται τὺ μετὰ Θεοῦ εἶναι. '0 δὲ μετὰ Θεοῦ ὣν, τοῦ ἀντικειμένου κεχώρισται. Προσευχὴ σωφροσύνης ἐστὶ (pola- < κτήριον, θυμοῦ παιδαγωγία, τύφου καταστολὴ. μνη- B σικακίας καθάρσιον, φθόνου καθαίρεσις, ἀδικίας ἀναίρεσις, ἀσεβείας ἐπανόρθωσις. Προσευχὴ σωμάτων ἐστὶν ίσχὺς, οίκίας εὐθηνία, πόλεως εὐνομία, βασιλείας κράτος, πολέμου τρόπαιον, εἰρήνης ἀσφάλεια, τῶν διεστώτων συναγωγὴ, τῶν συνεστώτων διαμονή. Προσευχὴ παρθενίας ἐστὶ σφραγὶς, γάμου πίστις, ὁδοιπόροις ὅπλον, κοιμωμένων φύλαξ· ὲΥΡη· γορότων θάρσος, γεωργῶν εὐφορία, πλεόντων σωτηρία. Προσευχὴ κρινομένων συνήγορος, δεδεμένων ἄνεσις, κεκμηκότων ἀνάπαυσις, λυπουμένων 1:1ραμυθία, χαιρόντων θυμηδία, πενθούντων, παράκλησις, γαμούντων στέφανος, γενεθλίων ἑορτὴ, ἀποθνησκόντων ἐντάφιον. Προσευχὴ Θεοῦ ὁμιλία, τῶν ἀοράτων θεωρία ο τῶν ἐπιθυμούντων πληροφορία, τῶν ἀγγέλων ὁμοτιμία, τῶν καλῶν προκοπὴ, τῶν κακῶν ἀνατροπὴ, τῶν ἁμαρτανόντων διόρθωσις, τῶν παρόντων ᾰπόλαυσις, τῶν μελλόντων ὑπόστασις. Προσευχὴ τῷ μὲν Ἰωνᾷ, τὸ κῆτος οἷκον ἐποίησεν ιτὸν δὲ Ἐζεκίαν αὐτῶν πυλῶν τοῦ θανάτου πρὸς τὴν ζωὴν επανήγαγεν τοῖς δὲ τρισὶ νέοις εἰς πνεῦμα δροσῶδες τὴν φλόγα ἔτρεψεν καὶ τοϊς Ἰσραηλίταις κατά τῶν ·’Δμαληκιτῶν ἀνέστησε τρόπαιον καὶ τὰς ἑκατὸν ὁγδοήκοντα καὶ πέντε χιλιάδας τῶν Ἀσσυρίων μιᾷ νυκτὶ τῇ ἀοράτῳ ῥομφαίᾳ, κατέστρωσεν. Καὶ μυρία πρὸς τούτοις ἔστιν εὑρεῖν ὲκ τῶν ἤδη γεγενημένοιν τὰ ὑποδείγματα, διʼ ὧν φανερὸν γίνεται, τὸ μηδὲν τῆς προσευχῆς εἶναι τῶν κατὰ τὴν ζωὴν τιμίων ἀνώτερον, Ἀλλὰ καιρὸς ἂν εἴη πρὸς αὐτὴν ἠδη τίτί προσευχὴν άσχοληθῆναι ο μᾶλλον δὲ μικρὸν ἔτι προσ· θῶμεν τῷ λόγῳ, ὅτι πολλῶν καὶ παντοδαπῶν ἀγαθῶν παρὰ τῆς θείας χάριτος ἡμῖν ὑπαρξάντων, ἓν τοῦτο πρὸς ἀντίδοσιν ὧν εἰλήφαμεν ἔχομεν, τδ διὰ προσευχῆς τε καὶ εὐχαριστίας τὸν εὐεργέτην άμείη βεσθαι. Λογίζομαι τοίνυν ὃτι κᾶν πάσῃ τῇ ζωῇ τὴν πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν ὁμιλίαν συμπαρατείνωμεν εὐχαριστοῦντες καὶ προσευχόμενοι, τοσοῦτον τῆς κατὰ τὴν ἀντίδοσιν ἀξίας ἀπολειπόμεθα, ὅσον εί μηδὲ τὴν ἀρχὴν ἀντιδοῦναι τῷ εὐεργέτῃ προεθυμήθημεν. Ἑν τρισὶ τμήμασι

### English translation (Claude)

sin no longer comes in with the desire for more. So it is with the traveller, with one setting out for military service or for marriage, and with everyone at all who sets out toward anything: if each thing is done with prayer, the success of what he undertakes will turn him away from sin, since nothing contrary drags the soul toward passion. But if he departs from God and is wholly given over to his pursuit, then of necessity one who is outside God is altogether in the opposite. And whoever does not join himself to God through prayer is separated from God. So we must first be taught by the word that we ought always to pray and not lose heart. For from praying comes being with God; and whoever is with God is separated from the adversary. Prayer is the guard of self-control, the training of anger, the curbing of conceit, the cleansing of rancour, the overthrow of envy, the removal of injustice, the correction of impiety. Prayer is the strength of bodies, the prosperity of a household, the good order of a city, the might of a kingdom, the trophy of war, the security of peace, the reconciliation of the estranged, the preserving of those united. Prayer is the seal of virginity, the faithfulness of marriage, a weapon for travellers, a guard for those asleep, courage for those awake, abundance for farmers, safety for sailors. Prayer is the advocate of those on trial, the release of prisoners, the rest of the weary, the consolation of the grieving, the cheer of the joyful, the comfort of mourners, the crown of those who marry, the feast of birthdays, the shroud of the dying. Prayer is converse with God, contemplation of things unseen, the fulfilment of those who desire, equality of honour with the angels, the advance of good things, the overthrow of evils, the correction of sinners, the enjoyment of things present, the substance of things to come. Prayer made the whale a house for Jonah; brought Hezekiah back to life from the very gates of death; turned the flame into a dewy breeze for the three young men; raised a trophy for the Israelites against the Amalekites; and laid low a hundred and eighty-five thousand Assyrians in one night with an invisible sword. And countless other examples can be found among the things that have already happened, by which it becomes plain that nothing among the precious things of life is higher than prayer. But it may be time now to turn to the prayer itself; or rather, let us add a little more to our discourse. Since many and various goods have come to us from the divine grace, we have this one thing to give in return for what we have received: to repay our benefactor through prayer and thanksgiving. I reckon, then, that even if we prolong our converse with God through our whole life, giving thanks and praying, we fall as far short of a worthy repayment as if we had never even been eager to repay our benefactor at all. Time is measured in three divisions:

### Scripture references

- Luke 18:1: quotation, high confidence
- Jonah 2:1–10: allusion, high confidence
- Isa 38:1–8: allusion, high confidence
- Dan 3:24–27: allusion, high confidence
- Exod 17:11–13: allusion, high confidence
- 2 Kgs 19:35: allusion, high confidence

### Translation notes

- “Always to pray and not lose heart”: Luke 18:1. Jonah in the whale: Jonah 2:1–10. Hezekiah: Isa 38:1–8; 2 Kgs 20:1–11. The three young men: Dan 3:49–50 LXX (the Prayer of Azariah, outside the Hebrew canon) with Dan 3:24–27. Amalek: Exod 17:11–13. The 185,000 Assyrians: 2 Kgs 19:35; Isa 37:36.

### Citation (SBL)

Gregory of Nyssa, Or. dom. 1123 (PG 44:1124a–1124d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1119/#p-1123).

## On the Lord's Prayer 1125

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1119/#p-1125
- Source: PG 44:1125a–1125b
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-14

Summary: God’s benefits span past, present, and future, so we can never thank him enough; yet we give him no time, though he made the world for us, formed us in his image, and restores us to paradise, while we stay awake only for gain.

### Greek text

τὸ χρονικὸν μετρεῖται διάστημα, τῷ παρῳχηκότι, τῷ ἐνεστῶτι, καὶ τῷ μέλλοντι. Ἑν τοῖς τρισὶ τούτοις ή εὐεργεσία τοῦ Κυρίου καταλαμΰάνεται. Ἐὰν τὸ ἐνεστὼς λογίσῃ, ἐν αὐτῷ ζῇς ο ἐὰν τὸ μὲλλον, ἐκεῖνός σοι τῶν προσδοκωμένων ἐλπίς · ἐὰν τὸ παρελθὸν, οὐκ ἂν ἧς πρὶν ἂν παρʼ, ἐκείνου γενέσθαι. Εὐηργετήθης, αὐτὸ τὸ γενέσθαι παρʼ ἐκείνου λαβὼν.. καὶ γενόμενος εὐηργετήθης, ἐν αὐτῷ ζῶν καὶ κινούμενος, καθώς φησιν ὁ Ἀπόστολος · αἱ τῶν μελλόντων ἐλπίδες τῆς αὐτῆς ἐνεργείας ἤρτηνται. Σὺ δὲ μόνον τοῦ ἐνεστῶτος εἴ κύριος. Ὥστε κᾶν διαπαντὸς εύχαριστῶν τῷ Θεῷ μὴ διαλίπῃς, μόγις τοῦ ἐνεστῶτος ἀποπληρώσῃς τὴν χάριν, οὔτε τοῦ μέλλοντος, οὔτε τοῦ παρῳχηκότος ἐπίνοιαν ἐξευρίσκων τινὰ πρὸς τὴν τῶν χρεωστουμένων ἀντίδοσιν.,Ἡμεῖς δὲ τοσοῦτον τῆς κατά δύναμιν εὐχαριστίας ἀπολειπόμενοι, οὐδὲ περὶ τὸ δυνατὸν εὐγνωμονοῦμεν, οὐ λέγω πᾶσαν ἡμέραν, ἀλλʼ οὐδέ πολλοστὸν τῆς ἡμέρας τῇ κατά Θεὸν ἀποκληροῦντες σχολῇ. Τίς μοι τὴν γῆν ὑπεστόρεσε; Τίς βάσιμον διʼ ἐπινοίας τὴν ύγράν φύσιν ἐποίησεν; Τίς ἐπηξέ μοι τὸν οὐρανὸν ὡς καμάραν; Τίς δᾳδουχεῖ μοι τὴν τοῦ ἡλίου λαμπάδα ; Τίς ἀποστέλλει πηγὰς ἐν φάραγξιν; Τίς ἡτοίμασε τοῖς ποταμοῖς τάς διόδους; Τίς μοι τὴν τῶν ἀλόγων ζώων ὑπηρεσίαν ὑπέζευξεν; Τίς με κόνιν ἄψυχονόντα, ζωῆς τε καὶ διανοίας μετέχειν ἐποίησεν; Τίς τὸν πηλὸν τοῦτον, κατʼ εἰκόνα τοῦ θείου χαρακτῆρος ἐμόρφωσεν; Τίς συγχεθεῖσαν ἐν ἐμοὶ διὰ τῆς ἁμαρτίας τὴν θείαν εἰκόνα πάλιν είς τὴν ἀρχαίαν ἐπανήγαγε χάριν; Τίς ἐξοικισθέντα με τοῦ παραδείσου, καὶ τοῦ ξύλου τῆς ζωῆς ἔξω γενόμενον, καὶ τῷ βαράθρῳ τῆς ὑλικῆς ζωῆς συγκαλυφθὲντα, ἐπὶ τὴν πρώτην - ἕλκει μακαριότητα; Οὐκ ἐστιν ό συνιὼν, φησὶν ήΤραφή. *Η γὰρ ἂν πρὸς ταῦτα ὁρῶντες, ἄληκτον ἂν κα) ἀκατάπαυστον ἐν παντὶ τῷ τῆς ζωῆς διαστήματι, τὴν εὐχαριστίαν, ἀπεπληροῦμεν ο νυνὶ δὲ πρὸς μόνον τὸ ὑλικὸν πᾶσα σχεδὸν ἐγρήγορεν ή ἀνθρωπίνη φύσις. Πρὸς τοῦτο ή σπουδή · ἐν τούτῳ ή προθυμία περὶ ταῦτα καὶ ἡ μνήμη καὶ ή ἐλπὶς καταγίνετω· ᾶῠπνός ἐστι καὶ ἁκοίμητος πρὸς τὴν τοῦ πλείονος ἐπιθυμίαν ή ἀνθρωπίνη φύσις ἐν παντὶ πράγματι, ἐν ᾧ δυνατόν ἐστιν ἐξευρεθῆναι τὸ πλέον · εἴτε κατὰ τιμήν τε καὶ δόξαν, εἴτε κατά τὴν τῶν χρημάτων περιουσίαν, εἴτε κατά τὴν τοῦ θυμοῦ νόσον, πανταχοῦ πρὸς τὸ πλέον ὲν τούτοις ἡ φύσις βλέπει. Τῶν δὲ ἀληθινῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀγαθῶν, λόγος οὐδεὶς, οὔτε· τῶν φαινομένων, οὖτεντῶν ἐπηγγελμένων. Ἀλλά καιρὸς ἂν εἴη καὶ τῶν τῆς προσευχῆς ῥημάτων κατιδεῖν, ὡς ἐστι δυνατὸν, τὴν διάνοιαν,

### English translation (Claude)

the past, the present, and the future; and in these three the Lord’s benefaction is found. If you consider the present, you live in him; if the future, he is the hope of what you expect; if the past, you would not have existed before being made by him. You were benefited by receiving existence itself from him; and once you came to be, you were benefited by living and moving in him, as the Apostle says; and the hopes of things to come depend on the same working. But you are master only of the present. So even if you never ceased giving thanks to God, you would barely repay the grace of the present, finding no means at all of repaying what is owed for the future or the past. Yet we, who fall so far short of the thanksgiving that is within our power, are not even grateful as far as we can be — I do not say devoting every day, but not even a small part of the day to leisure for God. Who spread out the earth beneath me? Who by his contrivance made the nature of water passable? Who fixed the heaven over me like a vault? Who carries the torch of the sun for me? Who sends springs into the ravines? Who prepared courses for the rivers? Who yoked the service of the irrational animals to me? Who made me, lifeless dust, share in life and understanding? Who formed this clay in the image of the divine character? Who brought back to its ancient grace the divine image that sin had confounded in me? Who draws me, exiled from paradise, shut out from the tree of life, and buried in the pit of material life, back to the first blessedness? “There is none who understands,” says Scripture. For surely, if we looked at these things, we would offer unceasing and endless thanksgiving through the whole span of our life; but as it is, almost the whole of human nature is awake only to what is material. To this our zeal is given; in this our eagerness; with these things our memory and our hope are occupied. Human nature is sleepless and wakeful in its desire for more in every matter where more can be found — whether in honour and glory, or in abundance of money, or in the disease of anger: everywhere in these nature looks to have more. But of the true goods of God there is no account, neither of those that are seen nor of those that are promised. But it may be time to look, as far as possible, at the meaning of the words of the prayer as well,

### Scripture references

- Acts 17:28: quotation, high confidence
- Ps 104:10 (103:10 LXX): allusion, high confidence
- Isa 40:22: allusion, medium confidence
- Gen 1:27: allusion, high confidence
- Gen 2:7: allusion, high confidence
- Gen 3:24: allusion, medium confidence
- Rom 3:11: quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- “In him we live and move”: Acts 17:28. Springs in the ravines: Ps 104:10 (LXX 103:10). The heaven like a vault: Isa 40:22 (LXX). Formed from dust in the image of God: Gen 1:27; 2:7. “There is none who understands”: Ps 14:2 (LXX 13:2); Rom 3:11.

### Citation (SBL)

Gregory of Nyssa, Or. dom. 1125 (PG 44:1125a–1125b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1119/#p-1125).

## On the Lord's Prayer 1127

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1119/#p-1127
- Source: PG 44:1128a–1128d
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-14

Summary: Christ forbids “babbling” in prayer, that is, asking for vain things like a child daydreaming of kingdoms and flying; to ask God for base, passionate things is like asking a generous king to make clay pots.

### Greek text

τέρας κατανοήσεως, πλὴν ἄξιον ἐξετάσαι, τί σημαίνει τῆς βαττολογίας τὸ ῥῆμα, ὡς ἂν μαθόντες τὴν διάνοιαν, ἔξω τοῦ ἀπηγορευμένον γενοίμεθα. Δοκεῖ τοίνυν μοι σωφρονίζειν τὴν χαυνότητα τῆς διανοίας, καὶ συστέλλειν τῶν ταῖς ματαίαις ἐπιθυμίαις ἐμβαθυνόντων, καλ διὰ τοῦτο τὴν ξένην ταύτην τῆς λέξεως καινοτομίαν ἐξευρηκέναι, ἐπὶ ἐλέγχῳ τῆς ἀνοίας τῶν περὶ τὰ ἀνωφελῆ τε καὶ μάταια ταῖς ἐπιθυμίαις διαχεομένων. Ὀ γὰρ ἔμφρων τε καὶ συνετὸς, καὶ πρὸς τὸ χρήσιμον βλέπων λόγος, κυρίως λέγεται λόγος · ὁ δὲ ταῖς ἀνυπάρκτοις ἐπιθυμίαις διὶι τῆς ἀνυποστάτου ἡδονῆς ἐπιχεόμενος, οὐκ ἔστι λόγος, ἀλλὰ βαττολογία· ὡς ἄν τις Ἑλληνικώτερον ἑρμηνεύων είττοι τὸν νοῦν, φλυαρία, καὶ λῆρος καὶ φλήναα φος, καὶ εἴ τι ἄλλο τῆς τοιαύτης σημασίας. Τί οὖν ἡμῖν συμβουλεύει ὁ λόγος; μὴ ταύτὸν πάσχειν ἐν τῷ καιρῷ τῶν προσευχῶν, οἷον ἐν τῇ τῶν νηπίων διανοίᾳ συνίσταται πάθος. Ὠσπερ γὰρ οἱ ἀτελεῖς τὴν ’διάνοιαν, οὐχ ὅπως ἇν τι γένοιτο τῶν κατὰ γνώμην αὐτῶν ἐπινοοῦσιν, ἀλλὰ κατʼ ἐξουσίαν εὐκληρίας τινὰς ἐαυτοῖς ἀναπλάττουσι, θησαυροὺς καὶ βασιλείας καὶ πόλεις μεγάλας ταῖς προσηγορίαις αὐτῶν ἐπονο‹ μαζομένας ὑποτιθέμενοι, είς ἐκεῖνο εἶναι τῇ διανοίᾳ φαντάζονται, ὅπερ ἂν αὐτοῖς ὴ ματαιότης τῶν λογισμῶν ὑπογράφῃ· εἰσὶ δέ τινες οἳ καὶ νεανικώτερον τῆς ματαιότητος ταύτης ἀντιλαμβάνονται, καὶ ὑπερβάντες τὰ μέτρα τῆς φύσεως, πτηνοῖ γίνονται, ἢ κατὰ τοὺς γαστέρας λάμπουσιν, ἣ ὅρη διὰ χειρὸς φέρουσιν, ἢτὺν οὐρανὸν ἑαυτοῖς ὁδοποιοῦσιν, ἢ πρὸς μυριοστὸν διαρκοῦσιν ἔτος, νέοι ἐκ παλαιῶν γινόμενοι· ἢ ὅσα ἄλλα τοιαῦτα τοῖς νηπιωδεστέροις τίκτει πομφολυγὼδη καὶ διάκενα ἡ καρδία ποιή ματα.”Ω;περ τοίνυν ἐν τοῖς πράγμασιν ὁ μὴ ταῦτα λογιζόμενος ν διʼ ὧν ἂν γένοιτό τι ἀγαθὸν τῶν βουλευομένων, ἀλλʼ ἐμματαιάζων ταῖς ἁνυπάρκτοις ἐπιθυμίαις, ἀνόητός τις ἐστι καὶ ἄθλιος, τὸν τοῦ πρᾶξαί τι τῶν λυ σιτελούντων βουλεύσασθαι καιρδν, τοῖς ἐνυπνίοις τούτοις προσαναλίσκων · οὕτως ὁ ὲν καιρῷ προσευχῆς πρὸς τὰ συμφέροντα τῇ ψυχῇ μὴ τεταμένος, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὰς ἐμπαθεῖς τῆς διανοίας κινήσεις συνδιατίθεσθαι τὸν Θεὸν ἀξιῶν, λῆρός τίς ἐστιν ὡς ἀληθῶς καὶ βαττολόγος, τῶν ίδίων ματαιοτήτων συνεργὸν καὶ ὑπηρέτην τὸν Θεὸν γίνεσθαι προσευχόμενος. Οίόν τι λέγω · Πρόσεισί τις διὰ προσευχῆς τῷ Θεῴ, καὶ μὴ κατανοήσας τῇ διανοίᾳ τὸ ὕψος τῆς δυνάμεως προσέρχεται, λανθάνει καθυβρίζων τὸ μέγεθος ταῖς αἰσχραῖς καὶ ταπειναῖς τῶν αἰτήσεων. Ὥσπερ ἂν εί τις τὰ ἐκ πηλοῦ σκεύη διʼ ὑπερβολὴν πενίας ἢ ἀγροικίας τίμια νομίζων, ἔπειτα βασιλεῖ προσελθὼν, πλούτους καὶ ἀξιώματα διανέμειν προαιρουμένῳ · ὁ δὲ καταλιπὼν τὰς βασιλικὰς αἰτήσεις, ἀξιοῖ τὸν τοσοῦτον τῷ ἀξιώματι, πηλὸν διαπλάσαντα ποιῆσαί τι τῶν ἐκείνῳ καταθυμίων·οὒτως καὶ ὁ ἀπαιδεύτως τῇ εὐχῇ χρώμενος, οὐ πρὸς τὸ ὒψος τοῦ διδόντος ἑαυτὸν ἐπαίρει, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὸ ταπεινόν τε καὶ γήϊνον τῆς ίδίας ὲπιθυμίας τὴν Θείαν δύναμιν καταβῆναι ποθεῖ· καὶ τούτου χάριν τὰς ἐμπαθεῖς ὁρμὰς προτείνει τῷ τὰς καρδίας βλέποντι, οὐχ ὅπως ἂν θεραπεύσειε τὰ ἄτοπα

### English translation (Claude)

… of a higher understanding. Yet it is worth examining what the word “babble” (battologia) means, so that, having learned its sense, we may keep clear of what is forbidden. It seems to me, then, that he is chastening the emptiness of the mind and restraining those who sink deep in vain desires, and that for this reason he devised this strange new coinage of a word, to refute the folly of those who pour themselves out in desires for useless and vain things. For the sensible and intelligent word that looks to what is useful is properly called a word (logos); but what pours itself out on nonexistent desires through insubstantial pleasure is not a word but babble — or, as one might put the sense in plainer Greek, nonsense, drivel, twaddle, and anything else of that meaning. What, then, does the word counsel us? Not to suffer, at the time of prayer, what happens in the minds of infants. People of immature mind do not consider how any of their wishes might come about; they freely fashion good fortunes for themselves, imagining treasures and kingdoms and great cities named after them, and fancy themselves to be whatever the vanity of their thoughts sketches for them. Some even take up this vanity more boldly and, going beyond the limits of nature, become winged, or shine like the stars, or carry mountains in their hands, or make themselves a road to heaven, or live to the ten-thousandth year, becoming young again from old, or whatever other bubble-like and empty creations the heart breeds in the more childish. In practical affairs, one who does not consider the means by which some good he plans might come about, but indulges in vain desires for what does not exist, is foolish and wretched, spending on these dreams the time he should spend planning something profitable. So too, one who at the time of prayer is not intent on what benefits the soul, but asks God to share the passionate movements of his mind, is truly a babbler and a talker of nonsense, praying that God may become the fellow-worker and servant of his own vanities. I mean something like this. Someone approaches God in prayer, and, not having grasped in his mind the height of the power he is approaching, he unwittingly insults its greatness with base and lowly requests. It is as if someone, who through extreme poverty or boorishness thought clay pots precious, came to a king who was ready to distribute riches and honours; and he, passing over requests fit for a king, asked one so great in dignity to mould clay and make him something to his liking. So too one who uses prayer without instruction does not raise himself to the height of the Giver, but longs for the divine power to come down to the lowly and earthly level of his own desire; and so he puts forward his passionate impulses to the one who sees hearts, not that he may heal the unseemly

### Scripture references

- Matt 6:7: allusion, high confidence

### Translation notes

- The opening continues after a gap in the scan (marked …): the quotation of Christ’s words before the Lord’s Prayer is lost. “Do not babble (μὴ βαττολογήσητε) as the gentiles do”: Matt 6:7. Gregory takes βαττολογία as a coinage contrasting with λόγος.
- “Shine like the stars”: the scan reads γαστέρας, a slip for ἀστέρας.

### Citation (SBL)

Gregory of Nyssa, Or. dom. 1127 (PG 44:1128a–1128d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1119/#p-1127).

## On the Lord's Prayer 1129

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1119/#p-1129
- Source: PG 44:1129a–1129d
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-14

Summary: To pray for harm to an enemy is to ask God to share our anger and become cruel; such prayers, like prayers for glory or victory, are “babbling”; Gregory turns to the objection that prophets prayed against their enemies.

### Greek text

τῆς διανοίας κινήματα · ἀλλʼ ὅπως ἂν χείρω γένοιτο, είς ἔργον τῆς πονηρᾶς ὁρμῆς διὰ τῆς συνεργίας τοῦ Θεοῦ προσελθούσης. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ 0 δεῖνα λυπεῖ, καί μοι διάκειται δυσμενῶς ἡ καρδία, Πάταξον αὑτὸν, τῷ Θεῷ λέγει, μόνον οὐκ ἐκεῖνο βοῶν, ὅτι Τὸ ἐμὸν πάθος ἐν σοὶ γενέσθω, ἡ ἐμοῦ κακία ἐπὶ σὲ διαβἡτω. Ὠς γὰρ ἐν ταῖς ἀνθρωπίναις μάχαις οὐκ ἔστι συ μμαχῆσαί τινα τῷ ἐνὶ μέρει, μὴ συμπαροξυνθέντα τῷ ὀργιζομένῳ κατά τοῦ προσπαλαίοντοςο οὕτω δῆλον ὅτι ὁ κατά τοῦ ἐχθροῦ τὸν Θεὸν κινῶν, συνοργισθῆναι παρακαλεῖ, καὶ τοῦ θυμοῦ κοινωνὸν γενέσθαι. Τοῦτο δέ ἐστι τὸ είς πάθος πεσεῖν τὸ Θεῖον, καὶ κατά ἄνθρωπον διατεθῆναι, καὶ εἰς θηριώδη ἀπήνειαν ἐκ τῆς ἀγαθῆς φύσεως μεταποιηθῆναι. Οὕτως 0 δοξνμανῶν· οὕτως 0 ἐν ὑπερηφανία τὸ πλέον ἔχειν ἐπιθυμῶν · 0 ἐν τῇ διαδικασίᾳ πρὸς τὴν νίκην σπεύδων · 0 ἐν τοῖς γυμνικοῖς ἀγῶσι πρὸς τὸν στέφανον ἐπειγόμενος ο 0 ὲν θεάτροις τῆς εὐφημίας ἀντιποιού μενος ο ’πολλάκις δὲ καὶ ὁ πρὸς τὸ λυσσῶδες τῆς νεότητος πάθος ἐκτετηκώς. Πάντες οὗτοι ούχ ὅπως ἂν ἐξω τοῦ ἐπικρατοῦντος ἀρῥωστήματος γένοιντο, προσάγουσι Θεῷ τὰς δεήσεις, ἀλλʼ ὅπως ἂν είς πέρας αὐτοῖς ή νόσος ἔλθοι ’ καὶ τὸ διαμαρτεῖν τούτων ἀντὶ συμφορᾶς ἕκαστος κρίνοντες, βαττολογοῦσιν ὅντως, συνεργὸν τῆς κατά τὸν νοῦν ἀρρωστίας γενέσθαι τὸν Θεὸν ἱκετεύοντες ° κα) τὸ πάντων χαλεπώτατον, ὅτι πρὸς τὰς ἐναντίας ὁρμὰς κινεῖσθαι τὸ Θεῖον αὐτοῖς ’ ἐπιθυμοῦσιν, εἰς ἀγριότητα καὶ φιλανθρωπίαν μερίζοντες τοῦ Θεοῦ τὴν ἐνέργειαν. Ὃν γὰρ ἱτλεων καὶ πρᾶον ἐπιζητοῦσιν ἑαυτοῖς εἶναι, τοῦτον πικρόν τε καὶ ἀπηνῆ τοῖς ἐχθροῖς αὐτῶν ἐπιδειχθῆναι παρακαλοῦσιν, Ὢ τῆς ἀνοίας τῶν βαττολογούντωνί εί γὰρ ἐκείνοις ἀπηνὴς ὁ Θεὸς, ούδέ σοι πάντως ἥμερος. Ei δὲ ἐπὶ σοῦ πρὸς ἔλεον ῥέπει, κατά γε τὴν σὴν ἐλπίδα, πῶς ἂν μεταβάλοιτο πρὸς τούναντίον εἰς πικρίαν μεθαρμὸζων τὸν ἐλεον; Ἀλλά πρὸ χειρὸς τῶν ἐριστικῶν ὴ πρὸς τὺ τοιοῦτον ἀντίθεσις. Εὐθὺς γὰρ είς συνηγορίαν τῆς ἐαυτῶν πικρίας τὰς ἐκ τῆς προφητείας φωνὰς παρατίθενται · τὸν Δαβὶδ ἐκλιπεῖν τοὺς ἁμαρτωλοὺς ποθοῦντα, καὶ αἰσχύνην καὶ ἐντροπὴν τῶν ἐχθρῶν κατευχόμενον· τὸν Ἱερεμίαν ἰδεῖν τὴν παρά Θεῷ ἐκδίκησιν ἐκ τῶν ἐναντίων ἐπιθυμοῦντα· τὸν Ὠσηέ μήτραν ἀτεκνοῦσαν, καὶ μαστοὺς ξηροὺς δοθῆναι τοῖς ἐχθροῖς δεόμενον. Καὶ πολλά τοιαῦτα σποράδην κείμενα ταῖς ἁγίαις Γραφαῖς ἀναλέγονται, συνιστάμενοι τὸ δεῖν τῶν ἐναντίων κατεύχεσθαι, καὶ τῆς ἑαυτῶν πικρίας συνεργὸν γενέσθαι τοῦ Θεοῦ τὴν ἀγαθότητα. Ἀλλʼ ἡμεῖς ὡς ἂν ἐκ παρόδου τοὺς ἐκ τῆς τοιαύτης ἀφορμῆς πρὸς τὸ ἐναντίον ὁδηγουμένους παύσαιμεν βαττολογοῦντας, τοῦτο περὶ ἐκάστου τῶν μνημονευθέντων παραθησόμεθα.

### English translation (Claude)

movements of his mind, but that they may become worse, as the evil impulse comes to action through God’s cooperation. “Since so-and-so grieves me and my heart is ill-disposed toward him, strike him,” he says to God — all but crying out, “Let my passion come to be in you; let my wickedness pass over to you.” For as in human battles one cannot fight on one side without sharing the anger of the one who is enraged against his opponent, so it is plain that whoever moves God against his enemy is asking him to share his anger and become a partner in his rage. That is to make the Divine fall into passion, take on human feelings, and be changed from its good nature into the harshness of a beast. So it is with the man mad for glory; so with one who in his arrogance wants to have more; one who in a lawsuit is eager for victory; one who in the athletic games strives for the crown; one who claims the acclaim of the theatres; and often one consumed by the raging passion of youth. All these bring their petitions to God, not that they may be rid of the sickness that rules them, but that the disease may be brought to completion for them; and each, judging it a misfortune to fail in these things, truly babbles, begging God to become a fellow-worker in his sickness of mind. And worst of all, they want the Divine to be moved by opposite impulses for them, dividing God’s activity between savagery and love of humankind: the one they seek to be gracious and gentle toward themselves, they ask to show himself bitter and harsh toward their enemies. What folly in those who babble! If God is harsh toward them, he will certainly not be gentle toward you; and if he inclines to mercy toward you, as you hope, how could he change to the opposite and turn his mercy into bitterness? But the contentious have their objection to this ready at hand. At once they cite the words of the prophets in defence of their bitterness: David longing for sinners to fail, and praying for shame and confusion upon his enemies; Jeremiah wishing to see God’s vengeance on his opponents; Hosea asking that a childless womb and dry breasts be given to the enemies. And they gather many such things scattered through the holy Scriptures, arguing that one should pray against one’s opponents and that God’s goodness should become a fellow-worker in one’s own bitterness. But so that we may stop in passing the babbling of those who are led to the opposite by such a pretext, we shall set out the following about each of those mentioned.

### Scripture references

- Ps 104:35 (103:35 LXX): allusion, high confidence
- Ps 35:4 (34:4 LXX): allusion, high confidence
- Jer 11:20: allusion, high confidence
- Jer 20:12: allusion, medium confidence
- Hos 9:14: allusion, high confidence

### Translation notes

- Sinners to fail: Ps 104:35. Shame and confusion on enemies: Ps 35:4, 26; 40:14; 70:2. Jeremiah: Jer 11:20; 20:12. Hosea: Hos 9:14.

### Citation (SBL)

Gregory of Nyssa, Or. dom. 1129 (PG 44:1129a–1129d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1119/#p-1129).

## On the Lord's Prayer 1131

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1119/#p-1131
- Source: PG 44:1132a–1132d
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-14

Summary: The saints who seem to curse their enemies are praying against sin, not people: the Psalmist wants sin to fail, and the enemies he wishes put to shame are the demons and passions that war against the soul.

### Greek text

Οὐδεὶς τῶν ἀληθῶς ἁγίων, τῶν τῷ ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι θεοφορουμένων, ὧν αἱ ῥήσεις κατὰ θείαν οἰκονομίαν εἰς νουθεσίαν τῶν ἐφεξῆς ἀνεγράφησαν, ἐπί τινι κακῷ τὴν σπουδὴν ἔχων ἐπιδειχθήσεται ’ ἀλλὰ πᾶς αὐτοῖς ό σκοπὸς τῶν λόγων, πρὸς διόρθωσιν τῆς ἐμπολιτευομένης τῇ φύσει κακίας βλέπει. ’Ὠσπερ τοίνυν 6 εὐχόμενος μὴέῒναι νοσοῦντας, μὴ εἶναι πτωχεύοντας, ού τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἀναίρεσιν, ἀλλὰ τῆς νόσου καὶ τῆς πτωχείας ἀφανισμὸν ἐπιθυμεῖ γενέσθαι· οὕτω καὶ τῶν ἁγίων ἕκαστος, τὸ τῇ φύσει ἐχθρὸν καὶ πολέμιον είς ἀφανισμὸν ἐλθεῖν ’διῖ εὐχῆς ἔχοντες, ὑπόνοιαν τοῖς ἀπαιδευτοτέροις παρέχουσιν, ὡς κατὰ ἀνθρώπων πικραινόμενοί τε καὶ χαλεπαίνοντες. Ὀ τε γὰρ Ψαλμῳδδς εἰπὼν, ὅτι Ἐκλίποιεγ ἁμαρτωλοὶ ἀπὸ τῆς τῆς καὶ ἄνομοι, ὥστε μὴ ὑπάρχειν αὐτούςʼ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἐκλείπειν καὶ ἀνομίαν εὖχεται. Ού γὰρ ἄνθρωπος ἀνθρώπων πολέμιος, ἀλλʼ ἡ κατὰ κακίαν τῆς προαιρέσεως κίνησις είς ἐχθροῦ τάξιν τὸ τῇ φάσει συνημμένον κατέστησεν. Τὸ κακὸν τοίνυν ἐκλεί πειν εὔχεται, 6 δέ ἄνθρωπος κακὸν οὐκ ἐστιν · πῶς γὰρ ἂν εἴη κακὸν τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ τὸ ὁμοίωμας Οὕτως κᾶν αἰσχύνην καὶ ἐντροπὴν τῶν ἐχθρῶν κατεύχηται, δείκνυσί σοι τὸ στῖφος τῶν ἐναντίων, τῶν ἐκ τοῦ ἀοράτου ἐχθροῦ τῇ ἀνθρωπίνῃ προσπολεμούντων ζωῇ. Περὶ ὧν καὶ 6 Παῦλος γυμνότερον διεξέρχεται, τὴν πάλην λέγων εἶναι ἡμῖν πρὸς τὰς. ἀρχὰς, πρὸς τὰς ἐξουσίας καὶτοὺς κοσμοκράτορας τοῦ κόσμου τούτου, πρὸς τὰ πνευματικὰ τῆς πονηρίας ἐν τοῖς ἐπουρανίοις. Τὰς δαιμονιώδεις ἐπιβουλὰς, διʼ ὧν ἐπάγεται τοῖς ἀνθρώποις τὰ πονηρὰ πρὸς ἁμαρτίαν συμπτιὶν ματα, συντυχίαι … ἐπιθυμιῶν ἀφορμαὶ. φθόνου καὶ μίσους καὶ ὑπερηφανίας, καὶ τῶν τοιούο των κακῶν ὑπόθεσις· ταῦτα ὁρῶν 6 μέγας Προφήτης τὴν ἑκάστου ψυχὴν διʼ ἐπιβουλῆς περιτρέχοντα, εἰς αἰσχύνην ἐλθεῖν εὔχεται, 6 κατὰ τῶν ἐχθρῶν τούτων εὐχόμενος. Τοῦτο δέ ἐστι τὸ … διασωθῆναι. Κατὰ φύσιν γὰρ ἐπάγεται τῷ ἡττηθέντι κατὰ τὴν πάλην τὸ ἐπαισχυνθῇναι τῷ πτώματι αὐτοῦ, ὠς καὶτῷ νικῶντι τὸ ἐπὶ τῇ νίκῃ ἀγάλλεσθαι. Καὶ ὅτι ταῦτα οὕτως ἔχει, δηλοῖ τῆς εὐχῆς τὸ εἶδος. Αίσχυνθήτωσαν γὰρ. φησὶ, καὶ ἐντραπήτωσαν ot ζητοῦντές μου τὴν ψυχήν. Οὐ γὰρ κατεύχεται τῶν είς χρημάτων ζημίαν ἐπιβουλευόντων, ἢ περὶ γῆς ὅρων διαμφισῦηο τούντων, ἢ τῶν κατὰ τοῦ σώματος αὑτοῦ κακίαν ἐπι· ί) τινα ο ἀλλὰ τῶν ψυχὴν ἐπιβουλευόντων. Τῆς δὲ ψυχῆς ἐπιβουλὴ τίς ἄλλη, εί μὴ Θεοῦ ἀλλο· τρίωσις; Ἀλλοτριοῦται δὲ ἀπὸ Θεοῦ ἀνθρωπίνη ψυχὴ οὐκ ἄλλως, ἢ διὰ τῆς ἐμπαθῶς διαθέσεως. Ἐπεὶ οὖν ἀπαθὲς τὸ Θεΐον πάντοτε, ὁ ἀεὶ ἐν πάθει γινόμενθς. τῆς πρὸς τὸ θεῖον συναφείας ἀποσχοινίξεται. Ὠς ἂν οὖν μὴ τοῦτο πάθοι, αἰσχύνην τῶν ἁντιπαλαιόντιινυ εὔχεται. Τοῦτο δέ οὐδὲν ἄλλο ἐστὶν ἢ ἐαυτῷ νίκην κατὰ τῶν πολεμίων ἐπεύξασθαι· οί δὲ πολέμιοι τὰ πάθη εἰσίν. Οὕτως 6 τῆς θεοσεβείας ἔχων, είᾶυλομανοῠντοςτῆνικαῦτα τοῦ βασιλέως, καί τῶν ὑποχειρίων αὐτῷ συνδιατραφέντων, οὒκ ίδιόν τε ι θεραπεύει πάθος,Ἦάλλὰ περὶ τοῦ κοινοῦ τῶν ἀνθρώπων

### English translation (Claude)

None of the truly holy, who were moved by the Holy Spirit and whose sayings were written down by divine ordering for the admonition of later generations, will be shown to have been eager for any evil; the whole aim of their words looks to correcting the vice that dwells in our nature. One who prays that there may be no sick and no poor desires not the destruction of the people but the abolition of disease and poverty. So too each of the saints, praying that what is hostile and inimical to nature may be destroyed, gives the less instructed the impression that they are embittered and angry against human beings. When the Psalmist says, “Let sinners and the lawless fail from the earth, so that they are no more,” he prays that sin and lawlessness may fail. For a human being is not the enemy of human beings; it is the movement of the will toward vice that has set what is joined by nature in the rank of an enemy. So he prays that evil may fail; but a human being is not evil — for how could the likeness of the good be evil? So too, even if he prays for shame and confusion upon his enemies, he is showing you the host of opponents, those of the invisible enemy who make war on human life. Paul speaks of them more plainly when he says that our wrestling is against the principalities, against the authorities and the world-rulers of this world, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Seeing the demonic schemes by which evil occasions for sin are brought upon people — chance encounters, occasions of … desires, the ground of envy and hatred and arrogance and such evils — seeing these running round every soul with their plots, the great Prophet, praying against these enemies, prays that they may come to shame. This means that the soul … is saved. For by nature shame at his fall follows the one defeated in wrestling, as exultation at the victory follows the victor. That this is so is shown by the form of the prayer: “Let them be ashamed and confounded,” he says, “who seek my soul.” He does not pray against those who plot the loss of his money, or dispute over the boundaries of land, or plot some harm against his body, but against those who plot against the soul. And what other plot against the soul is there than estrangement from God? The human soul is estranged from God in no other way than through a passionate disposition. Since the Divine is always free from passion, whoever is always in passion is cut off from union with the Divine. So that he may not suffer this, he prays for shame upon those who wrestle against him; and this is nothing other than praying for victory for himself over his enemies; and the enemies are the passions. So too the one who had zeal for godliness, when the king of that time was mad for idols and those under him had been brought up with him in it, is not healing a passion of his own, but is concerned for the common passion of humankind

### Scripture references

- Ps 104:35 (103:35 LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Eph 6:12: quotation, high confidence
- Ps 35:4 (34:4 LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Ps 40:14 (39:15 LXX): allusion, medium confidence
- Hos 9:14: allusion, medium confidence

### Translation notes

- “Let sinners and the lawless fail …”: Ps 104:35 (LXX 103:35). Wrestling against principalities: Eph 6:12. “Let them be ashamed … who seek my soul”: Ps 35:4 (LXX 34:4); 40:14; 70:2.
- Several words are unreadable in the scan (OCR debris, marked …). The prophet who “had zeal for godliness” under an idolatrous king is probably Hosea (Hos 9:14), cited on the previous page.

### Citation (SBL)

Gregory of Nyssa, Or. dom. 1131 (PG 44:1132a–1132d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1119/#p-1131).

## On the Lord's Prayer 1133

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1119/#p-1133
- Source: PG 44:1133a–1133d
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-14

Summary: The prophets’ curses are aimed at sin, not at people, for God did not make death; if God sometimes grants worldly requests, it is to strengthen weak faith and lead us, like children growing up, to ask for higher things.

### Greek text

προσάγει τὴν δέησιν, τῇ κατὰ τῶν ἀσεβησάντονίί ὁρμῇ, ἅπαν σωφρονισθῆναι ἀξιῶν τὸ ἀνθρώπινον. Ὡσαύτως δὲ καὶ ὁ προφήτης, ὃς καὶ πολυγονοῦσαν τότε τὴν κακίαν ἐν τοῖς Ἰσραηλίταις ὁρῶν. ἀτεκνίᾳ δικαίως καταδικάζει, καὶτὰς πικρὰς θηλὰς τῆς ἀμαρτίας ξηρανθῆναι βούλεται, ὡς ἂν μήτε τίκτοιτο τοῖς *ἀνθρώποις τὸ κακὸν, μήτε τρέφοιτο. Διὰ τοῦτο προφήτης, Δὸς αὐτοῖς, φησι, Κύριε, μήτραν ἀτεκνοῦσαν, καί μαστοὺς ξηροὺς. Καὶ εἴ τις ἄλλος ἐν τοῖς ἁγίοις εὑρεθείη τοιοῦτος λόγος, θυμοῦ τινα κατηγορίαν κα) σημασίαν ἔχων, πρὸς τὴν τοιαύτην πάντως ' διάνοιαν βλέπει, ἢ ἐξορίζοι τὸ κακὸν, οὐκ ἐπιτρίβοι τὸν ἄνθρωπον. Θεὸς θάνατον οὐκ ἐποίησεν. Ἀκούεις τῆς ἀποφάσεως ; Πῶς οῦν εἰς τὸν κατὰ τῶν ἰδίων αὐτοῦ ἑάρᾴκοοῖετν ’ἔμελλε τὸν Θεὸν, τὸν τῆς τοῦ. θανάτου ἐνεργείας ἀλλότριον ; Οὐ τέρπεται ἐπʼ ἀπωλείᾳ ζώντων. Ἀλλά βαττολογῶν, καὶ κατὰ τῶν ἰδίων ἐχθρῶν τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ φιλανθρωπίαν παρακινῶν, ἐπιτερφθῆναι ταῖς ἀνθρωπίναις αὐτὸν συμφοραῖς ἐγκελεύεται. Ἀλλʼ ἠδη τινὲς, φησὶ, καί ἀρχῶν καὶ τιμῶνκκαὶ πλούτου ἠξιώθησαν, εὐχῇ πρὸς τοῦτο χρησάμενοι, καὶ θεοφιλεῖς εἶναι διὰ τῆς τοιαύτης εύκληρίας ὑπενοήθησαν. Πῶς οῦν ἀπείργεις ἡμᾶς, εἴποι τις ἂν, περί τῶν τοιούτων προσάγειν τῷ Θεῷ τὰς δεήσεις; ἀλλὰ τὸ μὲν πάντα θείας ἐξῆφθαι βουλῆς, καὶ ἄνωθεν οἰκονομεῖσθαι τὸν τῇδε βίον, παντί δῆλόν ἐστι, καὶ οὐκ ἄν τις ἀντείποι τῷ λόγῳ. Τῶν δὲ τοιούτων τῆς εὐχῆς κατορθωμάτων ἄλλας αἰτίας ἐμάθομεν, οὐχ ὡς ἀγαθὰ πάντως τοῦ Θεοῦ ταῦτα τοῖς αἰτοῦσι νέμοντος ο ἀλλʼ ὡς ἂν διὰ τούτων βεβαιωθῇ τοῖς ἐπισπολαιοτέροις ἡ πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν πίστις, καὶ κατʼ ὀλίγον ἐν ταῖς μικροτέραις τῶν αἰτήσεων, τὸ ἐπακούειν τὸν Θεὸν τῶν ἱκεσιῶν τῇ πείρᾳ μανθάνοντες, ἀνέλθοιμέν ' ποτε πρὸς τὴν τῶν ὑψηλῶν τε καὶ θεοπρεπῶν δωρημάτων ἐπιθυμίαν. ·Καθάπερ ἐπὶ τῶν ἡμετέρων τέκνων ὁρῶμεν · ἃ τέως μὲν τῇ μητρῷα θηλῇ προσφύεται, ὅσον χωρεί ἡ φύσις, τοσοῦτον παρὰ τῆς γεννησαμένης ἐπιζητοῦντα· εἰ δὲ ύπανδρυνθείη τὸ νήπιον, καί τινα προσλάβοι τοῦ φθέγγεσθαι δύναμιν, καταφρονεῖ μὲν τῆς θηλῆς, ζητεῖ δέ τι τοιοῦτον, ἣ προκόμιον, ἢ ἱμάτιον, ἦ τινα τοιαῦτα, οἷς ὁ τῶν νηπίῳι ὀφθαλμὸς ἐπιτέρπεται ° ἐπειδὰν δὲʼ εἰς ἡλικίαν ἔλθῃ, καὶ συναυξηθῇ τῷ σώματι ή διάνοια, τότε πάσας τὰς παιδικὰς ἐπιθυμίας καταλιπὼν, τά τῷ τελείῳ βλέποντα βίῳ παρὰ τῶν γονέων αἰτήσεται· οὕτω καί ὁ Θεὸς ἐθίζων τὸν ἄνθρωπον διὰ πάντων πρὸς αὐτὸν βλέπειν, διὰ τοῦτο πολλάκις οὐδὲ τῶν μικροτέρων αἰτήσεων ἀνήκοος γίνεται, ὡς ἂν ἐπί τῇ τῶν ὑψηλοο τέρων ἐπιθυμίᾳ διὰ τῆς ἐν τοῖς μικροῖς εὐεργεσίας τὸν τετυχηκότα τῆς χάριτος προσκαλέσαιτο. Καὶ σὺ τοίνυν, εἰ ὁ δεῖνα γέγονε θεία προνοίᾳ γνώριμός τε καὶ περίβλεπτος ἐξ ἀφανεστέρων, ἢ ἄλλο τι τῶν κατὰ τὸν Βίον τοῦτον ἐπιζητουμένων ἐκτήσατο, ἀρχὴν

### English translation (Claude)

brings his petition, asking, by his zeal against those who acted impiously, that all humanity may be brought to its senses. Likewise the prophet, seeing vice then multiplying among the Israelites, justly condemns it to childlessness and wants the bitter breasts of sin to dry up, so that evil may be neither born among people nor nourished. That is why the prophet says, “Give them, Lord, a childless womb and dry breasts.” And if any other saying of this kind is found among the saints, carrying some accusation and sign of anger, it certainly looks to this meaning: that it should banish evil, not crush the human being. “God did not make death.” Do you hear the declaration? How, then, could anyone move God, who has no part in the work of death, against his own creatures? “He does not delight in the destruction of the living.” But the babbler, stirring up God’s love for humankind against his own enemies, bids him delight in human misfortunes. “But some,” someone says, “have already been granted offices and honours and wealth by using prayer for this purpose, and through such good fortune were thought to be dear to God. How, then, can you keep us from bringing our petitions to God about such things?” That everything depends on the divine will and that life here is ordered from above is plain to all, and no one would contradict the statement. But we have learned other reasons for such successes of prayer. God does not grant these things to those who ask as though they were goods in themselves; he grants them so that the faith of the more superficial in God may be strengthened by them, and so that we, learning by experience in our smaller requests that God hears our petitions, may at some time rise to the desire for the lofty gifts that befit God. We see this with our own children. While they cling to their mother’s breast, they seek from the one who bore them only as much as nature can hold. But when the infant grows bigger and gains some power of speech, he despises the breast and asks for something like a cake, or a garment, or such things as delight a child’s eye. And when he comes of age and his mind grows along with his body, he leaves all childish desires behind and asks his parents for what concerns the perfect life. So too God, accustoming the human being to look to him in everything, often does not refuse to hear even the smaller requests, so that by kindness in small things he may draw the one who has received the grace to desire loftier things. You too, then, if so-and-so has by divine providence become known and conspicuous after obscurity, or has obtained something else that is sought after in this life — office

### Scripture references

- Hos 9:14: quotation, high confidence
- Matt 6:7: allusion, medium confidence

### Extrabiblical texts

- Wis 1:13 (Wisdom of Solomon): quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- “Give them a childless womb and dry breasts”: Hos 9:14. “God did not make death, and he does not delight in the destruction of the living”: Wis 1:13 (an extrabiblical book).
- A garbled word (“against his own creatures,” rendered by sense) is unreadable in the scan.

### Citation (SBL)

Gregory of Nyssa, Or. dom. 1133 (PG 44:1133a–1133d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1119/#p-1133).

## On the Lord's Prayer 1135

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1119/#p-1135
- Source: PG 44:1136a–1136d
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-14

Summary: Worldly gifts are toys to lead us to ask the Father for greater things; to ask God only for earthly goods is to pray “like the gentiles,” who have no hope beyond this life. Homily 2 begins: Moses could not bring the people near to God at Sinai.

### Greek text

ἢ πλοῦτον, ’ἢ περιφάνειαν, νόει τὸν σκοπὸν, ὅτι σοι ἀπόδειξις τῆς μεγάλης δυνάμεως τοῦ Θεοῦ ἡ περὶ ταῦτα φιλανθρωπία γίνεται, ἵνα διά τοῦ τυχεῖν τῶν παιδικῶν ἀθυρμάτων, περὶ τῶν μειζόνων καὶ τελειοτέρων προσαγάγῃς τῷ Πατρὶ τὰς αἰτήσεις. Ταῦτα δέ ἐστιν ὅσα είς ψυχὴν φέρει τὸ κέρδος. Καὶ γὰρ ἂν εἴη τῶν ἀλογωτάτων, προσελθόντα τῷ Θεῷ-ζητεῖν παρά τοῦ ἀϊδίου τά πρόσκαιρα, παρὰ τοῦ ἐπουρανίου τὰ ἐπίγεια, παρά τοῦ Ὑψίστου τὰ χαμαίζηλα, παρά τοῦ βασιλείαν οὐρανῶν δωρουμένου τὴν γηῒνην ταύτην καὶ ταπεινὴν εὐκληρίαν, παρὰ τοῦ ἀναφαίρετα χαριζομένου, τὴν ἐν ὀλίγῳ τῶν ἀλλοτρίων χρῆσιν, ῶν ἀναγκαία μὲν ή ἀφαίρεσις, πρόσκαιρος δὲ ἡ ἀπόλαυσις, ἐπικίνδυνος δὲ ἡ οίκοο νομία ο καλῶς δὲ παρίστησι τῇ προσθήκῃ τὸ ἄτοπον, εἰπὼν, Ὠσπερ ol ἐθνικοί. Τὸ γὰρ περὶ τά φαινόο μενα τὴν σπουδὴν ἔχειν ῐδιόν ἐστι τῶν μηδεμίαν τοῦ μέλλοντος αἰῶνος ἑαυτοῖς ὑποτιθεμένων ἐλπίδα, μὴ κρίσεως φόῦον, μὴ γεέννης ἀπειλὴν, μὴ ἀγαθῶν προσδοκίαν, μὴ ἄλλο τι τῶν κατά τὴν ἀνάστασιν ἐλπιζομένων, οἳ βοσκημάτων δίκην πρὸς τὸν παρόντα ὁρῶντες βίον, ὅπερ ἂν λαιμῷ καὶ κοιλίᾳ καὶ ταῖς λοιπαῖς τοῦ σὼμῖιτος ἡδυπαθείαις χαρίζωνται, τοῦτο ὲν ἀγαθῶν κρίνουσι μοίρᾳ, ἢ τὸ πρωτεῦσαί τινων, καὶ τὸ ὑπὲρ τοὺς λοιποὺς νομισθῆναι, ῆ πολε λοίς ἐπικαθευδῆσαι ταλάντοις, ἢ εί τι ἄλλο τῆς βιοτικῆς ἀπάτης ἐστίν· οἷς εῐ τις ἂν λέγῃ περὶ τῆς μελλούσης ἐλπίδος, λῆρος ἄντικρυς εἶναι δοκεῖ, παράδεισον καὶ βασιλείαν, καὶ οὐρανῶν διαγωγὴν, καὶ ’τὰ τοιαῦτα διεξερχόμενος. Ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν ῐδιόν ἐστι τῶν μὴ ἐχόντων ἐλπίδα ’τὸ προστετηκέναι τῇ παρούσῃ ζωῇ, καλῶς τά περιττά καὶ μάταια τῆς ἐπιθυμίας, ἃ διʼ εὐχῆς οἴονται κατορθοῦν ἑαυτοῖς oi φιλο ήδονοι, τῶν ἐθνικῶν δʼλόγος εἶναί φησι,τῶν νομιζόντων ἐκ τοῦ προσλιπαρεῖν περὶ τῶν ἀτόπων συνεργὸν ἐπὶ τά μὴ δέοντα τὸ Θεῖον ἕξειν. Δοκοῦσι γὰρ, φησὶν, ὅτι ἐν τῇ πολυλογίᾳ αὐτῶν εἰσακουσθὴσονται. Ἀʼλλά ταῦτα μὲν ἃ δεῖ γινώσκειν, διʼ ὧν ἐξητάσαμεν, ἐδιδάχθημεν. Οἴαν δὲ προσήκει τῷ Θεῷ προσάγειν τὴν δέησιν, ἐν τοῖς ἐφεξῆς ἀκουσόμεθα, χάριτι τοῦ Κυρίου ήμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ᾧ ή δόξα xui. τὸ κράτος, εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν. ΛΟΓΟΣ B'. Πάτερ ἡμῶν ό ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς. Ὅτε προσῆγεν ὁ μέγας Μωῦσῆς τῇ κατά τὸ ὅρος μυσταγωγίᾳ τὸν Ἰσραηλίτην λαὸν, οὐ πρότερον αὗτοὺς τῆς ’θεοφανείας ἠξίωσεν, πρὶν ἁγνείᾳ τε καὶ περιρῤαντισμῷ νομοθετῆσαι τῷ λαῷ τὸ καθάρσιον· καὶ οὐδὲ οὕτως ἐθάρσησαν τῆς θείας δυνάμεως τὴν ἐμφάνειαν, ἀλλά πρὸς πᾶν κατεπλάγησαν τὸ φαινόμενον, τὸ πῦρ, τὸν γνόφον, τὸν καπνὸν, τὰς σάλπιγ. (at; ' καὶ πρὸς τούτους πάλιν ἀποστραφεὶς, ἠξίουν τὴν νομοθέτην αὐτοῖς μεσίτην γενέσθαι τοῦ θείου βουλήματος,

### English translation (Claude)

or wealth or distinction — understand the purpose: God’s kindness in these matters becomes for you a proof of his great power, so that, having obtained childish toys, you may bring your requests to the Father for greater and more perfect things. These are the things that bring gain to the soul. For it would be utterly unreasonable to come to God and seek from the Eternal what is temporary, from the Heavenly what is earthly, from the Most High what is lowly, from the One who gives the kingdom of heaven this earthly and lowly good fortune, from the One who grants what cannot be taken away the brief use of things that belong to others, whose loss is inevitable, whose enjoyment is brief, and whose management is dangerous. He shows the absurdity well by adding, “as the gentiles do.” For zeal for visible things is the mark of those who set before themselves no hope of the age to come — no fear of judgment, no threat of Gehenna, no expectation of good things, nor anything else hoped for in the resurrection. Looking like cattle to the present life, they judge as good whatever they can grant to throat and belly and the other bodily pleasures, or being first over some and thought above the rest, or sleeping on many talents of gold, or whatever else belongs to the deceit of life. If anyone speaks to them of the hope to come, going through paradise and the kingdom and the life of heaven and such things, he seems to them to talk plain nonsense. Since, then, clinging to the present life is the mark of those who have no hope, the Word rightly says that the superfluous and vain things of desire, which lovers of pleasure think they can secure for themselves by prayer, belong to the gentiles, who think that by persisting in unseemly requests they will have the Divine as their fellow-worker in what they should not have. “For they think,” he says, “that they will be heard for their many words.” What we needed to know we have learned from what we have examined. What kind of petition we ought to bring to God we shall hear in what follows, by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen. Homily 2. “Our Father who art in heaven.” When the great Moses brought the people of Israel to the initiation on the mountain, he did not count them worthy of the theophany until he had laid down for the people purification by chastity and sprinkling. Even so they did not dare to face the manifestation of the divine power, but were terrified by everything that appeared — the fire, the darkness, the smoke, the trumpets — and turning back from these, they asked the lawgiver to become their mediator of the divine will,

### Scripture references

- Matt 6:7: quotation, high confidence
- Matt 6:9: quotation, high confidence
- Exod 19:10–19: allusion, high confidence
- Exod 20:18–19: allusion, high confidence

### Translation notes

- “As the gentiles … for they think they will be heard for their many words”: Matt 6:7.
- Homily 2 on the Lord’s Prayer begins here: “Our Father who art in heaven” (Matt 6:9). Sinai: Exod 19:10–19; 20:18–19.

### Citation (SBL)

Gregory of Nyssa, Or. dom. 1135 (PG 44:1136a–1136d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1119/#p-1135).

## On the Lord's Prayer 1137

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1119/#p-1137
- Source: PG 44:1137a–1137b
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-14

Summary: Unlike Moses at Sinai, Christ leads all believers up to heaven itself, makes them sharers in God, shows God’s glory to the pure in heart, and asks for purification not from marriage but from every passion.

### Greek text

ὡς οὑχ ίκανῆς ούσης τῆς δυνάμεως αὑτῶν προσεγγίσαι τῷ Θεῷ, καὶ θείαν ἐμφάνειαν δέξασθαι. ’0 δὲ ἡμέτερος νομοθέτης, καὶ Κύριος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς, προσάγειν ἡμᾶς τῇ θείᾳ χάριτι μέλλων, οὐχὶ Σίναιον ἡμῖν ὅρος τῷ λόγῳ παραδείκνυσι γνόφῳ κεκαλυμμένον, καὶ πυρὶ καπνιζόμενον, οὑδὲ σαλπίγγων φωνὰς, ἄσημόν τι καὶ καταπληκτικὸν ἀπηχούσας, οὐδὲ τριημέροις ἁγνείαις, καὶ ὕδατι ῥύπον ὲκ·πλύνοντι τὴν ψυχὴν ἐκκαθάρας, οὑδὲ πᾶσαν. τὴν ἐκκλησίαν ὲν τῇ ὑπωρείᾳ καταλιπὼν, ένὶ μόνῳ τὴν ἄνοδον ἐπὶ τὴν κορυφὴν τοῦ ὅρους χαρίζεται, τὴν κεκαλυμμένην τῷ γνόφῳ τῷ τὴν δόξαν Θεοῦ περικρύπτοντι ° ἀλλὰ πρῶτον μὲν ἀντὶ τοῦ ὅρους αὑτὸν ἀνάγει τὸν οὐρανὸν, βατὸν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις αὐτὸν διὰ τῆς ἀρετῆς καταστήσας· ἔπειτα δὲ οὑ θεατὰς μόνον τῆς θείας δυνάμεως, ἀλλά καὶ κοινωνοὺς άπεργάζεται, καὶ είς συγγένειαν τρόπον τινά τῆς ὑπερκειμέ- · νητ φύσεως τοὺς προσιόντας άγει · οὐδὲ γνόφῳ κατακρύπτει τὴν ὑπερέχουσαν δόξαν, ὡς δυσθεώρητον τοῖς άναζητοῢσιν εἶναι, ἀλλὰ τῷ τηλαυγεῖ φωτὶ τῆς διδασκαλίας τὸν γνόφον καταφωτίσας, ἐπὶ λαμπρᾶς αἰθρίας τοῖς καθαροῖς τὴν καρδίαν, τὴν ἄφραστον δόξαν καθορᾶσθαι ἐποίησενθ ὕδωρ δὲ περιῤῥαίνειν, οὑκ ἐξ ἀλλοτρίων ναμάτων, ἀλλὰ τδ ὲν ἡμῖν αὐτοῖς ἀναόρύον χαρίζεται, εἴτε τὰς τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν τις λέγει πηγάς, εἴτε τὴν καθαρὰν τῆς καρδίας συνείδησιν, μηδεμίαν ίλὺν ἀπὸ τῆς ἐννόμου τῶν γαμετῶν ὁμιλίας, ἀλλʼ ἀπὸ πάσης ὑλικῆς τε καὶ ὲμπαθοῦς διαθέσεως νομοθετήσας, οὕτω προσάγει διὰ τῆς προσευχῆς τῷ Θεῷ. Αὕτη γὰρ τῶν ῥημάτων δύναμις, διʼ ὧν οὐχὶ φωνάς τινας ὲν συλλαβαῖς ὲκςρωνουμένας μανθάνομεν διὰ τοῦ λόγου, ἀλλʼ ἐπίνοιαν τῆς πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν ἀναβάσεως δι ὑψηλῆς πολιτείας κατωρθωμένην.

### English translation (Claude)

since their strength was not sufficient to draw near to God and receive the divine manifestation. But our lawgiver, our Lord Jesus Christ, when he is about to bring us to the divine grace, does not show us in his word a Mount Sinai covered in darkness and smoking with fire, nor the sounds of trumpets echoing something obscure and terrifying. He does not cleanse the soul with three days of purification and with water that washes off dirt, nor leave the whole assembly at the foot of the mountain and grant to one man alone the ascent to its summit, covered by the darkness that hides the glory of God. First, instead of the mountain, he leads us up to heaven itself, having made it accessible to human beings through virtue; then he makes them not only spectators of the divine power but sharers in it, and brings those who approach into a kind of kinship with the transcendent nature. Nor does he hide the surpassing glory in darkness, so that it is hard to see for those who seek it; he lights up the darkness with the far-shining light of his teaching and makes the ineffable glory visible in clear air to the pure in heart. And he grants us water to sprinkle, not from streams outside us but from what wells up within ourselves — whether one means the springs of the eyes or the pure conscience of the heart — laying down purity not from the lawful intercourse of husband and wife but from every material and passionate disposition; and so he brings us to God through prayer. For this is the force of the words: through them the Word teaches us not certain sounds pronounced in syllables, but the thought of an ascent to God accomplished through a lofty way of life.

### Scripture references

- Exod 19:10–15: allusion, high confidence
- Exod 20:21: allusion, medium confidence
- Matt 5:8: allusion, high confidence
- Heb 12:18–22: allusion, medium confidence

### Translation notes

- The three days of purification and the command to abstain from marital relations: Exod 19:10–15. The pure in heart see God: Matt 5:8.
- “Not from the lawful intercourse of husband and wife”: Gregory contrasts the purity Christ requires with the abstention required at Sinai (Exod 19:15); translated as written.

### Citation (SBL)

Gregory of Nyssa, Or. dom. 1137 (PG 44:1137a–1137b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1119/#p-1137).

## On the Lord's Prayer 1139

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1139/#p-1139
- Source: PG 44:1140a–1140b
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-14

Summary: One must first vow and offer something to God before asking; Christ bids us say “Father,” but to call God Father one would need wings to rise above all changing things to the unchanging One, and a soul and conscience like his, for the Good cannot be father of evil.

### Greek text

παγγελίας τῷ Θεῷ γινομένην πρόσοδον διερμηνεύει. Διδάσκει οὖν ἡμᾶςό λόγος, μὴ πρότερον αἰτεῖσθαί τι παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ, πρὶν αὐτῷ τι τῶν κεχαρισμένον δωροφορῆσαι. Εῠξασθαι γὰρ χρὴ πρότερον, εἶτα προσεύξασθαι · ὡς εἰ τις λέγει προηγεῖσθαι τὴν σπορὰν τῆς ἐπικαρπίας. Οὐκοῦν χρὴ καταβαλεῖν πρότερον τῆς εὐχῆς τὰ σπέρματα, καὶ οὕτως αὑξηθεῖσαν τὴν καταδολὴν τῶν σπερμάτων καρπώσασθαι διὰ τῆς προσευχῆς τὴν χάριν ἀντιλαμβάνοντα. Ὧς οὖν οὐκ ἐσομένης ὲν παρρησίᾳ τῆς ἐντεύξεως, εξ μὴ ἐπὶ προληφθεῐσῃ εὐχῇ τινι καὶ δωροφορὴ. ἠ πρόσοδος γένοιτο, ἀναγκαίως ἠ εὐχὴ τῆς προσευχῆς προηγήα σεται. Ὠς οὖν ἤδη τούτου κατορθωθέντος, φησὶ πρὸς τοὺς μαθητὰς ὁ Κύριος ο Ὅταν προσεύχησθε, λέγετε Πάτερ ἡμῶν, δ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς. σ- Τίς δώσει μοι πτέρυγας ὡσεὶ περιστερᾶςς φησι που τῆς ψαλμmaia; ὁ μέγας Δαβεδ· εἴποιμι δʼ ἂν καὶ αὐτὸς τολμήσας τὴν ῐσην φωνήν - Τις δώσει μοι πτέρυγας ὲκείνας, πρὸς τὸ δυνηθῆναι τῷ ὕψει τῆς τῶν ῥημάτων μεγαλοφυῖας συναναπτῆναι κατὰ διάνοιαν, Ὥστε καταλιπεῖν μὲν τὴν γῆν πᾶσανίδιαπεράσαι τε πάντα τὸν ὲν μέσῳ κεχυμένον ἀέρα · καταλαβεῖν δὲ τὸ αἰθέριον καλλος, καὶ ἐπὶ τὰ ἄστρα φθάσαι, καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν ὲν αὐτοῖς διακόσμησιν κατιδεῖν · στῆναι δὲ μηδὲ εν τούτοις, ἀλλὰ διεξελθεῖν καὶ διὰ τούτων, καὶ πάνυ των τῶν κινουμένων καὶ μεθισταμένων ὲκτὺς γενέ· σθαι, καὶ καταλαβεῖν τὴν ἑστῶσαν φύσιν, τὴν ἀμετακινητονδὺναμιν, τὴν ἀλ ἑαυτῆς καθιδρυμένην, τὴν νηάντα ἄγουσάν τε καὶ ιοῖοουσαν. ὅσα ὲν τῷ εἷναί ἐστι. πάντα ἄγουσαν τε καὶ ιρέρουσαν, ὅσα ὲν τῷ εἷναί ἐστι. πάντα τὰ τοῦ ἀφράστου θελήματος τῆς θείας σοῼίας ἐξηρτημένα πάντων ἀλλοιουμένων τε καὶ μεθ ισταμένων πόρῤω τῇ διανοίᾳ γενόμενος, ἐν ἀτρέπτῳ τε καὶ ἀκλινεῖ τῆς ψυχῆς καταστάσει, τὸν ἄτριπτον καὶ ἀναλλοίωτον διὰ τῆς γνώμης πρότερον olκειώσασθαι, εἶθʼ οὕτω τῇ οἰκειοτάτῃ προσηγορις ἐπικαλέσασθαι καὶ εἰπεῖν, Πάτερ; σίας γξιρ λέγοντι χρεία ψυχῆςῐ ὅσης τῆς παρρησεαςῑ υἷας τῆξ συνειδήσεως-ἱ "iv'a Θεὸν νοήσας, ὡς εστι autem. ὲκ τῶν ἐπινοουμὲνων αὐτῷ προσηγοριῶν, πρὸς σύνεσιν τῆς ἀξιέραστον δόξης ἀειραγωγούμενος,-καὶ μαθὼν atii) θεία φύσις, δ τί ποτέ ἐστίν αὗτδʼ ἕω θύτης ἐστιν, ἁγιασμὸς, ἀγαλλῖξιμαξο Favi“? καθαρότης, ἀῖδιδτης, ἀεὶ κατά τὰ αὐτὰ καὶ tum??? ἔχουσα, ’καὶ ὅσατοιαῦτα νενόηται περὶ τὴν θεξαν φιδσιν, διά τε τῆς θείας Γραφῆς καὶ τίδʼ( dum}: ἧισμῶν κατανοήσας, εἶτα τολμήσει- τὴν iam??? προέσθαι φωνὴν, καὶ τὸν τοιοῦτον ἑαυτοῦ litium. πατέραξ Ᾰῆλον γὰρ, δτι εἶ μετέκοηῖθδῗῗῗξ νοίας, οὐκ ’ἂν θαρσήσειε μὴ τὰ αὐτὰ καλ. ἐν αντε» εκείνην προέσθαι τδν Θεδνῌτὴν καὶ εἰπεῖν· Πάτερ-Τῆς γὰρ πονηρᾶς πράξεως.. δ θὸς κατὰ τὴν οὐσίαν, πατὴρ γενέσθαι ἔχει ’ οὔτε τοιῖ κατᾶ τὸν βίον ίβεῡηλωθέντος. 6 ἅγιος

### English translation (Claude)

… he interprets as the approach to God made by way of a vow. So the Word teaches us not to ask anything of God before offering him some gift that is pleasing to him. For one must first vow (euxasthai) and then pray (proseuxasthai), as if one were to say that the sowing comes before the harvest. One must first cast the seeds of the vow, and then, when the sowing of the seeds has grown, reap the grace in return through prayer. Since, then, the encounter would not take place with boldness unless the approach was made upon a vow already offered, bearing gifts, the vow necessarily comes before the prayer. As though this had already been accomplished, the Lord says to his disciples, “When you pray, say: Our Father who art in heaven.” “Who will give me wings like a dove?” the great David says somewhere in his psalms. I too would dare to say the same: Who will give me those wings, so that I may fly up in thought to the height of the greatness of these words? So that I may leave the whole earth, pass through all the air spread out between, reach the beauty of the upper air, arrive at the stars and behold all their order; and not stop even there, but pass through them too, and come to be outside everything that moves and changes, and reach the stable nature, the immovable power, established in itself, which leads and bears all things that have being, all of which depend on the ineffable will of the divine wisdom; so that, having gone far in thought from all that alters and changes, in an unchanging and unswerving state of soul, I may first make the unwearying and unalterable One my own by my disposition, and then call upon him by the most familiar of names and say, Father? What a soul is needed by the one who says this! How much boldness! What a conscience! … having understood God, as far as possible, from the names devised for him, being led to the understanding of the glory worthy of love, and having learned that the divine nature, whatever it is in itself, is goodness, holiness, exultation, power, … purity, eternity, ever the same and unchanging, and whatever else is understood about the divine nature through divine Scripture and his own reasonings — only then will he dare to utter such a word and call such a one his father. For it is plain that unless he has shared … he would not dare … to say to God, Father. For the One who is good by essence cannot become the father of an evil deed, nor the Holy One of one who has been profaned in his life,

### Scripture references

- Luke 11:2: quotation, high confidence
- Matt 6:9: quotation, high confidence
- Ps 55:6 (54:7 LXX): quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- The opening continues after a gap in the scan (marked …): Gregory distinguishes εὐχή (“vow”) from προσευχή (“prayer”). “When you pray, say …”: Luke 11:2; Matt 6:9. “Who will give me wings like a dove?”: Ps 55:6 (LXX 54:7).
- The second half of this page is badly garbled in the scan, with interleaved debris; several words are lost (marked …) and only readable text is translated.

### Citation (SBL)

Gregory of Nyssa, Or. dom. 1139 (PG 44:1140a–1140b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1139/#p-1139).

## On the Lord's Prayer 1141

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1139/#p-1141
- Source: PG 44:1141a–1141d
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-14

Summary: To call God “Father” while living in sin is to make him the cause of one’s evils and so to insult him; the sinner’s father is the devil, the father of lies; Christ’s command to say “Father” is a command to live as God’s children.

### Greek text

οὔτε τοῦ περιτρεπομένου, 6 ἀναλλοίωτος· οὔτε τοῦ νεκρωθέντος ἐξ ἁμαρτίας, ὁ πατὴρ τῆς ζωῆς· οὔτε τῶν ὲν τοῖς πάθεσι τῆς ἀτιμίας ἀσχημονούντων, 6 καθαρὸς καὶ ἀκήρατος · οὔτε τοῦ πλεονέκτου, ὁ εὐεργέτης ’ οὔτε ὅλως τῶν έν τινι κακῷ εὑρισκομένων, 6 ἐν παντὶ ἀγαθῷ θεωρούμενος. El γάρ τις πρὸς ἐαυτὸν βλέπων ἔτι καθαρσίου δεόμενος, καὶ μοχθηρὰν ἑαυτοῦ συνείδησιν ἐπιγινώσκων πλήρη κηλίδων καὶ πονηρῶν ὲγκαυ μάτων, πρὶν καθαρθῆναι τῶν τοιούτων τε καὶ τοσούτων κακῶν, πρὸς τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ συγγένειαν ἑαυτὸν εἰσποιοῖ, καὶ λέγοι, Πάτερ, τῷ. δικαίῳ 6 ἀδικος, τῷ καθαρῷ 6 ἀκάθαρτοςσ ὕβρις ἄντικρυς ἂν εἴη καὶ λοιδορία τὰ ῥήματα, εἴπερ τῆς ἰδίας μοχθηρίας πατέρα τὸν Θεὸν ὀνομάζοι. Ἠ γὰρ τοῦ πατρὸς φωνὴ, τὴν αἰτίαν τοῦ ἐξ αὐτοῦ ὑποστάντος διασημαίνει. Οὐκοῦν 6 μοχθηρὸς τὴν συνείδησιν, εί πατέρα ἑαυτοῦ τὸν Θεὸν λέγει, οὐδὲν ἕτερον ἢ τῶν ἰδίων κακῶν ἀρχηγόν τε καὶ αἴτιον αὑτὸν εἶναι κατηγορήσει. Ἀλλʼ οὐδεὶς κοινωνία φωτὶ πρὸς σκότος, φησὶν 6 Ἀπόστολος άλλά τῷ φωτὶ φῶς προσοικειοῦται, καὶ τῷ δικαίῳ τὸ δίκαιον, καὶ τῷ καλῷ τὸ καλὸν, καὶ τῷ ἀφθάρτῳ τὸ ἄφθαρτον. Τὰ δὲ ἐναντία πρὸς τὰ ὁμογενῆ πάντως τὴν συγγένειαν ἔχει. Οὐ γὰρ δύναται δένδρον καλὸν καρποὺς πονηροὺς ποιεῖν. El τοίνυν βαρυκάρδιός τις ὢν, καθώς φησιν ἡ Γραφὴ, καὶτὸ ψεῗιδος ζητῶν, κατατολμᾷ τῆς προσευχῆς ῥημάτων, γινωσκέτω ὅτι οὐ τὸν οὐ· ράνιον 6 τοιοῦτος Πατέρα καλεῖ, ἀλλὰ τὸν καταχθόνιον, ὃς αὐτός τε ψεύστης ἐστὶ, καὶ τοῦ ἐν ἑκάστῳ συνισταμένου ψεύδους πατὴρ γίνεται, ἐκεῖνος ἁμαρτία καὶ ἁμαρτίας πατήρ. Διὰ τοῦτο οἱ ἐμπαθεῖς τὴν ψυχὴν, ὀργῆς τέκνα παρὰ τοῦ ’Δποστόλου προσαγορεύονται ' καὶ ὁ τῆς ζωῆς ἀποστὰς, ἀπωλείας υίὸς ὀνομάζεται ’ καί τις βλακώδης καλ θηλυδρίας, υίὸς κορασίων αὐτομολούντων προσηγορεύθη. Ὡσαύτως καὶ ὲκ τοῦ ἐναντίου, οἱ λαμπροὶ τὴν συνείδησιν, υἱοὶ φωτὸς καὶ ἡμέρας προσαγορεύονται · καὶ δυνάμεως υἱοὶ ἕτεροι, οἱ πρὸς τὴν θείαν ίσχὺν ἑαυτοὺς τονώσαντες. Ὅταν τοίνυν Πατέρα τὸν Θεὸν λέγειν ημᾶς . έν τῇ προσευχῇ διδάσκῃ ὁ Κύριος, οὐδὲν ἕτερόν μοι δοκεῖ ποιεῖν, ἢ τὸν ὑψηλόν τε καὶ ἐπηρμένον νοημοθετ τείν βίον · οὐ γὰρ δὴ ψεύδεσθαι διδάσκει ἡμᾶς ή ἁλήθεια,ῶστε λέγειν ὃ μή ἐσμεν, καὶ ὀνομάζειν ὃ μὴ πεφύκαμενο ἀλλὰ Πατέρα λέγοντες ἑαυτῶν, τὸν άφθαρτόν τε καὶ δίκαιον καὶ ἀγαθὸν, ἐπαληθεύειν τῷ βίῳ τὴν ἀγχιστείαν. Ὁρᾷς ὅσης ἡμῖν παρασκευῆς ἐστι χρεία; οἴου βίου ; πόσης καὶ ποταπῆς ἐστι τῆς σπουδῆς, ὥστε ποτὲ πρὸς τοῦτο τὸ μέτρον τῆς παῤρησίας causam}; ἡμῶν τῆς συνειδήσεως, τολμῆσαι ρ εἰπεῖν τῷ Θεῷ, ὅτι Πάτερ; El γὰρ περὶ τὰ χρήματα βλέπεις, εί περὶ τὴν βιωτικὴν ἀπάτην ἠσχολημένος εἴης, ἢ τὴν ἐξ ἀνθρώπων δόξαν ἀναξητοίης, εί τῶν ἐπιθυμιῶν ταῖς ἐμπαθεστέραις δουλεύοις ἔπειτα τὴν τοιαύτην προσευχὴν διὰ στόματος λάβοις ο τί οἴει ἐρεῖν τὸν εἰς τὸν βίον βλέποντα, καὶ τῆς προσευχῆς ὲπαῖοντα; Ἐγὼ τοιούτων τινῶν ῥημάτων ἀκούειν δοκῶ, ὡσανεὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ πρὸς τὸν τοιοῦτον λέγοντος · ν. 8.

### English translation (Claude)

nor the Unchanging of one who is turned about, nor the Father of life of one dead through sin, nor the Pure and Undefiled of those who disgrace themselves in dishonourable passions, nor the Benefactor of the greedy, nor at all the One seen in every good of those found in any evil. If someone, looking at himself, still needs purification and recognizes that his conscience is wicked, full of stains and evil brandings, and before being cleansed of such and so many evils claims kinship with God and says “Father” — the unjust to the Just, the unclean to the Pure — his words would be plain insult and abuse, since he would be naming God the father of his own wickedness. For the word “father” signifies the cause of what has its existence from him. So the man of wicked conscience, if he calls God his father, will be accusing him of nothing less than being the author and cause of his own evils. But “what fellowship has light with darkness?” says the Apostle. Light is akin to light, the just to the just, the beautiful to the beautiful, the incorruptible to the incorruptible; and opposites are akin to their own kind. “For a good tree cannot bear bad fruit.” If, then, someone who is “heavy of heart,” as Scripture says, and “seeks falsehood,” dares to use the words of the prayer, let him know that such a man calls not on the heavenly Father but on the one beneath the earth, who is himself a liar and becomes the father of the lie that arises in each person — he who is sin and the father of sin. That is why the Apostle calls those who are passionate in soul “children of wrath”; the one who has fallen away from life is called “son of perdition”; and a certain soft and effeminate man was called “son of runaway girls.” Likewise, on the other hand, those bright in conscience are called “sons of light and of day,” and others who have strengthened themselves for divine strength “sons of power.” When, then, the Lord teaches us to call God Father in prayer, he seems to me to be doing nothing other than laying down the lofty and exalted life as a law. For the Truth does not teach us to lie, saying what we are not and naming what we are not by nature; rather, in calling the incorruptible, just, and good One our Father, we should prove the kinship true by our life. Do you see how much preparation we need, what kind of life, how much and what kind of zeal, so that at some time, having reached this measure of boldness in our conscience, we may dare to say to God, Father? For if you look to money, if you are busy with the deceits of life, or seek glory from people, if you serve the more passionate desires, and then take such a prayer on your lips, what do you think the One who looks upon your life and hears your prayer will say? I seem to hear some such words, as though God were saying to such a person:

### Scripture references

- 2 Cor 6:14: quotation, high confidence
- Matt 7:18: quotation, high confidence
- Ps 4:2 (4:3 LXX): allusion, high confidence
- John 8:44: allusion, high confidence
- Eph 2:3: allusion, high confidence
- John 17:12: allusion, medium confidence
- 2 Thess 2:3: allusion, medium confidence
- 1 Sam 20:30: quotation, medium confidence
- 1 Thess 5:5: allusion, high confidence
- Matt 6:9: allusion, high confidence

### Translation notes

- “What fellowship has light with darkness?”: 2 Cor 6:14. “A good tree cannot bear bad fruit”: Matt 7:18. “Heavy of heart … seek falsehood”: Ps 4:2 (LXX 4:3). The devil a liar and father of lies: John 8:44. “Children of wrath”: Eph 2:3. “Son of perdition”: John 17:12; 2 Thess 2:3. “Son of runaway girls”: 1 Sam 20:30 (LXX), Saul’s insult to Jonathan. “Sons of light and of day”: 1 Thess 5:5.

### Citation (SBL)

Gregory of Nyssa, Or. dom. 1141 (PG 44:1141a–1141d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1139/#p-1141).

## On the Lord's Prayer 1143

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1139/#p-1143
- Source: PG 44:1144a–1144d
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-14

Summary: God would reject the sinner who calls him Father; “Father in heaven” recalls our lost fatherland, as in the parable of the prodigal son, whose confession, robe, ring, and kiss signify repentance and the restoration of the first state.

### Greek text

Ἱατέρα καλεῖς 6 κατεφθαρμένος τῷ βίῳ τὸν τῆς ιφθαρσίας Πατέρα; Τί μολύνεις τῇ ῥυπαρᾷ σου φωνῇ τὸ ἀκήρατον δνομα; Τί καταψεύδῃ τοῦ ῥήματος; ΤΞ καθυβρίζεις τὴν ἀμόλυντον φύσιν; Εἰ τέκνοιν ἧς σύ ἐμὸν, ὲκ τῶν ἐμῶν ἀγαθῶν ἔδει πάντως καὶ τὸν σὺν βίον χαρακτηρίζεσθαι· οὐκ ἐπιγινώσκω τῆς ἐμῆς φύσεως ἐν σοὶ τὴν εἰκόναʼ ἐκ τῶν ἐναντίων οἱ χαρακτῆρες· τίς κοινωνία φωτὶ πρός σκότος; τίς ζωῆς καὶ Θανάτου συγγένεια; τίς οἰκειότης τῷ καθαρῷ τὴν φύσιν πρὸς τὸ ἀκάθαρτον; Πολὺ τοῦ εὐεργέτου πμὸς τὸν πλεονέκτην τὸ μέσον. ’Λμικτος ἡ τοῦ ἐλεήμονες καὶ τοῦ ἀπηνοῦς ἐναντίωσις ἄλλος πατὴρ τῶν ὲν σοὶ κακῶν τὰ γαρ ὲμα γεννήματα τοῖς πατρῴοις arceat; καλλωπίζεται, τέκνον τοῦ ἐλεήμονος 6 ἐλεήμων, καὶ τοῦ καθαροῦ 6 καθαρὸς, 6 φθόρος ἀλλότριος τοῦ ἀφθάρπου· καὶτὸ ὅλον, ἐξ ἀγαθοῦ ἀγαθὸς, καὶ ἐκ δικαίου δίιιαιος. ’Υμᾶς δὲ οὐκ οἶδα πόθεν ἐστέ. Οὐκοῦν ἐπικίνδυθον πρὶν καθαρθῆναι τῷ βίῳ τῆς προσευχῆς ταύτης κατατολμῆσαι, καὶ Πατέρα ἐαυτοῦ τὸν Θεὸν ὀνομάσαι. Ἀλλὰ ἀκούσωμεν τῶν τῆς προσευχῆς ῥημάτων πάλιν, εἴτις ἄρα γένοιτο ἡμῖν τῶν κρυφίων τοῦ νοῦ κατανόησις διὰ τῆς συνεχεστέρας ἐπαναλήψεως. Πάτερ ήμῶν, ὀ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς-(Ὅτι μὲν οὖν χρὴ τῷ κατʼ ἀρετὴν βίῳ τὸν Θεὸν οἰκειώσασθαι, μετρίως ἡμῖν διὰ τῶν προλαβόντων ἐξήτασται λόγων. Δοκεῖ δέ μοι καὶ βαθυτέραν τινὰ διάνοιαν ὑποσημαίνειν 6 λόγος · ταῦτα γὰρ ὑπόμνησιν ἡμῖν ἐμποιεῖ τῆς τε πατρίδος ἧς ἐκπεπτώκαμεν, καὶ τῆς εὐγενείας, ἧς ἀπεβλήθημεν. Καὶ γὰρ ὲν τῷ κατά ’τὸν νέον διηγήματι, τὸν ἀποστάντα τῆς πατρῴας ἑστίας, καί πρὸς τὸν χοιρώδη βίον αὐτομολήσαντα, τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην ἀθλιότητα δείκνυσιν 6 Λόγος ἱπορικῶς διηγούμενος τὴν ἀποφοίτησιν αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν ἀσωτίαν οὐ πρότερον δὲ αὐτὸνἐπανάγει πρὸς τὴν ἐξ ἀρχῆς εὐκληρίαν, πρῖν αἴσθησιν αὐτὸν τῆς παρούσης ἀναλαβεῖν συμφορᾶς, εἰς ἐαυτὸν ἐλθεῖν, καὶ μελετῆσαι τά τῆς μεταμελείας ῥήματα. Ταῦτα δὲ ἦν συμβαίνοντά πως τοῖς τῆς προσευχῆς λόγοιςο ἔφησε γὰρ ἐκεῖ Πάτερ, ἥμαρτον εὶς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ ἐνώπιόν σου · οὐκ ἂν προσθεὶς τῇ ἐξομολογήσει τὴν είς τὸν οὐρανὸν ἁμαρτίαν, μὴ πεπεισμένος πατρίδα εἶναι τὸν οὐρανὸν, ὃν καταλιπὼν ἐπλημμέλησε· διὰ τοῦτο καὶ εὐπρόσιτον αὐτῷ τὸν πατέραή μελέτη τῆς τοιαύτης ἑξομολογήσεως ἀπεργάζεται, ὥστε καὶ προσδραμεῖν αὐτῷ, καὶ φιλήματι τὸν τράχηλον δεξιώσασθαι (ὅπερ σημαίνει τὸν λογικὸν ζυγὸν, τὸν διὰ στόματος ἐπιβληθέντα τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ διὰ τῆς εὐαγγελικῆς παραδόσεως, τῷ ὲκδύντι τὴν πρώτην τῆς ἐντολῆς ζεύγλην, καί ἀποσεισαμένῳ τὸν φυλάσσοντα νόμον), περιθεῖναι δὲ αὐτῷ καὶ τὴν στολὴν, οὐκ ἀλληνζ ἀλλά τὴν πρώτην, ἧς ἐγυμνώθη διὰ τῆς παρακοῆς, ὁμοῦ τῇ γεύσει τῶν ἀπειρημένων γυμνὸν ἑαυτὸν θεασάμενος. ’Ὀ τε περ) τὴν χεῖρα δακτύλιος, διὰ τῆς ἐν τῇ σφενδόνη γλυφῆς τὴν τῆς

### English translation (Claude)

“You whose life is corrupt, do you call the Father of incorruption Father? Why do you defile the pure name with your filthy voice? Why do you lie against the word? Why do you insult the undefiled nature? If you were my child, your life too would surely be marked by my goods. I do not recognize the image of my nature in you; your features are those of the opposite. What fellowship has light with darkness? What kinship has life with death? What affinity has the pure in nature with the impure? Great is the gap between the benefactor and the greedy; the merciful and the harsh are opposites that cannot mix. Another is the father of the evils in you; for my offspring are adorned with their father’s goods: the merciful is the child of the Merciful, the pure of the Pure; corruption is foreign to the Incorruptible; in short, good comes from good and just from just. But you — I do not know where you come from.” So it is dangerous to dare this prayer and name God one’s Father before being cleansed in one’s life. But let us hear the words of the prayer again, in case some understanding of their hidden meaning may come to us through repeating them more often. “Our Father who art in heaven.” That one must make God one’s own by a life of virtue has been examined sufficiently in what has been said. But the word seems to me to hint at a deeper meaning as well. These words remind us of the fatherland from which we have fallen and of the noble birth we have lost. In the story of the young man who left his father’s hearth and deserted to the life of swine, the Word shows human misery, narrating his departure and his profligacy; and he does not bring him back to his original good fortune until he regains a sense of his present misfortune, comes to himself, and rehearses the words of repentance. These words somehow agree with the words of the prayer; for there he said, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you.” He would not have added to his confession a sin against heaven unless he had been persuaded that heaven was the fatherland he had sinned by leaving. That is why the rehearsing of such a confession makes the father easy to approach, so that he runs to him and greets his neck with a kiss — which signifies the yoke of the word laid on the human being through the mouth by the tradition of the Gospel, upon one who had stripped off the first yoke of the commandment and shaken off the law that guarded him. He puts on him the robe — not another one, but the first, of which he had been stripped through disobedience, when, as soon as he tasted what was forbidden, he saw himself naked. And the ring on his hand, by the engraving on its bezel, signifies the recovery of the

### Scripture references

- 2 Cor 6:14: quotation, high confidence
- Luke 13:25: quotation, high confidence
- Luke 15:11–24: allusion, high confidence
- Luke 15:18: quotation, high confidence
- Gen 3:7: allusion, medium confidence

### Translation notes

- “I do not know where you come from”: Luke 13:25, 27. The prodigal son: Luke 15:11–24; “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you”: Luke 15:18, 21. Nakedness after the fall: Gen 3:7.

### Citation (SBL)

Gregory of Nyssa, Or. dom. 1143 (PG 44:1144a–1144d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1139/#p-1143).

## On the Lord's Prayer 1145

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1139/#p-1145
- Source: PG 44:1145a–1145d
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-14

Summary: Calling on the Father in heaven recalls our heavenly fatherland; the road back is likeness to God, which lies within our choice, for God is not distant in place; whoever is joined to God is already in heaven, but whoever bears the marks of the evil one cannot be God’s son.

### Greek text

ι εἰκόνος ὲπανάληψιν ὑποσημαίνει. ’Δσφαλίζεται δὲ καὶ τοὺς πόδας τοῖς ὑποδήμασιν, ὡς ἂν μὴ γυμνῇ r τῇ πτέρνῃ, τῇ κεφαλῇ τοῦ ὄφεως προσεγγίζων, ἑμπίπτῃ τῷ δήγματι. ’Ὠσπερ τοίνυν ἐκεῖ τῆς παρὰ τοῦ ς πατρὸς φιλανθρωπίας αἰτία γέγονε τῷ νέῳ ἡ πρὸς τὴν πατρῴαν ἑστίαν ἐπιστροφὴ (αὕτη δέ ἐστιν ὁ οὐρανὸς εἰς ὃν πεπλημμεληκέναι τῷ πατρὶ λέγει), οὕτω καὶ ἐνταῦθα δοκεῖ μοι διδάσκων ὁ Κύριος τὸν 1 ὲν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς ἐπικαλεῖσθαι Πατέρα, μνήμην σοι ποιεῖσθαι τῆς ἀγαθῆς πατρίδος, ὡς ἂν ἐπιθυμίαν 1 σφοδροτέραν τῶν καλῶν ἐμποιήσας, ἐπιστήσειὲ σε τῇ ὁδῷ τῇ πρὸς τὴν πατρίδα πάλιν ἑπαναγούσῃ. Ὁδὸς η δὲ ἡ πρὸς τὸν οὐρανὸν τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην φύσιν ἀνάγουσα, οὐδεμίατίς ἑστιν εἰ μὴ φυγὴ καὶ ἀπό- ; στασις τῶν περιγείων κακῶν· τῆς δὲ φυγῆς τῶν κακῶν ἐπίνοια, οὐκ ἄλλη μοί τις εἶναι δοκεῖ, πλὴν ; τῆς πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν ὁμοιώσεως. Τὸ δὲ ὁμοιωθῆναι : Θεῷ, τὸ δίκαιόν τε καὶ ὅσιον καὶ ἀγαθὸν, καὶ τὰ , τοιαῦτά ἑστι γενέσθαι. Ὧν εί τις, ὡς ἔστι δυνατὸν, ι τοὺς χαρακτῆρας ἐναργῶς ἑν ἑαυτῷ τυπώσειεν, ἀμογ γητὶ κατά τὸ αὐτόματον πρὸς τὸν οὐράνιον χῶρον ἀπὸ ξ τοῦ περιγείου μεταστήσεται βίου. Οὐ γὰρ τοπικὴ η τοῦ Θείου πρὸς τὸ ἀνθρώπινόν ἑστιν ἡ διάστασις, γ ὥστε τινὸς μηχανῆς τε ἡμῖν καὶ ςὲπινοίας γενέσθαι χρείαν, τὸ βαρύ τε καὶ ἐμβριθὲς καὶ γεῶδες τοῦτο γ σαρκίον πρὸς τὴν ἀσώματόν τε καὶ νοεράν διαγωγὴν μετοικίζειν ' ἀλλὰ νοητῶς τῆς ἀρετῆς τοῦ κακοῦ κεχωρισμένης, ἑν μόνῃ τῇ προαιρέσει τοῦ ἀνθρώπου κεῖται, πρὸς ὅπερ ἂν ἑπικλιθείη τῇ ἐπιθυμίᾳ, ἐν ἐκείνῳ εἶναι. Ἐπεὶ οὖν οὐδεὶς ἕπεται πόνος ἑλέσθαι τὸ ἀγαθὸν (τῷ δὲ ἑλέσθαι καὶ τὸ τυχεῖν ἕπεται ὧν τις προείλετο), ἔξεστί σοι εὐθὺς ἑν τῷ οὐρανῷ εἶναι, τὸν Θεὸν ἑν τῇ διανοίᾳλαβόντι. Εἰ γὰρ, καθώς φησιν β Ἐκκλησιαστὴς, '0 Θεὸς ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ, σὺ δὲ τῷ η Θεῷ, κατά τὸν Προφήτην προσεκολλήθηςο ἀνάγκη πᾶσα τὸν τῷ Θεῷ συνημμένον ἐκεῖ εἶναι ὅπου ἐστὶν ὁ Θεός. Προστάξας τοίνυν ἐν τῇ προσευχῇ λέγειν πρὸς ἑαυτοῦ τὸν Θεὸν, οὐδὲν ἕτερον, ἢ ὁμοιοῦσθαί σε τῇ θεοπρεπεί πολιτείᾳ τῷ οὐρανίῳ κελεύει Πατρὶ, καθάπερ καὶ φανερώτερον ἑτέρωθι τὸ τοιοῦτον παρεγγυᾷ, λέγων· Γίνεσθε τέλειοι, ὡς καὶ ὀ Πατὴρ ὑμῶν ό οὐράνιος τέλειός ἐστιν. “ Εἰ οὖν νενοήκαμεν τῆς τοιαύτης προσευχῆς τὴν διάνοιαν, καιρὸς ἂν εἴη παρασκευάζειν ἑαυτῶν τάς Ψυχὰς, ὥστε ποτὲ θαρσῆσαι τὰς φωνὰς ταύτας ἀναλαβεῖν διὰ στόματος, καὶ εἰπεῖν ὲν παρρησίᾳ Πάτερ ἡμῶν, ὁ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς. ’Ὠσπερ γὰρ φανερὰ τῆς πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν ὁμοιότητός ἐστιτὰ γνωρίσματα, διʼ ὧν ἔστι τέκνον Θεοῦ γενέσθαι τινὰ (Ὅσοι γὰρ ἔλαβον αὑτὸν, φησὶν, ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς ἐξουσίαν τέκνα Θεοῦ γενέσθαιο λαμβάνει δέ τις ἑν ἑαυτῷ τὸν Θεὸν, ὁ τὴν κατά τὸ ἀγαθὸν ἀναλαβὼν τελειότητα) ο οὕτως ἔστι τινὰ καὶ τοῦ πονηροῦ χαρακτῆρος ἴδια σημεῖα, ἑν οἷς ὁ γενόμενος, υἱὸς Θεοῦ εἶναι οὺ δύναται, τῆς ἐναντίας φύσεως τὴν είκόνα φέρων. Βούλει γνῶναι τοῦ πονηροῦ χαρακτῆρος τὰ ἰδιώματας Ὀ φθόνος, τὸ μῖσος, ἠδιαβολὴ, ὀ τῦφος, ἡ πλεονεξία, ἡ ἐμπαθὴς

### English translation (Claude)

image. He secures his feet with sandals, so that, coming near the serpent’s head with his heel bare, he may not fall to its bite. There, the cause of the father’s kindness to the young man was his return to his father’s hearth — which is heaven, against which he tells his father he has sinned. So here too, it seems to me, the Lord, by teaching us to call upon the Father in heaven, makes you remember the good fatherland, so that, by producing in you a stronger desire for good things, he may set you on the road that leads back to the fatherland. The road that leads human nature up to heaven is nothing other than flight and departure from earthly evils; and the means of fleeing evils seems to me nothing other than likeness to God. To be made like God is to become just and holy and good, and the like. If anyone imprints clearly in himself, as far as he can, their features, he will pass without toil, of his own accord, from earthly life to the heavenly region. For the distance between the Divine and the human is not a matter of place, as though we needed some machine or contrivance to move this heavy, weighty, earthy flesh to a bodiless and intellectual way of life. Since virtue is separated from evil in the order of thought, it lies in human choice alone to be in whichever one inclines toward by desire. Since, then, no toil follows on choosing the good — and obtaining what one has chosen follows on choosing it — you can be in heaven at once, once you have taken God into your mind. For if, as the Preacher says, “God is in heaven,” and you, as the Prophet says, have clung to God, then of necessity whoever is joined to God is where God is. So in commanding us in prayer to call God our own Father, he commands nothing other than that you be made like the heavenly Father by a way of life befitting God, as he enjoins more plainly elsewhere when he says, “Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” If, then, we have understood the meaning of this prayer, it may be time to prepare our souls, so that at some time we may dare to take these words on our lips and say with boldness, “Our Father who art in heaven.” For as the marks of likeness to God are plain, by which a person can become a child of God (“to all who received him,” it says, “he gave power to become children of God”; and one receives God into himself who has taken up the perfection of the good), so there are certain proper signs of the evil character, and whoever is in them cannot be a son of God, since he bears the image of the opposite nature. Do you want to know the properties of the evil character? Envy, hatred, slander, conceit, greed, passionate

### Scripture references

- Gen 3:15: allusion, high confidence
- Luke 15:21–22: allusion, high confidence
- Eccl 5:2: quotation, high confidence
- Ps 73:28 (72:28 LXX): allusion, medium confidence
- Matt 5:48: quotation, high confidence
- John 1:12: quotation, high confidence

### Extrabiblical texts

- Plato, Theaet. 176b (Plato (works)): echo, medium confidence

### Translation notes

- The serpent and the heel: Gen 3:15. “God is in heaven”: Eccl 5:2 (LXX 5:1). Clinging to God: Ps 73:28 (LXX 72:28). “Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect”: Matt 5:48. “To all who received him …”: John 1:12.
- Flight from evils by likeness to God echoes Plato, Theaetetus 176a–b.

### Citation (SBL)

Gregory of Nyssa, Or. dom. 1145 (PG 44:1145a–1145d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1139/#p-1145).

## On the Lord's Prayer 1147

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1139/#p-1147
- Source: PG 44:1148a–1148d
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-14

Summary: Homily 2 ends: the sinner’s prayer calls on the devil, so we must examine our lives before saying “Father,” setting our hearts on heaven, and then God will receive us like the prodigal son. Homily 3 opens with the priest’s preparation for entering the sanctuary.

### Greek text

ὶπιθυμία, τὸ κατὰ τὴν δοξομανίαν ἀρῤὡσιημα· ταῦτά ἐστι καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα,οίς ή μορφὴ τοῦ ἐναντίω χαρακτηρίζεται. '0 τοίνυν ταῖς τοιαύταις κηλίσιτὴιι ψυχὴν ὲγκεκαυμένος, ἐὰν πατέρα καλέσῃ, ποῖος αὖ. τὸν πατὴρ ὲπακούσεταις Δηλαδή 6 συγγενῶς πρὸς τὸν κεκληκότα έχων · οὗτος δέ ἐστιν οὐχ 6 οὐράνιος, ἀλλʼ 6 καταχθόνιος. Οὗ γὰρ τὰ σημεῖα φέρει τῆς ἀγχιστείας, έκεῖνος πάντως τὴν ἰδίαν συγγένειαν ἑτι· γνώσεται. Οὐκοῦν ή τοῦ πονηροῦ ἀνδρὸς προσευχὴ. ἕως ἂν ὲν τῇ πονηρίᾳ ᾗ, τοῦ διασόλου ἐπίκλησις γίνεο ται ο τοῦ δὲ ἀφεστῶτος τῆς πονηρίας, καὶ ὲν quem: ζῶντος, τὸν ἀγαθὸν Πατέρα ή φωνὴ προσκαλέσεται. Ὅταν τοίνυν προσίωμεν τῷ Θεῷ, πρότεροντδν βίον ἐπισκοπήσωμεν, εἰ τι τῆς Θείας συγγενείας ἄξιον ἐν ἑαυτοῖς φέρομεν εἷθʼ οὕτω τὸν τοιοῦτον λόγον θαρσήσωμεν. Ὀ γὰρ λέγειν Πατέρα προστάξας, τὸ ψεῦο δος λέγειν οὐ συνεχώρησεν. Οὔκοΰν ὁ τῆς θείας εὐγενείας ἀξίως πολιτευσάμενος, οὗτος καλῶς πρὸς τὴν οὐράνιον πόλιν ὁρᾷ, Πατέρα τε τὸν τῶν οὐρανῶν βασιλέα, καὶ πατρίδα ἑαυτοῦ τὴν οὐράνιον ὀνομάζων μακαριότητα.Είς τί φέρει τῆς συμβουλῆς 6 σκοπόςς τὰ ἄνω φρονεῖν.- οὗ 6 Θεός · ἐκεῖ θεμελίους τῆς οἰκήσεως ἑαυτοῦ καταβάλλεσθαιο ἐκεῖ τοὺς θηωυροὺςῌὰποτίθεσθαι ο ἐκεῖ μετοικίζειν ἑαυτοῦ τὴν καρδίωζύπυ γάρ ἐστιν 6 θησαυρὸς, ἐκεῖ ὲστι καὶ ή καρδίτ πρὸς τὸ πατρικὸν κάλλος διαπαντὸς βλέπειν, καὶ κατʼ έκεῖνο τὴν ίδίαν καλλωπίζειν ψυχήν. Οὐκ προσωποληψία παρὰ Θεῷ, φησὶν ή Γραφή. ’Δπέστω καὶ τῆς σῆς μορφῆς ὁ τοιοῦτος ῥύπος. Φθόνου καθαρὸν τὸ Θεῖον, καὶ πάσης ὲμπαθοῦς κηλίδος. Μηδὲ σε καταστιζέτω τὰ τοιαύτα πάθη, μὴ φθόνος, μὴ μῖσος, μὴ ἄλλο τι τῶν μολυνόντων τὸ θεοειδὲς κάλλος. ’δὲʼ τοιοῦτος ᾖς, θάρσησον τῇ οἰκείᾳ φωνῇ τὸν Θεὸν προσκαλέσασθαι, καὶ Πατέρα ἑαυτοῦ τὸν τοῦ παντδςΔεσπάτην ὀνομάσαι. Ὀψεταί σε πατρικοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς. 7'5?" στελεί σε τῇ θείᾳ στολῇ, καὶ κατακοσμήσει τῷ δακτυλίῳ, καταρτίσει τοὺς πόδας πρὸς τὴν ἄνω πορείαν τοῖς εὐαγγὰικοῖς ὑποδήμασιν, ἀποκαταστήσει σε τῇ οὗ· ρανίῳ πατρίδι έν Χριστῷ ςιησού τῷ Κυρίῳ ἡμῶν. ᾧ πρέπει ή δόξα καὶ τὸ κράτος εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν. 1) ΛΟΓΟΣ 1". Ἁγιασθήτω τὸ ὄνομά οσον ’ ἐλθέτω ἡ βασιλεία σου. '0 τὴν σκιὰν τῶν μελλόντων ἀγαθῶν περιέχων νόμος, καί τισιν αἰνίγμασι τυπικοίς προαναφωνῶν τὴν ἀλήθειαν, ἐπειδὰν εἰς τὸ ἄδυτον εἰσάγει προσευξάμενον τῷ Θεῷ τὸν ἱερέα, πρῶτον μὲν καθαρσίοις τισὶ, καὶ περιρραντισμοῑς ἀφαγνίζει τὸν sict-6%? Εἶτα τῇ ἱερατικῇ στολῇ χρυσῷ καὶ πορφύρᾳ καὶ τοῖς λοιποῖς ἄνθεσι τῆς βαφῆς ἐκπρεπῶς tgna“ng τακοσμήσας. τήν τε περιστήθιον ὲπιόαλὼλςλαῠξξ) μίτραν, καὶ τοὺς κώδωνας τῶν κρασπέδων pata ίδοῖεζτκων ἐξάψας, ἄνωθεν δὲ ταῖς ’ἐπωμίσι διασφίγξαξ τὸν ἐπενδύτην, καὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν καλλωπίσας τῳ

### English translation (Claude)

desire, the sickness of mania for glory: these and the like are the features by which the form of the opposite is marked. So if one whose soul is branded with such stains calls on a father, what father will hear him? Plainly the one who is akin to him who calls; and he is not the heavenly one but the one beneath the earth. For he whose marks of kinship a person bears will surely recognize his own kin. So the prayer of a wicked man, as long as he remains in wickedness, becomes an invocation of the devil; but the voice of one who has departed from wickedness and lives in … will call upon the good Father. When, then, we approach God, let us first examine our life, whether we carry in ourselves anything worthy of divine kinship, and only then dare to speak such a word. For the one who commanded us to say “Father” did not permit us to tell a lie. So whoever has lived in a way worthy of his divine nobility rightly looks to the heavenly city, naming the King of heaven his Father and heavenly blessedness his fatherland. What is the aim of this counsel? To set our minds on things above, where God is; to lay the foundations of our dwelling there; to store our treasures there; to move our heart there — “for where the treasure is, there is the heart also”; to look always to the Father’s beauty and to adorn our own soul after it. “There is no partiality with God,” says Scripture. Let such filth be absent from your form too. The Divine is pure of envy and of every passionate stain. Let no such passions mark you — not envy, not hatred, nor anything else that defiles the godlike beauty. If you are such, take courage and call upon God with the voice of one who belongs to him, and name the Master of all your Father. He will look on you with a father’s eyes; he will clothe you with the divine robe, adorn you with the ring, fit your feet for the upward journey with the sandals of the Gospel, and restore you to the heavenly fatherland, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom belong glory and power for ever and ever. Amen. Homily 3. “Hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come.” The law, which holds the shadow of the good things to come and foretells the truth in certain riddles and types, when it brings the priest into the sanctuary to pray to God, first purifies him with certain cleansings and sprinklings; then it adorns him splendidly with the priestly robe of gold and purple and the other bright colours of dye, puts on him the breast-piece and the mitre, attaches the bells to the hems, binds the over-robe above with the shoulder-pieces, and adorns his head with the

### Scripture references

- Col 3:1–2: allusion, high confidence
- Matt 6:21: quotation, high confidence
- Rom 2:11: quotation, high confidence
- Luke 15:22: allusion, high confidence
- Eph 6:15: allusion, medium confidence
- Matt 6:9–10: quotation, high confidence
- Heb 10:1: allusion, high confidence
- Exod 28:1–43: allusion, medium confidence

### Translation notes

- Set your minds on things above: Col 3:1–2. “Where the treasure is …”: Matt 6:21. “No partiality with God”: Rom 2:11. The robe, ring, and sandals: Luke 15:22. The gospel sandals: Eph 6:15.
- Homily 3 on the Lord’s Prayer begins here: Matt 6:9–10. The law as shadow: Heb 10:1. The priestly vestments: Exod 28.
- One word after “lives in” is unreadable in the scan (OCR debris).

### Citation (SBL)

Gregory of Nyssa, Or. dom. 1147 (PG 44:1148a–1148d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1139/#p-1147).

## On the Lord's Prayer 1149

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1139/#p-1149
- Source: PG 44:1149a–1149b
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-14

Summary: As the high priest was purified and vested before entering the sanctuary, so Christ makes all believers priests, clothing them with virtues and bringing them into the sanctuary of the heart to offer themselves as a living sacrifice.

### Greek text

διαδήματι, δαψιλῶς τε τῆς κόμης καταχέας τοῦ μύρου ο οὕτως αὑτὸν παράγει ἐπὶ τὸ ἄδυτον, τὰς ἁπορσ ρήτους ἱερουργίας ἐπιτελέσοντα· ὁ δὲ πνευματικὸς νομοθέτης ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς ἀπογυμνῶν τῶν σωματικῶν προκαλυμμάτων τὸν νόμον, καὶ εἰς τὸ ἐμφανὲς άγων τὰ τῷν τύπων αἰνίγματα, πρῶτον μὲν οὐχ ἕνα τοῦ παντὸς ἀποκρίνας μόνον είς ὁμιλίαν ἀγει Θεῷ, ἀλλὰ παντὶ κατά τὸ ίσον τὴν ἀξίαν ταύτην χαρίζεται, κοινὴν προθεὶς τοῖς βουλομένοις τῆς ἱερωσύνης τὴν χάριν ἔπειτα δὲ οὐκ ἀλλοτρίῳ κόσμῳ τῷ ἐκ βαφῆς τινος καὶ ὑφαντικῆς περιεργασίας ἐξευρημένῳ, τὸ κάλλος τοῦ ίερέως σοφίζεται, ἀλλʼ οἰκεῖον αὐτῷ καὶ συμφυῆ περιβάλλει τὸν κόσμον, ἀντὶ τῆς ποικίλης ἁλουργίδος ταῖς τῶν ἀρετῶν χάρισι περιανθίζων ο κοσμεῖ δέ καὶ τὸ στῆθος, οὐ χρυσῷ, ἀλλʼ ἐν ἀκηράτῳ καὶ καθαρᾷ-συνζ ειδήσει τὸ τῆς καρδίας ὼραῖζων κάλλος. Ἐναρμόζει δὲ τῇ μίτρα καὶ πολυτελῶν λίθων αὐγάς · αὗται δέ εἰσιν αἱ τῶν ἁγίων ἐντολῶν λαμπηδόνες, ὡς τῷ ’Δποστόλῳ δοκεῖ. ’Δλλὰ καὶ τῇ περισκελίδι τὸ μέρος ἐκεῖνο, ᾧ κόσμος ἐστὶ τὸ τοιοῦτον τοῦ ἐνδύματος κατασφαλίζεται. Πάντως δὲ οὐκ ἀγνοεῖς ’δτι τὸ τῆς σωφροσύνης περιβόλαιον, κόσμος τοῦ τοιούτου μέ·ρους ἐστίν · ἀπαρτήσας δὲ τῶν κρασπέδων τοῦ βίου τοὺς νοητοὺς ρόῑσκους τε καὶ τοὺς κώδωνας· ταῦτα δὲ εἰκότως ἄν τις τά προφανῆ τῆς κατʼ ἀρετὴν πολιτείας νοήσειεν, ὡς ἀν ἐπίσημοςή κατὰ τὴν ζωὴν ταύτην πορεία γένοιτο. Τούτων οὖν τῶν κρασπέδων ἐξάψας ἀντὶ μὲν τοῦ κώδωνος, τὸν εὔηχον λόγον τῆς πίστεως· ἀντὶ δὲ τοῦ ροἲσκου, τὴν κεκρυμμένην τῆς μελλούσης ἐλπίδος ἐτοιμασίαν, τὴν τῷ στιφροτέρῳ βίῳ κεκαλυμμένην, οὕτω παράγει ἐπὶ τὸ ἄδυτον τοῦ ἱεροῦ καὶ ἐνδότατον. Tb δὲ ἄδυτον τοῦτο οὐκ ἄψυχόν ἐστιν, οὔτε χειρόδμητον ἀλλὰ τὸ κρυπτὸν τῆς καρδίας ἡμῶν ταμεῖον, ἐὰν άληθῶς ἄδυτον τῇ κακία, καὶ τοῖς πονηροῖς λογισμοῖς ἀνεπίβατον. Κοσμεῖ δὲ τὴν κεφαλὴν τῷ οὐρανίῳ φρονήματι, ού γραμμάτων τύπον ἐνσημηνάμενος πετάλῳ χρυσῷ, ἀλλʼ αὐτὸν τὸν θεὸν ὲντυπὼσις ἐν τῷ ἡγεμονικῷ λογισμῷ. Μύρονδὲ κατασκεδάζει τῆς κόμης, τὸ παρʼ αὐτῆς ἐνδοθεν τῆς ψυχῆς διὰ τῶν ἀρετῶν μυρεψόμενον. Θῦμα δέ καὶ ἱερεῖον προσάγειν αὐτὸν τῷ Θεῷ παρασκειυά ζει, διὰ τῆς μυστικῆς ἱερουργίας, οὐκ ἄλλο τι ἢ ἐαυτὸν. '0 γάρ οὕτως παρὰ τοῦ Κυρίου πρὸς τὴν ἱερωσύνην ταύτην ἀγόμενος, τὸ φρόνημα τῆς σαρκὸς νεκρὼσας ἐν τῇ μαχαίρᾳ τοῦ πνεύματος, ὃ ἐστι ῥῆμα Θεοῦ, οὕτως ῐλεσῦται τὸν Θεὸν ἐν τοῖς ἀδύτοις γενόμενος, ἐαυτὸν διά τῆς τοιαύτης θυσίας ἱερουργήσας, καὶ παραστήσας τὸ ἐαυτοῦ σῶμα, θυσίαν ζῶσαν ἁγίαν εὐάρεστον τῷ Θεῷ. Ἀλλʼ ἐρεῖ τις ἴσως, μὴ ταῦτα κατὰ τὸ πρόχειρον ἔχειν τὴν τῆς προσευχῆς διάνοιαν τῆς προκειμένης ἡμῖν εἰς ἐξήγησιν· περινοεῖν δὲ ἡμᾶς τοὺς τοιούτους λόγους, οὐκ ἐκ τῶν οἰκείων τοῖς ὑποκειμένοις ἁρμόζοντας. Οὐκοῦν πάλιν ὐπομνησθήτω τῶν πρώτων τῆς προσευχῆς διδαγμάτων. '0 γὰρ οὕτως ἐαυτὸν παρασκευάσας, ὥστε ἐν παρρησίᾳ τολμῆσαι Πατέρα ἐαυτοῦ τὸν θεὸν ὀνοι

### English translation (Claude)

diadem, and pouring ointment abundantly on his hair, it brings him into the sanctuary to perform the secret rites. But the spiritual lawgiver, our Lord Jesus Christ, stripping the law of its bodily veils and bringing the riddles of the types into the open, first does not set apart one man alone from all and bring him into converse with God; he grants this dignity equally to all, setting the grace of the priesthood before all who wish for it in common. Then he does not contrive the priest’s beauty with a borrowed adornment devised by dyeing and the elaborate work of weavers, but clothes him in an adornment that is his own and natural to him, decking him with the graces of the virtues instead of the many-coloured purple. He adorns the breast too, not with gold, but by beautifying the heart with an undefiled and pure conscience. He fits to the mitre the gleam of precious stones — these are the brightness of the holy commandments, as the Apostle holds. With the leg-coverings that part of the body is secured for which such a garment is an adornment; and surely you know that the covering of self-control is the adornment of that part. He hangs from the hems of life the intelligible pomegranates and bells — which one might reasonably understand as the visible features of the virtuous way of life, so that the journey through this life may be conspicuous. To these hems he attaches, instead of the bell, the resonant word of faith; instead of the pomegranate, the hidden preparation of the hope to come, covered by the more austere life. So he brings him into the sanctuary, the innermost part of the temple. This sanctuary is not lifeless, nor built by hands; it is the hidden chamber of our heart, if it is truly closed to vice and not trodden by evil thoughts. He adorns his head with a heavenly mind, not stamping the form of letters on a gold plate, but imprinting God himself on the ruling reason. He pours ointment on his hair — the fragrance that is made within the soul itself through the virtues. And he prepares him to offer to God, through the mystical rite, as offering and victim, nothing other than himself. For whoever is thus led by the Lord into this priesthood, having put to death the mind of the flesh with the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, propitiates God when he enters the sanctuary, having offered himself in such a sacrifice and presented his own body as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. But perhaps someone will say that the meaning of the prayer set before us for exposition does not obviously contain these things, and that we are devising such words by ourselves, without their fitting the subject. Let him, then, remember again the first teachings of the prayer. For whoever has so prepared himself as to dare with boldness to name God his own Father

### Scripture references

- Exod 28:1–43: allusion, high confidence
- Eph 6:17: quotation, high confidence
- Rom 12:1: quotation, high confidence
- Rom 8:6: allusion, medium confidence
- 1 Pet 2:5: allusion, low confidence

### Translation notes

- The high priest’s vestments and anointing: Exod 28–29; Lev 8. The sword of the Spirit: Eph 6:17. A living sacrifice: Rom 12:1. The priesthood of all believers: compare 1 Pet 2:5, 9; Rev 1:6.
- “As the Apostle holds”: the identification of the stones with the commandments is not found in Paul’s letters; the reference is uncertain.

### Citation (SBL)

Gregory of Nyssa, Or. dom. 1149 (PG 44:1149a–1149b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1139/#p-1149).

## On the Lord's Prayer 1151

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1139/#p-1151
- Source: PG 44:1152a–1152d
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-14

Summary: Whoever can rightly call God Father wears the spiritual priestly robe of virtues and enters the heavenly sanctuary; Gregory now turns to the petitions themselves.

### Greek text

ia: Α μάσαι, οὗτος ἀκριβῶς περίκειται τὴν στολὴν ἐκείνην, - ἢν 6 λόγος ὑπέγραψεν, καὶ ἠχεῖ τοῖς κώδωσιν, £1: ἐξανθεῖ τοῖς ῥοΐσκοις· καὶ λάμπει περὶ τὸ στῆθος ταῖς τῶν ἐντολῶν αὐγαῖς, καὶ φέρει τοῖς ὤμοις τοὺς πατριάρχας καὶ προφήτας, ἀντὶ τῶν ὀνομάτων, ο ἀρετὰς ἐκείνων εἰς τὸν ῐδιον κόσμον μετακοσμήσεις καὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν κοσμεῖτῷ τῆς δικαιοσύνη-ς στεφάνῳ, ι...ὶ -1 ν ν ‘ ’ “ καὶ τὴν κόμην ἔχει τῷ οὐρανίῳ μύρῳ , - - 1 ι ι Ι Λή““ ἐντός τε γίνεται τῶν ὐπερουρανίων ἀδύτων ἅπερ παντὶ λογισμῷ βεβήλῳ ἄδυτα ὡς ἀληθῶς ἐστι ἀνεπίβατα. Ἀλλʼ ὅπως προσήκει παρεσκευάσθαι τὸν ἱερωμένον, μετρίως ἐν τοῖς ἐξητασμένοις ὁ λόγῳ ὑπέδειξεν· λοιπὸν δʼ ἂν εἴη σκοπεῖν αὐτὴν τὴν αἴτηο σιν, ἢν προσάγειν ἐκέλευσε τῷ Θεῷ, τὸν ἐντὸς τῶι ἀδύτων γενόμενον. Οὐ γάρ μοι δοκεῖ κατὰ τὸ 3:96χειρον, εὔληπτον παρέχειν ἡμῖν τὴν διάνοιαν, ψιλῶς τῆς προσευχῆς ἐκτεθέντα τὰ ῥήματα.

### English translation (Claude)

is exactly clothed in the robe the Word described: he rings with the bells and blossoms with the pomegranates; he shines on his breast with the gleams of the commandments; he bears on his shoulders the patriarchs and prophets — not their names, but their virtues transferred to his own adornment; he adorns his head with the crown of righteousness, has his hair anointed with the heavenly ointment, and enters within the sanctuary above the heavens, which is truly closed and untrodden to every profane thought. How the one who is consecrated must be prepared, the discourse has sufficiently shown in what we have examined. It remains to consider the request itself, which he commanded the one who has entered the sanctuary to bring to God. For it seems to me that the words of the prayer, set out bare, do not give a meaning that is easy to grasp at first sight.

### Scripture references

- 2 Tim 4:8: allusion, medium confidence
- Matt 6:9: allusion, high confidence

### Translation notes

- The crown of righteousness: 2 Tim 4:8. Only part of this page survives in the scan; its last lines and the start of the next page are lost (the exposition of “Hallowed be thy name” begins in the gap).

### Citation (SBL)

Gregory of Nyssa, Or. dom. 1151 (PG 44:1152a–1152d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1139/#p-1151).

## On the Lord's Prayer 1153

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1139/#p-1153
- Source: PG 44:1153a–1153d
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-14

Summary: “Hallowed be thy name” asks that God’s name be glorified in our lives rather than blasphemed by the bad conduct of Christians; a pure and virtuous life makes even outsiders glorify God.

### Greek text

γένοιτο τῶν σπουδαζομένων ἡμῖν, μὴ τῆς θείας συμ- 1 μαχίας τὸ ἀγαθὸν ὲν ἡμῖν κατορθούσης; ἀγαθῶν δὲ I πάντων ἐστὶ τὸ κεφάλαιον, τὸ τῷ ἐμῷ βίῳ τὸ ὄνομα έτοῦ Θεοῦ ὲνδοξάζεσθαι. Γένοιτο δʼ ἂν ἡμῖν ὲκ τοῦ 1 ἐναντίου προτιμοτέρα ἡ ἔννοια. τ Ἤκουσα που τῆς ἁγίας Γραφῆς κατακρινούσης -. ἐκείνους, οἳ τῆς κατὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ βλασφημίας αἴτιοι 1 γίνονται. Οὐαί γὰρ, φησὶ, διʼ οὓς τὸ ὄνομά μου ,βλασφημεῖται ἐν τοῖς,ἔθνεσιί Τοῦτο δὲ τοιοῦτόν 1 ἐστιν· Οἱ μήπω πεπιστευκότεςτῷ λόγῳ τῆς ἀληθείας, πρὸς τὸν βίον τῶν παραδεδεγμένων τήν τοῦ τ μυστηρίου πίστιν ἀποσκοποῦσιν. Ὅταν τοίνυν τὸ μὲν 1 ὄνομα τῆς πίστεως ἐν τισιν ᾖ, ὁ δὲ βίος ἀντιφθέγ- : γηται τῷ ὀνόματι, ἢ διὰ πλεονεξίας είδωλολατρῶν, ς ἢ ὲν μέθαις καὶ κώμοις ἀσχημονῶν, κα1 τῷ βορβόρῳ τῆς ἀσωτίας ὑὸς δίκην ὲγκαλινδούμενος· πρόχειρος ί εὐθὺς παρὰ τῶν ἀπίστων ὁ λόγος, οὐκ είς τὴν προαίρεσιν τῶν κακῶς τῷ βίῳ κεχρημένων τὴν κατηγο- , ρίαν τρέπων, ἀλλʼ ὼς τοιαῦτα πράττειν τοῦ μυστη- I ρίου διδάσκοντος μὴ γὰρ ἂν γενέσθαι τὸν δεῖνα τὸν γ τὰ θεῖα μεμυημένον μυστήρια, ῆλοίδορον, ἢ πλεονι έκτην, ἢ ἅρπαγα, ἢ ἄλλο τι τοιοῦτον κακὸν, εί μὴ L ἔννομον αὐτοῖς τὸ ἁμαρτάνειν ἦν, διά τοῦτο χαλεπὴν , τοῖς τοιούτοις ἀπειλὴν ὁ Λόγος ἐπανατείνεται λέγων ὲ ἐκείνοις εἶναι τὸ,οὺα1 διʼ οὒς τὸ ὄνομά μου , βλασφημεῖται ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν. Et δὴ τοῦτο νενὸηο ξ ται, καιρὸς ἂν είη, τὸ ἐκ τοῦ ἐναντίου λεγόμενον ι κατανοῆσαι. Εῦχεσθαι γὰρ πρό γε πάντων οἶμαι γ χρῆναι, καὶ τοῦτο ποιεῖσθαι τῆς προσευχῆς τὸ κε·γ φάλαιον, τὺ μὴ βλασφημεῖσθαι ἐν τῷ ὲμῷ βίῳ τῷ ζ ὀνόματι τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἀλλά δοξάζεσθαι καὶ ἁγιάζεσθαι. ξ Ἐν ἐμοὶ οῦν, φησὶν, ἁγιασθήτω τὸ ἐπικληθὲν ’μοι ὄνομα τῆς σῆς δεσποτείας, Ὅπως ιδωσιν οὶ ἅνθρωποι “ τὰ καλὰ ἔργα, καὶ δοξάσωσι τὸν Πατέρα τὸν ἐν “ τοῖς οὐρανοῖς. Τίς δὲ οὓτω θηριώδης κα) ἄλογος, ὥστε ὁρῶν ὲν τοῖς πεπιστευκόσι Θεῷ βίον καθαρὸν διʼ ἀρετῆς κατωρθωμένον, πάντων τῶν ἐξ ἁμαρτίας μολυσμάτων καθαρεύοντα, πάσης τῆς πρὸς τὸ χεῖρον ὑπονοίας ἀλλοτριούμενον, λαμπρὸν τῇ σωφροσύνῃ, ‹ σεμνὸν τῇ φρονήσει, ἀνδρείας ἔχοντα πρὸς τὰς τῶν παθῶν προσβολὰς, μηδαμοῦ ταῖς σωματικαῖς ἡδυπαθείαις μαλακιζόμενον, τρυφῆς καὶ βλακείας καὶ τῆς κατά τὸν τῦφον χαυνότητος ὡς ὅτι μάλιστα κεχωξ ρισμένον, τοσοῦτον μετέχοντα τοῦ βίου, ὅσον ὲπάναο λ γκες, ἄκρῳ τῷ ποδὶ τῆς γῆς ὲπιψαύοντα, οὐ ταῖς καθʼ ἡδονὴν ἀπολαύσεσι τῷ γηΐνῳ τούτῳ βίῳ καταχωννύμενον, ἀλλʼ ύπερανεστῶτα πάσης τῆς κατʼ αἴσθησιν γενομένης ἀπάτης, καὶπρὸς τὴν ἀσώματον ζωὴν διὰ σαρκὸς ἁμιλλώμενον, ἕνα πλοῦτον νομίζοντα τὴν τῆς ἀρετῆς κτῆσιν, μίαν εὐγένειαν τὴν πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν οἰκειότητα, μίαν ἀξίαν καὶ δυναστείαν μίαν, τὸ κρατεῖν ἑαυτοῦ, καὶ ἀδούλωτον εἶναιτοῖς ἀνθρωπίνοις παθήμασιν, ἀχθόμενον τῇ παρατάσει τῆς τοῦ ύλικοῦ βίου ζωῆς· σπεύδοντα δὲ καθάπερ οίη διὰ πελάγους κακοπαθοῦντες πρὸς τὸν λιμένα καταντῆσαι

### English translation (Claude)

… would any of our undertakings succeed, unless the divine help accomplishes the good in us? And the chief of all goods is that the name of God be glorified in my life. The thought may become more valued if we look at its opposite. I have heard holy Scripture somewhere condemning those who become the cause of blasphemy against God: “Woe,” it says, “to those through whom my name is blasphemed among the gentiles.” This means: those who have not yet believed the word of truth look at the life of those who have received the faith of the mystery. When some bear the name of the faith but their life contradicts the name — committing idolatry through greed, or disgracing themselves in drunkenness and revels, wallowing like a pig in the mire of profligacy — the unbelievers at once have their saying ready. They turn the accusation not against the choice of those who use their life badly, but against the mystery, as if it taught them to do such things: “So-and-so, who has been initiated into the divine mysteries, would not have become a slanderer, or greedy, or a robber, or anything else of the kind, unless sinning were lawful for them.” That is why the Word holds out a severe threat against such people, saying, “Woe” to those “through whom my name is blasphemed among the gentiles.” If this has been understood, it is time to consider what is said in the opposite sense. For I think we must pray before all else, and make this the chief point of our prayer, that the name of God may not be blasphemed through my life but may be glorified and hallowed. “In me, then,” he says, “let the name of your lordship that has been invoked upon me be hallowed, so that people may see the good works and glorify the Father who is in heaven.” Who is so beastlike and irrational as not to do so, when he sees among those who believe in God a pure life achieved through virtue, clean of every defilement of sin, far from every suspicion of evil, bright with self-control, dignified with prudence, courageous against the assaults of the passions, never growing soft in bodily pleasures, as far removed as possible from luxury, softness, and the emptiness of conceit; sharing in this life only as much as is necessary, touching the earth with the tip of the foot; not buried in this earthly life by the enjoyment of pleasures, but rising above all the deception that comes through the senses, and striving through the flesh to rival the bodiless life; counting the possession of virtue the only wealth, kinship with God the only nobility, self-mastery and freedom from slavery to human passions the only dignity and the only power; weighed down by the prolonging of material life, and hastening, like those who suffer at sea, to reach the harbour

### Scripture references

- Isa 52:5: quotation, high confidence
- Rom 2:24: quotation, high confidence
- Col 3:5: allusion, medium confidence
- Matt 5:16: quotation, high confidence
- Matt 6:9: allusion, high confidence

### Translation notes

- The opening continues after a gap in the scan (marked …). “My name is blasphemed among the gentiles”: Isa 52:5 (LXX), as cited in Rom 2:24. Greed as idolatry: Col 3:5. “So that people may see your good works …”: Matt 5:16.

### Citation (SBL)

Gregory of Nyssa, Or. dom. 1153 (PG 44:1153a–1153d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1139/#p-1153).

## On the Lord's Prayer 1155

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1139/#p-1155
- Source: PG 44:1156a–1156d
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-14

Summary: To pray “Hallowed be thy name” is to ask to become virtuous so that God is glorified in us; “Thy kingdom come” cannot ask God to become king, but asks that his free and life-giving rule replace the tyranny of sin, passion, and death in us.

### Greek text

τῆς ἀναπαύσεως. Τίς τοίνυν τὸν τοιοῦτον ὁρᾶπ, οὐ δοξάζῃ τὸ βνομα τὸ ἐπικεκλημένον τῷ* τοιούτω βίῳ; Οὐκοῦν ἐν τῇ προσευχῇ λέγων, Ἀτιασνθήτε τὸ ὄνομὰ σου, ἐν ἐμοὶ ταῦτα τῇ δυνάμει τῶν λεττμένων προσεύχεταιο Γενοίμην τῇ συνεργίᾳ τῆς σῆς βοηθείας, ἄμεμπτος, δίκαιος, θεοσεβὴς, ἀπεχόμενος ἀπὸ παντὸς πονηροῦ πράγματος, λαλῶν ἀλήθειαν. ἐργαζόμενος δικαιοσύνηνʼ ἐν εὐθύτητι πορευόμενος, τῇ σωφροσύνῃ λάμπων, τῇ ἀφθαρσίᾳ κοσμούμενος, τῇ σοφίᾳ καὶ τῇ φρονήσει καλλωπιζόμενος, τὰ ἄεξε φρονῶν, τῶν γηΐνων ὑπερορῶν, ταῖς ἀγγελικαῖς πε)λιτείαις ἐλλαμπρυνόμενος. Ταῦτα καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα περιέχει η βραχεῖα αἴτησις αὓτη, ή λέγουσα au προσευχῆς τῷ Θεῷ, ὅτι Ἀμασθήτω τό ὄνομὰ σου. Οὐ γάρ ἐστιν ἄλλως δυνατὸν ἐν ἀνθρώπῳ ὼξασθῆνει Θεὸν, μὴ τῆς κατʼ αὑτὸν ἀρετῆς τῇ θείᾳ δυνάμει τῇ αἰτίαν τῶν ἀγαθῶν μαρτυρούσης. '0 δὲ ἐφεξῆς λόγος τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ Θεοῦ εὔχεται ἐλθεῖν. τΔροι νῦν ἀξιοῖ γενέσθαι βασιλέα τὸν τοῦ ’.ταντὺς βασιλέα, τὸν ἀεὶ ὂντα ὅπερ ἐστὶν, τὸν πρὸς =5σαν μεταβολὴν ἀμετάθετον, τὸν οῦκ ἔχοντα εὑρεῖν κρεῖττον είς ὃ μεταβήσεται; Τί οὗν βούλεται ἠ εὐχὴ τοῦ Θεοῦ βασιλείαν ἐκκαλουμένη; Ἀλλὰ τὸν μὲν ἁληθῆ περὶ τούτου λόγον γνοῖεν ἂν, οἷς τὺ πνεῦμα τῆς ἀληθείας άνακαλύπτει τὰ κεκρυμμένα μυστήρια· ἡμεῖς δέ τοιαύτην ἔχομεν περὶ τοῦ ῥητοῦ τὴν διὰ· νοιαν· Μία τῶν πάντων ὑπέρκειται ἡ ἀληθὴς ἐξουσία καὶ δύναμις, ἡ τοῦ παντὸς άναδεδεγμένη τὸ καὶ βασιλεύουσα, οὐ βίᾳ τινὶ κκαὶ τυραννικῇ δυναστείᾳ, φόβοις καὶ ἀνάγκαις ύποζεύξασα τῇ sum: τδ ὑπήκοον. Ἐλευθέραν γὰρ εἶναι προσήκει myth; φόβου τὴν ἀρετὴν καὶ ἀδέσποτον, ἑκουσία γνώμης τὸ ἀγαθὸν αἱρουμένην · ἀγαθοῦ δέ παντὸς τὺ κεφάλαιον. τὸ ὑπὸ τὴν (womth ἐξουσίαν τετάχθαι. Ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν τῆς τοῦ καλοῦ κρίσεως ἀπεπλανψη διʼ ἀπάτης ἠ ἀνθρωπίνη φύσις, καὶ πρὸς τὸ ἐναντίον γέγονε τῆς προαιρέσεως ἡμῶν ἡ ῥοπὴ, καὶ παντὶ τῷ χείρονιὴ ζωὴ τῶν ἀνθρώπιον κατεκρατήθη, μυρίαις ὁδοῖς τοῦ θανάτου κατακριθέντος τῇ φύσει· πᾶσα γάρ κακίας ἰδέα οἷόν τις ὁδὸς τῷ θανάτῳ καθʼ ἡμῶν γίνεται. Ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν τῇ τοιαύτῃ τυραννίδι περιεσχέθημεν. καθάπερ δημίοις τισὶν ἢ πολεμίοις, ταῖς προσβολαέ τῶν παθημάτων τῷ θανάτῳ δεδουλωμένοι ° εὐχόμεθα, τοῦ θεοῦ τὴν βασιλείαν ἐφʼ ἡμᾶς ἐλθεῖν. οὐ γὰρ ἐστιν ἄλλως ἐκδύναι τὴν πονηρὰν τῆς δυναστείαν, μὴ τῆς ζωοποιοῦ δυνάμεως ἐφʼ ἡμῶν ἀντιμεταλαβούσης τὺ κράτος. Ἐὰν οὖν ἐλθεῖν ἐφʼ ἡμᾶς τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ Θεοῦ αἰτήσωμέν, ταῦτα τῇ δυνάμει τὸν Θεὸν ἱκετεύομεν Ἂπαλλαγείην τῆς φθορᾶς, ἐλευθερωθείην τοῦ θανάτου, ἄνετος γενοίμην τῶν τῆς ἁμαρτίας δεσμῶνο μηκέτι βασιλευέτω κατʼ ἐμοῦ ὁ θάνατοςʼ μηκέτι ἐνεργὸς ἔστω καθʼ ἡμῶν ἡ τυραννὶς τῆς κακίας, καὶ μὴ κατακρατείτω μουό πόλεμος, μηδὲ ἀγέτω με διʼ ἁμαρτίας αἰχμάλωτον· ἀλλʼ ἐλθέτω ἐπʼ ἐμὲ ἡ βασιλεία σου, ἵνα ὑποχωρήςῃ ἀπʼ ἐμοῦ, μᾶλλον δὲ είς τὸ μὴ ὃν μεταχωρήσῃ τά λ νῦν ἐπικρατοῦντα καὶ βασιλεύοντα πάθη. *Ως γὰρ ἐκλείπει καπνὸς, οὕτως ἐκλείψουσι ο καὶ ὡς τήκεται

### English translation (Claude)

of rest. Who, then, seeing such a person, does not glorify the name invoked upon such a life? So whoever says in prayer, “Hallowed be thy name,” prays for these things in himself by the force of what he says: “May I become, by the cooperation of your help, blameless, just, godfearing, keeping away from every evil deed, speaking truth, working righteousness, walking in uprightness, shining with self-control, adorned with incorruption, made beautiful by wisdom and prudence, setting my mind on things above, despising earthly things, made bright by an angelic way of life.” These and such things are contained in this short request that says to God in prayer, “Hallowed be thy name.” For God cannot be glorified in a human being in any other way than by that person’s virtue bearing witness that the divine power is the cause of his goods. The next saying prays that the kingdom of God may come. Does he now ask that the King of all should become king — he who always is what he is, who cannot be changed by any change, who can find nothing better to change into? What, then, does the prayer that calls for God’s kingdom mean? The true account of this would be known to those to whom the Spirit of truth reveals hidden mysteries; we hold this understanding of the saying. One true authority and power is above all things, which has received the universe and reigns over it, not by force and tyrannical domination, having yoked its subjects with fears and necessities. For virtue must be free from fear and without a master, choosing the good by a willing judgment; and the chief of every good is to be ranked under God’s authority. But human nature was led astray by deception from the judgment of the good; the inclination of our choice turned to the opposite; and human life was overpowered by everything worse, as death was sentenced upon our nature by countless roads — for every form of vice becomes, as it were, a road for death against us. Since, then, we have been held by such a tyranny, enslaved to death by the assaults of the passions as by executioners or enemies, we pray that the kingdom of God may come upon us. For it is not possible to throw off the evil domination of corruption in any other way than if the life-giving power takes over the rule in us in its place. If, then, we ask that the kingdom of God may come upon us, by the force of these words we beseech God: “May I be freed from corruption, set free from death, released from the bonds of sin; let death no longer reign over me; let the tyranny of vice no longer be active against us; let the war not overpower me nor lead me captive through sin; but let your kingdom come upon me, so that the passions that now prevail and reign may withdraw from me, or rather pass into non-existence.” “As smoke vanishes, so they shall vanish; and as wax melts

### Scripture references

- Matt 6:9–10: quotation, high confidence
- Job 1:1: allusion, high confidence
- Col 3:2: allusion, medium confidence
- John 16:13: allusion, medium confidence
- Rom 5:17: allusion, medium confidence
- Rom 6:12: allusion, medium confidence
- Ps 68:2 (67:3 LXX): quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- Blameless, just, godfearing, keeping away from every evil deed: Job 1:1. Setting the mind on things above: Col 3:2. Death reigning: Rom 5:17; sin not to reign: Rom 6:12. The Spirit of truth: John 16:13. “As smoke vanishes …”: Ps 68:2 (LXX 67:3), continued on the next page.

### Citation (SBL)

Gregory of Nyssa, Or. dom. 1155 (PG 44:1156a–1156d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1139/#p-1155).

## On the Lord's Prayer 1157

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1139/#p-1157
- Source: PG 44:1157a–1157d
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-14

Summary: When God’s kingdom comes, the passions vanish like smoke and melt like wax, as darkness before light; the soul prays that God’s angelic forces may overthrow the enemy, so that grief gives way to life and peace.

### Greek text

,κηρὸς ἀπὸ προσώπου πυρὸς, οὕτως ἀπολοῦνται. Οὔτε Ξκαπνδς ἀναχεθεὶς είς τὸν ἀέρα, σημεῖόν τι τῆς ἰδίας η ὑπολείπεται φύσεως, οὔτε κηρὸς ὲν πυρὶ γενόμενος ξ ἔτι εὑρίσκεται· ἀλλά καὶ οὗτος τὴν φλόγα διʼ ἑαυτοῦ ζ θρέψας, είς ἀτμὸν καὶ ἀέρα μετεποιήθη, καὶ δκαπνὸς π είς παντελῆ ἀφανισμὸν μετεχώρησεν· οὕτως ἐὰν ἡ 1 βασιλεία τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐφʼ ἡμᾶς ἔλθῃ, πάντα τὰ νῦν ἔπι- Ixpaxcoi'rrma, είς ἀφανισμὸν περιστήσεται. Ού γὰρ _ ὑπομένει τὸ σκότος τὴν τοῦ φωτὸς παρουσίαν· οὐ νόσος ὑγείας ἐπιλαβούσης ἴσταται“ οὐκ ἐνεργεῖ τὰ ξ πάθη τῆς ἀπαθείας παρούσης, φροῦδος 6 θάνατος, ί ἀφανὴς ἠ φθορὰ, ὅταν ὴ ζωὴ ἐν ἡμῖν βασιλεύῃ, καὶ ζ ἀερθαρσία τδ κράτος. Ἐλθέτω ἡ βασιλεία σου. ί ΊΙ γλυκεῖα φωνή · διʼ ἦς ταύτην ἄντικρυς προσάγομεν τῷ Θεῷ τὴν δέησιν · Καταλυθήτωή ἀντικειμένη ι ξαράταξιςο- ἀφανισθητω τῶν ἀλλοιρύλων ή φάλαγξ, ἀναιρεθήτω τῆς σαρκὸς 6 κατὰ τοῦ πνεύματος πό- . λεμης· μὴ εστω τδ σῶμα τοῦ πολεμίου τῆς ψυχῆς ξ ὁρμητήριον, ὲπιφανήτω μοι βασιλικὴ δυναστεία, ἡ ί ἀγγελικὴ χεὶρ, al χιλιάδες τῶν εὐθυνόντων, ἡ μυριὰς ξ τῶν κατὰ τὸ δεξιὸν παρισταμένων, ἵνα πέσῃ ἐκ τοῦ ξ ἀντικειμένου κλίτους ἡ χιλιὰς τῶν πολεμούντων· ί πολὺς 6 ἀντίπαλος, ἀλλὰ τοῖς ἐρήμοις τῆς σῆς συμ- Ῐ μαχίας δεινός τε καὶ ἁκαταμάχητος, ἀλλʼ ἕως ἂν μόνος ί 6 πολεμούμενος ἐπειδὰν δὲ ή σὴ βασιλεία φανῇ, ί ἀπέδρα λύπη καλ στεναγμός ἀντεισέρχεται δὲ ζωὴ, καὶ εἰρήνη, καὶ ἀγαλλίαμα.

### English translation (Claude)

before the fire, so they shall perish.” Smoke poured into the air leaves no sign of its own nature behind, nor is wax found any longer once it is in the fire; feeding the flame with itself, it is changed into vapour and air, and the smoke passes into complete disappearance. So if the kingdom of God comes upon us, all that now prevails will be brought to nothing. For darkness does not endure the presence of light; disease does not hold its ground when health takes hold; the passions are not active when freedom from passion is present; death is gone, corruption has vanished, when life reigns in us and incorruption has the power. “Thy kingdom come.” O sweet word, by which we bring this petition plainly to God: “Let the opposing battle line be broken; let the phalanx of the foreigners vanish; let the war of the flesh against the spirit be done away with; let the body no longer be the enemy’s base of attack against the soul; let the royal power appear to me, the angelic hand, the thousands of those who guide, the ten thousand who stand at the right hand, so that the thousand who make war on the opposite side may fall.” The adversary is many, and terrible and invincible to those who lack your help — but only as long as the one who is warred against is alone. When your kingdom appears, grief and groaning have fled, and life and peace and exultation come in their place.

### Scripture references

- Ps 68:2 (67:3 LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Matt 6:10: quotation, high confidence
- Gal 5:17: allusion, high confidence
- Ps 91:7 (90:7 LXX): allusion, high confidence
- Isa 35:10: allusion, high confidence
- Luke 11:2: allusion, medium confidence

### Translation notes

- “As wax melts before the fire”: Ps 68:2 (LXX 67:3). The war of the flesh against the spirit: Gal 5:17. A thousand fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand: Ps 91:7 (LXX 90:7). Grief and groaning have fled: Isa 35:10; 51:11.
- Only part of this page survives in the scan; the rest of it and the start of the next page are lost. The lost lines evidently discussed the variant form of this petition known to Gregory, “May your Holy Spirit come upon us and cleanse us” (found in some manuscripts at Luke 11:2), since the next page defends the divinity of the Spirit from it.

### Citation (SBL)

Gregory of Nyssa, Or. dom. 1157 (PG 44:1157a–1157d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1139/#p-1157).

## On the Lord's Prayer 1159

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1159/#p-1159
- Source: PG 44:1160a–1160d
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-14

Summary: The Spirit who cleanses from sin and Christ who made purification for sins have one activity and therefore one nature with the Father; against the Pneumatomachians, Gregory argues that the Spirit’s “coming” and cleansing do not make him inferior, since the Father too “comes” and forgives sins.

### Greek text

τοῦ Μονογενοῦς φησιν ὀ Ἀπόστολος, ὅτι καθαρισμὸν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ποιησάμενος, ἐκάθισεν ἐν δεξιᾷ τῆς μεγαλοσύνης τοῦ Πατρός. Ἓν τοίνυν ἑκατέρων τὸ ἔργον, τοῦ τε καθαρίζοντος τὴν ἁμαρτίαν Πνεῦματος, καὶ τοῦ τὸν καθαρισμὸν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν πεποιηκότος Χριστοῦ. Ὧν δὲ ἠ ἐνέργεια μία, καὶ ἡ φύσις πάντως ὴ αὑτὴ τούτων ἐστίν. Πᾶσα γὰρ ἐνέργεια δυνάμεώς ἐστιν ἀποτέλεσμα. Ei οὖν καὶ ἐνέργεια καὶ δύναμις μία, πῶς ἐστιν ἑτερότητα φύσεως νοῆσαι, ἐν οἷς οὐδεμίαν κατά τὴν δύναμίν τε καὶ ἐνέργειαν διαφορὰν ἐξευρίσκομεν; Ὠς γὰρ οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν τοῖς τοῦ πυρὸς ἰδιώμασιν, ὅταν δύο, τὸ φωτίζον τε καὶ τὺ καῑόν ἐστι, τὸ κοινωνεῖν νομίσαι τοῦ προκειμένου ὑπαλλαγὴν· οὕτως οὐκ ἄν τις εὐφρονῶν μίαν ἐνέργειαν ἐκ τῆς Γραφῆς διδαχθεὶς τοῦ Υἱοῦ καὶ τοῦ Πνεύματος, διαφοράν τινα φύσεως ὑπονοεῖ. Ἀλλά νῦν προαποδεδεικται ταῖς τῶν εὐσεβῶν δύο ξαις, τὴν αὐτὴν ἐπὶ Πατρὺς καὶ Υἱοῦ φύσιν εἶναι, μὴ εἶναι δυνατὸν τὰ ἑτερογενῆ τῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ κλήσει κατονομάζεσθαι· ὡς οὐ λέγεται βάθρον υίὸς τέκτονος, μηδʼ ἀν τις εἴποι τῶν εὐφρονούντων ὅτι οἰκοδόμος υἱὸν κατεσκευάσατο, ἀλλὰ τῇ τοῦ υἱοῦ καὶ τοῦ πατρὸς προσηγορίᾳ. τὸ κατὰ τὴν φύσιν συνημμέ· νον ἐπισημαίνεται ο ἀνάγκη πᾶσα, ὅταν τά δύο πρὸς τὸ ἓν οἰκείως ἔχῃ, καὶ μηδέ πρὸς ἄλληλα διαφόρως ἔχει, τῷ Πατρλ κατά τὴν φύσιν ὁ Υἱὸς ἥνωται· τῆς δὲ τοῦ Υἱοῦ φύσεως διὰ τῶν ἐνεργειῶν ταυτότητος οὐκ ἀλλότριον ἀπεδείχθη τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον· μία κατά τὸ ἀκόλουθον ἀποδέδεικται τῆς ἁγίας Τριὰδος ἡ φύσις, οὐ συγχεομένη ἐφʼ ἑκάστης τῆς κατά τὸ ἐξαίρετον ἐπιθεωρουμένης αὐταῖς ἰδιότητος, οὐδὲ τῶν γνωρισμάτων ἐν ἀλλήλοις ἀλλασσομένων. Τίς οῦν ἡ μανία τῶν πνευματομαχοῦντων, δουλεύειν τὸν Κύριον δογματιζὼτωνς Οἷς οὐδὲ Παῦλος διαμαρτυο ρόμνὸς ἐστιν ἀξιόπιστος, ὃς φησιν· Ὃ δὲ Κύριος τὸ Πνεῦμά ἐστιν. Ἦ τάχα τὸ, Ἐλθέτω, καθαιρετικον τῆς ἀξίας νομίζουσινς Εἶτα οὐκ ἀκούουσιν τοῦ μεγάλου Δαὸὶδ, καὶ τδν Πατέρα πρὸς ἐαυτὸν ἕλκοντος, καὶ, Ἐλθέ εις τὸ σῶσαι ἡμᾶς, βοῶντος; El οὗν ἐπὶ τοῦ Πατρδς τὸ ἐλθεῖν σωτήριον, πῶς ἐπὶ τοῦ Πνεύματος τὸ ἐλθεῖν ἐπονείδιστον; Ἢ τὸ καθαίρειν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν, σημεῖον ποιοῦνται τῆς ’κατά τὴν ἀξίαν ὑφέσεωςς Καὶ μὴν ἄκουε τῶν ἀπίστων Ἰουδαίων βοώντων, ὅτι τὸ Ἀςριέναι ἁμαρτίας μόνου ἐστὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ · περὶ τοῦ Πατρὸς λέγοντες · Τί οὗτος, φησὶ, λαλεῖβλασφημίας; Τίς δύναται ἀφιέναι ἁμαρτίας ‘ εἰ μὴ μόνος ό Θεόςῖ El οὖν ’ἀφίησι μέν ἁμαρτίας ὁ Πατὴρ, αἴρει δέ ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ κόσμου τὴν ἁμαρτίαν, καθαρίζει δὲ τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον ἐκ τῶν τῆς ἁμαρτίας μολυσμάτων οἷς ἂν ἐγγένηται · τί ἐροῦσιν οἱ τῇ ἰδίᾳ προσπολεμοῦντες ζωῇ; Ἀλλʼ ἐλθέτω ἐφʼ ἡμᾶς τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἆγιον, καὶ καθαρισάτω ἡμᾶς, καὶ ποιήσειε δεκτικοὺς τῶν ὑψηλῶν τε καὶ θεοπρεπῶν νοημάτων,

### English translation (Claude)

… the Apostle says of the Only-begotten that, “having made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty” of the Father. So the work of the two is one: of the Spirit who cleanses sin and of Christ who made purification for sins. And those whose activity is one surely have the same nature; for every activity is the result of a power. If, then, both the activity and the power are one, how can one conceive a difference of nature in those in whom we find no difference of power or activity? In the properties of fire, when there are two, giving light and burning, one cannot suppose that there is any change in the subject in which they share. So no sensible person, taught by Scripture that the Son and the Spirit have one activity, would suppose any difference of nature. It has already been demonstrated by the teachings of the godly that the nature of Father and Son is the same, since things of a different kind cannot be named by the name of God — as a bench is not called the carpenter’s son, nor would any sensible person say that a builder produced a son; the names son and father signify union in nature. It is entirely necessary, when two are related to one and do not differ from each other, [that the nature be one]: the Son is united to the Father in nature, and the Holy Spirit has been shown not to be foreign to the nature of the Son, through the identity of their activities. Consequently the nature of the Holy Trinity has been shown to be one — not confused, since in each the property proper to it is contemplated, nor with their distinguishing marks exchanged with one another. What, then, is the madness of those who fight against the Spirit, who teach that the Lord is a slave? For them not even Paul is a trustworthy witness when he says, “Now the Lord is the Spirit.” Or perhaps they think that the word “Let it come” detracts from his dignity? Do they not hear the great David drawing the Father to himself and crying, “Come to save us”? If, then, coming is saving when said of the Father, how is coming a reproach when said of the Spirit? Or do they take cleansing from sins as a sign of lower dignity? Then listen to the unbelieving Jews crying that forgiving sins belongs to God alone — saying it of the Father: “Why does this man speak blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” If, then, the Father forgives sins, the Son takes away the sin of the world, and the Holy Spirit cleanses from the defilements of sin those in whom he comes to dwell, what will those say who war against their own life? But may the Holy Spirit come upon us and cleanse us, and make us receptive of the lofty thoughts befitting God

### Scripture references

- Heb 1:3: quotation, high confidence
- 2 Cor 3:17: quotation, high confidence
- Ps 80:2 (79:3 LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Mark 2:7: quotation, high confidence
- John 1:29: allusion, high confidence
- Luke 11:2: allusion, medium confidence

### Translation notes

- The opening continues after a gap in the scan (marked …). “Having made purification for sins …”: Heb 1:3. “Now the Lord is the Spirit”: 2 Cor 3:17. “Come to save us”: Ps 80:2 (LXX 79:3). “Who can forgive sins but God alone?”: Mark 2:7. The Lamb who takes away the sin of the world: John 1:29.
- The “fighters against the Spirit” (πνευματομάχοι, Pneumatomachians) denied the full divinity of the Holy Spirit. The argument from one activity to one nature is translated as written. The words in square brackets supply a clause the sentence requires.

### Citation (SBL)

Gregory of Nyssa, Or. dom. 1159 (PG 44:1160a–1160d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1159/#p-1159).

## On the Lord's Prayer 1161

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1159/#p-1161
- Source: PG 44:1161a–1161d
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-14

Summary: Homily 3 ends with a prayer for the Spirit’s cleansing. Homily 4 opens on “Thy will be done” and “our daily bread” with a physician’s account of health as the balance of the elements, to be applied to the soul.

### Greek text

τῶν διὰ τῆς προσευχῆς ἡμῖν παρὰ τῆς τοῦ Σωτῆρος ὑποδεικνυμένων φωνῆς, ᾧ ἠ δόξαι εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν. ΛΟΓΟΣ Δʼ. Γενηθήτω τὸ θέλημά σου, ὡς ἐν οὐρανῷ κ(ιὶ,ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς. Τὸν ἄρτον ἡμῶν τὸν ἐπιούσιον ea; ἡμῖν σήμερον. Ἰῐκουσὰ τινος ἰατρικοῦ τεχνικῶς τῆς κατὰ τὴν ὑγείαν ἕξεως φ·.›σιολογοῦντος,ῖσως δʼ ἂν γένοιτο ἡμῖν καὶ πρὸς τὴν τῆς ψυχῆς εὐεξίαν οὐκ ἀπὸ σκοποῦ τὸ λεγόμενον. Τὴν γὰρ ἐκ τοῦ μετρίου παρατροπὴν τῶν ὲν ἡμῖν στοιχείων τινὸς, ἀρχὴν καὶ αἰτίαν τῆς κατὰ τὸ πάθος συστάσεως διωρίζετο· καὶ ὲκ τοῦ ἐναντίου πάλιν, τὴν ἐπὶ τὸ οίκεῖὸν τε καὶ κατὰ φύσιν τῶν πλη μμελῶς παραιιιντίθέντιυν ἀποκαταστασίαν, θεραπείαν figas-23v τῆς νοσώδους αἰτίας εἶναι. Καὶ διὰ τοῦτο σκοπεῖν ᾤετο δεῖν. ὅτι μάλιστα τῶν ἐν ἡμῖν ἐν ἀταξίᾳ κινουμένων διὰ τῆς ἰδίας ἐπικρατήσεως ἄτονον ποιεῖν τοῦ ἀντιστοιχοῦντος, τὴν πρὸς τὴν ὑγείαν συνς εισφορέιν· ὡς εί μὲν τὸ θερμὸν ἐπικρατῇ, συμμαχίαν καὶ τῷ δυναστευομένῳ παρασχεῖν, καὶ ὑπονοτίζειν τὸ ξηραινόμενον. Μή που τῆς ὕλης ὑπολιπούσης, μαρανθείη τελείως καὶ ἀποσβεσθείη ὲν ἐαυτῷ τὸ θερμὸν, αὐτὸ περὶ ἑαυτῷ δαπανώμενον ο ὡσαύτως καὶ ετ τι τῶν ἄλλων τῶν κατὰ τὸ ἐναντίον ὲν ἡμῖν θεωρουμένων ἐκβαίνοι τὸν ὅρον, πρὸς τὸ πλεονάζον ἵστασθαι, τῷ ὲλαττουμένῳ τὴν ἀπὸ τῆς τέχνης συμμαχίαν ἐπάγοντας. Τούτων δὲ γενομένων. καὶ μηδενὸς τῆς τῶν στοιχείων ἰσονομίας ἐμποδίζοντος, ἐπανάγεσθαι τὴν ὑγείαν τῷ σώματι, μηκέτι τῆς φύσεως κατὰ τὴν κράσιν ἀνωμαλοῦσης. Τί δή μοι βούλεται ’τὸ μακρὸν τοῦτο τοῦ λόγου προοίμιον ; Τάχα οὐκ ἀπὸ σκοποῦ τὺ θεώρημα, οὐδὲ πόρρω που τῆς προκειμὲ νης ὑποθέσεως ἁπεσχοίνισται. Πρόκειται γὰρ εἰς θεωρίαν ἡμῖν τὸ, Γενηθήτω τὸ θέλημά σου. "Orco δὲ χάριν ἐμνήσθημεν τοῦ κατὰ τὴν ἰατρικὴν θεωρήματος, διὰ τῶνέφεξῆς σαφηνίσομεν.

### English translation (Claude)

that are shown to us through the prayer by the voice of the Saviour, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. Homily 4. “Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth. Give us this day our daily bread.” I once heard a physician giving a technical account of the nature of the healthy condition; perhaps what he said would not be beside the point for us with regard to the good condition of the soul too. He defined the departure from the mean of one of the elements in us as the beginning and cause of the formation of disease; and conversely, the restoration to their proper and natural state of those that had been wrongly displaced as the treatment of the cause of disease. He therefore thought one must look above all to see which of the elements in us, moving in disorder through its own excess, makes its counterpart weak, so as to contribute to health: if heat prevails, one should come to the aid of what is being overpowered and moisten what is drying out, lest, when its matter fails, the heat should wither completely and be quenched within itself, consuming itself; likewise, if any other of the opposites observed in us goes beyond its limit, one should stand against the excess and bring the help of the art to what is diminished. When this is done and nothing hinders the balance of the elements, health returns to the body, since nature is no longer uneven in its mixture. What does this long preface to my discourse mean? Perhaps the observation is not beside the point, nor far removed from the subject before us. For “Thy will be done” is set before us for contemplation; and why we recalled the physician’s observation we shall make clear in what follows.

### Scripture references

- Matt 6:10–11: quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- Homily 4 on the Lord’s Prayer begins here: Matt 6:10–11.
- Only part of this page survives in the scan; the end of it and the start of the next are lost.

### Citation (SBL)

Gregory of Nyssa, Or. dom. 1161 (PG 44:1161a–1161d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1159/#p-1161).

## On the Lord's Prayer 1163

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1159/#p-1163
- Source: PG 44:1164a–1164d
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-14

Summary: Christ, the true physician, heals our sickness, which came from separation from God’s will, by union with that will; to pray “Thy will be done” is to confess the past and ask that virtue, above all love, drive out the vices; we need God’s help because it is harder to recover than to fall.

### Greek text

ἐνεφορήθημεν, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο τῷ πονηρῷ τούτῳ καὶ ἐπιθανατίῳ νοσήματι κατεκρατήθη ή φύσις ο ἦλθεν 6 ἀληθινὸς ἰατρὸς, κατά τὸν νόμον τῆς ἰατρικῆς διὰ τῶν ἐναντίων τὸ κακὸν ἐξιώμενος ο καὶτοὺς διὰ τοῦτο τῇ ἀρρωστίᾳ συνενεχθέντας, ὅτι τοῦ θείου θελήμέιτος ἐχωρίσθησαν, πάλιν ἐλευθεροῖ τοῦ νοσήματος, τῇ πρὸς τὸ βούλημα τοῦ Θεοῦ συναφείᾳ. Τά γὰρ τῆς προσευχῆς ῥήματα, θεραπεία ἐστὶ τῆς ἐγγινομένης τῇ ψυχῇ ἀρρωστίας. Εῦχεται γὰρ οἶόν τισιν ὀδύναις τὴν ψυχὴν συνεχόμενος 6 λέγων · Γενηθήτω τὸ θέλημά σου. Θέλημα δὲ Θεοῦ ή σωτηρία τῶν ἀνθρὼο πων ἐστίν. Ἐπειδὰν τοίνυν είς τοῦτο στῶμεν, ὥστε εἰπεῖν τῷ Θεῷ,’ὃτι Γενηθήτω καὶ ἐν ἐμοὶ τὸ θέλημά σου, ἀνάγκη πᾶσα πρότερον κατειπεῖν ἐκείνου τοῦ βίου, ὃς ἐξω τοῦ θείου βουλήματος ἦν, καὶταῦτα ἐν τῇ ἐξαγορεύσει διεξελθεῖν· ὅτι Ἐπειδὴ κακῶς ἐνήργησεν ἐν ἐμοὶ διά τοῦ φθάσαντος βίου τὸ ἀντικείμενον θέλημα, καὶ ὑπηρέτης ἐγενόμην τοῦ πονηροῦ τυ· ράννου, οἶόν τις δήμιος τὴν τοῦ ἐχθροῦ ψῆφον εἰς πέρας κατʼ ἐμαυτοῦ φέρων· τούτου χάριν οἶκτον λαο βὼν τῆς θιπωλείας μου, δός ποτε καὶτὸ σὺν θέλημα γενέσθαι ἐν ἐμοί. Ὥσπερ γὰρ ἐν τοῖς ζοφώδεσι τῶν σπηλαίων φωτὸς είσκομισθέντος 6 ζόφος ἀφανίζεται· οὕτω τοῦ σοῦ θελήματος ὲν ἐμοὶ γενομένου, πᾶσα πονηρά καὶ ἄτοπος τῆς προαιρέσεως κίνησις εἰς τὸ μὴ ὃν περιΐσταται. Ἡ γὰρ σωφροσύνη σβέσει την ἀκόλαστον καὶ ἐμπαθῆ τῆς διανοίας ὁρμήν ή ταπεινοφροσύνη καταναλώσει τὸν τύφονο ή μετριότης ἰάσεται τῆς ὑπερηφανίας τὴν νόσον ’ τὸ δὲ τῆς ἀγάπης ἁγαθδν πολὺν κατάλογον τῶν ἀντικειμένων κακῶν τῆς ψυχῆς ἀπλάσειο ταύτην γὰρ ὑποχωρεί τὸ μῖσος, 6 φθόνος, ή μῆνις,ή κατʼ ὀργὴν κίνησις, ή θυμώδης διάθεσις, ή ἐπιβουλὴ, ή ὑπόκρισις, ή τῶν λυπηρῶν μνήμη,ή τῆς ἀντιλυπήσεως ὄρεξις, ἡ περικάρδιος τοῦ αἵματος ζέσις, ό πικρὸς ὀφθαλμός. Ταῦτα ή τοις ούτων κακῶν ἀγέλη τῇ ἀγαπητικῇ διαθέσει ἐξαφανίζεται. Οὕτως ἐκβάλλει τὴν εἰδωλολατρίαν ἡ ἐνέργεια τοῦ Θεοῦ βουλήματος διπλῆν δέ φημι, τήν τε περὶ τά εἴδωλα, καὶ τὴν περὶ τὸ ἀργύριον καὶ χρυσίον μανίαν, ἅπερ εἴδωλα τῶν ἐθνῶν 6 τῆς προφητείας ὠνόμασε λόγος. Γενηθήτω τοίνυν τῦ θέλημά σου, ἕνα σβεσθῇ τοῦ διαβόλου τὸ θέλημα. Διά τί δὲ τὴν παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ γενέσθαι τὴν ἀγαθὴν ήμίν προαίρεσιν ἐπευχόμεθα; Ὅτι, ἀσθενὴς ή ἀνθρωπίνη φύσις πρὸς τὸ ἀγαθόν ἐστιν, ἅπαξ διὰ κακίας ἐκνευρισθεῖσα. ού γὰρ μετὰ τῆς αὐτῆς εὐκολίας, ἧς πρὸς τὺ κακὸν 6 ἅνθρωπος ἔρχεται, καὶ ἀπὸ τούτου πάλιν ἐπὶ τὸ ἀγαθὸν ἐπανέρχεται· ὥσπερ καὶ ἐπὶτῶν σωμάτων ἐστι κατανοῆσαι τὸν τοιοῦτον λόγον, ὅτι οὐχ ὁμοίως, οὐδὲ μετὰ τῆς ἴσης ῥᾳστώνης, τό τε ὑγιαῖνον ὲν νόσῳ γίνεται, καὶ τὸ νενοσηκὸς ὑγιάζεται. '0 γὰρ ἐν ὑγεία τέως διάγων, καὶ διʼ ἐνὸς πολλάκις τραύματος είς τὸν περὶ τῶν ἐσχάτων κίνδυνον ἦλθε · καὶ μία περίοδος ἢ καταβολὴ πυρετοῦ πάντα τὸν τοῦ σώματος τόνον ν διέλυσεν, καὶ βραχεῖα δηλητηρίου γεῦσις, ἦ παντελῶς διέφθειρεν, ἢ παρʼ ὀλίγον τοῦτο ἐποίησεν καὶ δήγματι ἑρπετοῦ, ἢ κέντρῳ τινὶ τῶν ἰοβόλων, ἢ ὀλισθήματι,

### English translation (Claude)

… we filled ourselves, and so our nature was overpowered by this evil and deadly disease. The true Physician came, curing the evil by its opposites according to the law of medicine; and those who fell into the sickness because they had been separated from the divine will, he frees again from the disease by union with God’s will. For the words of the prayer are a treatment for the sickness that arises in the soul. Whoever says, “Thy will be done,” prays as one whose soul is gripped by pains. And the will of God is the salvation of human beings. When, then, we come to the point of saying to God, “Let thy will be done in me too,” we must first condemn that life which was outside the divine will, and go through these things in confession: “Since the opposing will worked evil in me through my past life, and I became the servant of the evil tyrant, carrying out the enemy’s sentence against myself like an executioner, for this reason take pity on my ruin and grant at last that your will too may be done in me.” As in dark caves the darkness disappears when light is brought in, so when your will is done in me, every evil and unseemly movement of my will passes into non-existence. Self-control will quench the licentious and passionate impulse of the mind; humility will consume conceit; modesty will heal the disease of arrogance; and the good of love will drive out of the soul a long list of opposing evils. Before it hatred withdraws, and envy, rancour, the movement of wrath, the angry disposition, plotting, hypocrisy, the memory of wrongs, the desire to repay grief, the boiling of the blood around the heart, the bitter eye. This whole herd of evils is destroyed by the disposition of love. So the working of God’s will casts out idolatry — I mean a twofold idolatry: that concerned with idols, and the mania for silver and gold, which the word of prophecy called the idols of the nations. “Let thy will be done,” then, so that the will of the devil may be quenched. Why do we pray that the good will should come to us from God? Because human nature is weak toward the good, once it has been unnerved by vice. A person does not return from evil to good with the same ease with which he goes from good to evil. One can see this in bodies too: the healthy do not fall ill and the sick recover in the same way or with equal ease. One who has been living in health is often brought into mortal danger by a single wound; one bout or onset of fever has dissolved all the vigour of the body; a brief taste of poison has destroyed it altogether or nearly so; and by the bite of a reptile, or the sting of some venomous creature, or a slip,

### Scripture references

- Matt 6:10: quotation, high confidence
- 1 Tim 2:4: allusion, high confidence
- Ps 115:4 (113:12 LXX): allusion, high confidence
- Ps 135:15 (134:15 LXX): allusion, medium confidence

### Translation notes

- The opening continues after a gap in the scan (marked …). God’s will is that all be saved: 1 Tim 2:4. Silver and gold the idols of the nations: Ps 115:4; 135:15 (LXX 113:12; 134:15).

### Citation (SBL)

Gregory of Nyssa, Or. dom. 1163 (PG 44:1164a–1164d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1159/#p-1163).

## On the Lord's Prayer 1165

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1159/#p-1165
- Source: PG 44:1165a–1165d
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-14

Summary: Because human nature, weakened by sin, cannot return to the good unaided, we pray “Thy will be done”; “as in heaven, so on earth” refers to the two kinds of rational beings, angels in heaven and humans on earth, perhaps so joined that the human body may share at last in heaven.

### Greek text

ἧκάτατὲτώματι,ἢ πλείονι τῆς δυνάμεως ἀδηφάγίᾳ, ἢ ἄλλῳ τινὶ τοιούτῳ, εὐθέως ἐπηκολούθησεν ἢ νόσος, ἦ θάνατοςʼ ὴ δὲ τοῦ ἀρῤωστήματος ἀπαλλαγὴ, πολλαῖς ἐπινοίαις γίνεται, καὶ δυσκολίαις, καὶ τέχναις ἰατρικαῖς, ἐὰν ἄρα καὶ γένηται. Διὰ τοῦτο πρὸς μὲν τὸ κακον ἡμῖν ’τῆς ὁρμῆς γινομένης, οὐ χρεία τοῦ συνεργοῦντος, αὐτομάτως ὲν τῷ θελήματι ἡμῶν τῆς κακίας ἑαυτὴν τελειούσης ο εἰ δὲ πρὸς τὸ κρεῖττον γένοιτο ἡ ῥοπὴ. τοῦ Θεοῦ χρεία τοῦ τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν εἰς ἔργον ἄγοντος. Διὰ τοῦτό φαμεν· ὅτι Ἐπειδὴ θέλημά σου ἐστὶν ἡ σωφροσύνῆ, ἐγὼ δὲ σάρκινός εἰμι πεπραμένος ὕπο τὴν ἁμαρτίανί τῇ σῇ δυνάμει κατορθωθείη μοι τὸ ἀγαθὸν τοῦτο θέλημᾶ · οὕτως ἡ δικαιοσύνη, ἠ εὐσέβεια, ἡ τῶν παθῶν ἀλλοτρίωσις. Ἠ γὰρ τοῦ θελήματος φωνὴ, πάσας γενικῶς ἐμπεριλαμβάνει τὰς ἀρετὰς, καὶ τὰ καθʼἓκαστον τῶν ἐν τῷ ἀγαθῷ νοουμένων, ἐν τῷ θελήματι τοῦ Θεοῦ θεωρεῖται. ’ Ἀλλά τί βούλεται ἡ προσθήκη τοῦ λόγου, Ὠς-ἐν ῡύράνῷ καί ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς; Τάχα μοι δοκεῖ τῶν βαθυτέρων τι δογμάτων ὑποσημαίνειν ὁ λόγος, καί τινα ποιεῖσθαι διδασκαλίαν θεοπρεποῦς διανοίας ὲν τῇ θεωρία Ιτῆς κτίσεως. Ὃ δὲ λέγω τοιοῦτόν ὲστι Με μέ ρισται πᾶσα ἡ λογικὴ κτίσις, εἷς τε τὴν ἀσώματον καὶ τὴν ὲνσὼο ματον φύσιν. Ἐστι δὲ ἀγγελικὴ μὲν ἡ ἀσώματος ’ τὸ δὲ ἓτε ρον εἶδος ἡμεῖς οἱ ἄνθρωποι. 'H μὲν οὖν νοητὴ, ἅτε δὴ τοῦ βαροῦντος κεχωρισμένη σώματος (τούτου λέγω τοῦ ἀντιτύπου τε καὶ εἰς γῆν βρίθοντος) τὴν ἄνω λῆξιν ἐπιπορεύεται, τοῖς κούφοις τε καὶ αἰθεριώδεσι ’τόποις ἐνδιατρίβουσα, ὲν ἐλαφρᾷ τε καὶ εὑκινήτῳ τῇ φῢσει ° ἡ δὲ ἑτέρα διὰ τὴν τοῦ σώματος ἡμῶν πρὸς τὸ γεῶδες συγγένειαν, οἷόν τινα ῑλῦος ὑποστάθμην, κατʼ ἀνάγκην τὸν περίγειον τοῦτον εἴληχε βίον. υῦκ οἴδα μὲν ὅ τι τοῦ suos βουλή ματος διὰ τούτων οἰκονομοῦντος, εἴτε πᾶσαν πρὸς ἑαυτὴν οίκειοῧντος τὴν κτίσιν, ὡς ἂν μήτε τῶν οὐρανίων ὑψωμάτων ἡ κάτω λῆξις ἆμοιρήσειε, _ μήτε 6 οὐρανὸς καθόλου τῶν κατὰ τὴν γῆν ἀμοιρήσειεν, ὡς ἂν γένοιτό τις διὰ τοῦ ἀνθρωπίνου πλάσματος ἑκατέρῳ τῶν στοιχείων μετουσία τῶν ὲν θατέρῳ νοουμένων, τοῦ τε νοεροῦ τῆς ψυχῆς, 6περ,δοκεῖ συγγενές τε καὶ ὁμόφυλον τῶν κατʼ οὐραὲ νῶν εἶναι δυνάμεων, τοῖς γηΐνοις σώμασιν ἐνοικοῦντος, τῆς δέ γεηρᾶς ταύτης σαρκὸς ὲν τῇ άποκαταστάσει τῶν πάντων είς τὸν οὐράνιον χῶρον τῇ ψυχῇ συμμετοικιζομένης, Ἀρπαγησόμεβη γὰρ, καθώς φησιν ό Ἀπόστολος, ἐν νεφέλαις, sic ἀπάντησιν τοῦ κυρίου, είς ἀέρα, καὶ οὕτως πάντοτε σὺν Κυρίῳ ἐσόμεθα. Εἴτε οὖν τοῦτο, εἴτε τι ἕτερον παρὰ τοῦτο τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ σοφίας οίκονομούσης, ὲν τῇ διπλῇ ταύτῃ ζωῇ μερισθεῖσα πᾶσα ὴ λογικὴ διῄρηται ί φύσις, ἡ μὲν ἀσώματος τὴν οὐράνιον λαχοῦσα μακαριότητα · ἡ δὲ διὰ σαρκὸς είς γῆν ἐπιστρεφομένη, διὰ τὴν πρὸς αὐτὴν οἰκειότητα. Ἥ μέν τοι τοῦ καλοῦ τε καὶ ἀγαθοῦ ἐπιθυμία, ὀμοτίμως ἑκατέρᾳ συνσυσιώθη τῇ φύσει, καὶ τὸ αὐτοκρατές τε γαὶάὐτεξούσιον, καὶ

### English translation (Claude)

a fall, or eating too much for one’s strength, or some other such thing, disease or death at once followed; but release from the sickness comes about only through many devices and difficulties and medical arts, if it comes at all. So when our impulse is toward evil, there is no need of a helper, since vice perfects itself spontaneously in our will; but if the inclination is toward the better, there is need of God, who brings the desire to action. That is why we say: “Since self-control is your will, but I am fleshly, sold under sin, may this good will be accomplished for me by your power” — and so too justice, piety, and estrangement from the passions. For the word “will” includes all the virtues in general, and each of the things understood as good is seen in the will of God. But what does the addition to the saying mean, “as in heaven, so on earth”? Perhaps the saying hints at one of the deeper doctrines and gives some teaching that befits God in the contemplation of creation. What I mean is this. All rational creation is divided into the bodiless and the embodied nature. The bodiless is the angelic; the other kind is we human beings. The intelligible nature, being separated from the body that weighs down — I mean this resistant body that presses toward the earth — traverses the region above, dwelling in light and ethereal places, in a light and nimble nature; the other, because of our body’s kinship with what is earthy, has of necessity received this earthly life, like a sediment of mud. I do not know what the divine will is arranging by this — whether it is making all creation akin to itself, so that neither should the region below be without a share in the heavenly heights, nor heaven at all without a share in the things on earth; so that through the formation of the human being each of the two elements might share in what belongs to the other, the intellectual part of the soul, which seems akin to and of one race with the powers in heaven, dwelling in earthly bodies, and this earthy flesh moving together with the soul into the heavenly region in the restoration of all things. “For we shall be caught up,” as the Apostle says, “in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.” Whether it is this, then, or something else besides this that the wisdom of God is arranging, all rational nature has been divided and distributed into this twofold life: the bodiless has received the heavenly blessedness, while the other, through the flesh, is turned toward the earth because of its kinship with it. Yet the desire for the beautiful and good was given in its very being to each nature equally; and self-rule, self-determination, and

### Scripture references

- Rom 7:14: quotation, high confidence
- Matt 6:10: quotation, high confidence
- 1 Thess 4:17: quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- “Fleshly, sold under sin”: Rom 7:14. Caught up in the clouds: 1 Thess 4:17.
- “The restoration of all things” (ἀποκατάστασις τῶν πάντων): Gregory speaks here of the body’s sharing in the heavenly life at the restoration; translated as written. He offers the explanation tentatively (“I do not know …”).

### Citation (SBL)

Gregory of Nyssa, Or. dom. 1165 (PG 44:1165a–1165d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1159/#p-1165).

## On the Lord's Prayer 1167

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1159/#p-1167
- Source: PG 44:1168a–1168d
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-14

Summary: In heaven God’s will is done without hindrance because the angels are free of vice; we pray that our life be cleansed so that his will may be done in us too; and the next petition, for daily bread, shows how embodied people can approach angelic freedom from need by contentment with little.

### Greek text

πάσης ἀνάγκης ἐλεύθερον ἴσον ξπ* ἀμφοῖν 6 τοῦ παντὸς ὲπιστάτης ἐποίησεν, ὡς αὐτονόμῳ τινί προαιρέσει οἰκονομεῖσθαι πᾶν ὅσον λόγῳ τε καὶ διανοίᾳ τετίμηται ἀλλʼ ἡ μὲν ἄνω ζωὴ, καθαρεύει πάντη κακίας. καὶ οὐδὲ ἒν ἐκείνῃ τῶν ὲκ τοῦ ἐναντίου νοουμένων συμπολιτεύεταιʼ πᾶσα δὲ ἐμπαθὴς κίνησίς τε καὶ διάθεσις, τὴν κάτω ζωὴν περιπολεῖ, ἐν οἷς ἐστι to ἀνθρώπινον. Διά τοῦίτο τήν ἐν οὐρανοῖς τῶν ἁγίων δυνάμεων πολιτείαν ἀμιγῆ κακίας, καί παντὸς τοῦ ἐξ ἁμαρτίας μολυσμοῦ καθαρεύουσαν, ὁ θεόπνευστος ἐπίσταται λόγος. Πᾶν δὲ ὅσον ἐκτὸς τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ διʼ αὐτῆς τῆς ἀναχωρήσεως αὑτοῦ παρνπέστη κακὸν, περὶ τὴν κοίλην ταύτην ζωὴν, οἷόν τις τρυγία τε καὶ ἰλὺς συνερρύη, μολύνεται τὸ ἀνθρώπινον, πρὸς τὸ κατιδεῖν τὸ θεῖον τῆς ἀληθείας φῶς διὰ τοῦ τοιούτου σκότους ἐμποδιζόμενοι). Εἰ τοίνυν ἀπαθὴς μὲν ἡ ompκειμένη ζωὴ καὶ ἀκήρατος. παντοίοις δὲ πάθεσι καὶ ταλαιπωρίαις καταεεῦἀπτισται ἡ ἀθλιότης τῆς ὦδε ζωῆς” δῆλον ἂν εἴη, ὅτι ἡ μὲν ἄνω πολιτεία, ἅτε παντὸς κακοῦ καθαρεύουσα, ὲν τῷ ἀγαθῷ θελήματι τοῦ Θεοῦ κατορθοῦταιʼ ἔνθα γὰρ κακὸν οὐκ ἐστιν, ἀνάγκη πᾶσα ἀγαθὸν εἶναι· ἡ δὲ καθʼ ἡμᾶς ζωὴ τῆς τῶν ἀγαθῶν μετουσίας ὲκπεπτωκυῖα, συνεκπέπτωκεν καὶ τοῦ θείου βουλήματος. Διά τοῦτο ὲν τῇ προσευχῇ διδασκόμεθα, οὕτως ὴμῶν τοῦ κακοῦ τὴν ζωὴν ὲκκαθαρθῆναι, ὡς καθʼ ὁμοιότητα τῆς οὐρανίου διαγωγῆς, καί ὲν ἡμῖν ἀνεμποδίστως τὸ θέλημα τοῦ Θεοῦ πολιτεύσασθαι, ὡς ἄν τις λέγοι · ὅτι Καθάπερ ὲν θρόνοις καὶ ἀρχαῖς, καὶ ἐξουσίαις, καὶ κυρίου τησι, καὶ πάσῃ τῇ ὑπερκοσμίῳ δυνάμει γίνεταί σου τὸ θέλημα, μηδαμοῦ κακίας παραποδιζούσης τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ τὴν ἐνέργειαν ' οὕτω καὶ ὲν ἡμῖν τὸ ἀγαθὸν τελειωθείη, ἵνα πάσης κακίας ἐκποδὼν γενομένης, διὰ πάντων τὺ θέλημά σου ταῖς ψυχαῖς ἡμῶν κατ· ευοδούμενον. Ἀλλʼ ὡς ἀνθυπενεγκόντος τινόςʼ Καὶ πῶς ἐστι δυνατὸν τὴν ὲν ταῖς ἀσωμάτοις δυνάμεσι καθαρότητα, τοῖς διὰ σαρκὸς τὴν ζωὴν εἰληχόσι κατ· ορθωθῆναι, ὲν μυρίαις φροντίσι διὰ τὰς σωματικὰς χρείας τῆς ψυχῆς ὲμβαθυνούσ-ηςς Διά τοῦτο μοι δοκεῖ, καθάπερ λύων τὴν τοιαύτην ἀμηχανίαν, τῷ ἑξῆς λόγῳ τὸ δοκοῦν δυσχερὲς πρὸς τὴν προκειμένην σπουδὴν ὑπεκλῦσαι. Δόγμα γὰρ οἶμαι διὰ τούτων τῶν λόγων ημῖν ὑποτίθεσθαι, ἐν τῷ τὸν ὲφή με ρον ἄρτον αἰτεῖν προστάξαι, δτι τῷ ἀνενδεεῖ κατά τὴν φύσιν, τὸ ὀλιγαρκές τε καί μέμ τριον κατά τὸν τῆς ἀπαθείας λόγον συνεξισοῦται. Οὐ γὰρ αἰτεῖ τὸν Θεὸν ἐν ταῖς προσευχαῖς ὁ ἄγγελος τὴν χορηγίαν τοῦ ἄρτου, ὅτι ἀπροσδεῆ κέκτηται τῶν τοιούτων τὴν φύσιν ο αἰτεῖν δὲ προσετάχθη ὁ ἄνθρωπος, διότι τὸ κενούμενον ὲπιδεὲς τοῦ ἀναπληροῦντος πάν· τως ἔστι. Ῥοώδης δὲ καὶ παροδικὴ τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης ζωῆς ἐστιν ἡ σύστασις, ἀντὶ τοῦ ὲκποιηθέντος τὺ ἀνα·νεάζον ἐπιζητοῦσα. '0 οὖν πρὸς τὴν τῆς φύσεως ὕπκ

### English translation (Claude)

freedom from all necessity were made equal for both by the overseer of the universe, so that everything honoured with reason and understanding should be governed by a choice that is its own law. But the life above is wholly pure of vice, and nothing that is understood as its opposite shares in its citizenship; while every passionate movement and disposition roams about the life below, where humanity is. So the divinely inspired word knows the citizenship of the holy powers in heaven to be unmixed with vice and pure of every defilement of sin. And all the evil that came into being outside the good, by the very departure from it, has flowed together about this hollow life of ours like dregs and mud, and humanity is defiled by it, hindered by such darkness from seeing the divine light of truth. If, then, the life above is free from passion and undefiled, while the misery of life here has been plunged into passions and hardships of every kind, it is plain that the citizenship above, being pure of all evil, is accomplished in the good will of God — for where there is no evil, there must be good — while our life, having fallen from sharing in good things, has fallen from the divine will as well. Therefore in the prayer we are taught that our life should be so cleansed of evil that, in likeness to the heavenly way of life, the will of God may govern in us too without hindrance; as if one were to say: “As your will is done among thrones and principalities and authorities and dominions and all the power above the world, with no vice anywhere hindering the activity of the good, so may the good be perfected in us too, so that, all vice being put out of the way, your will may prosper in our souls in everything.” But someone might object: “And how can those whose life is in the flesh achieve the purity of the bodiless powers, when the soul is sunk in countless cares because of bodily needs?” For this reason, it seems to me, he resolves this difficulty with the next saying, undoing what seems hard in the effort set before us. For I think that by these words, in commanding us to ask for daily bread, he sets before us a doctrine: that contentment with little and moderation, according to the principle of freedom from passion, are made equal to the freedom from need that belongs to the angelic nature. The angel does not ask God in prayer for a supply of bread, since he has a nature that needs no such things; but the human being has been commanded to ask, because what is emptied certainly needs what fills it. The make-up of human life is flowing and transient, seeking what renews in place of what has been spent. So whoever looks only to the service of nature

### Scripture references

- Matt 6:10: allusion, high confidence
- Col 1:16: allusion, high confidence
- Matt 6:11: allusion, high confidence

### Translation notes

- Thrones, principalities, authorities, dominions: Col 1:16; Eph 1:21. Daily bread: Matt 6:11.

### Citation (SBL)

Gregory of Nyssa, Or. dom. 1167 (PG 44:1168a–1168d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1159/#p-1167).

## On the Lord's Prayer 1169

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1159/#p-1169
- Source: PG 44:1169a–1169d
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-14

Summary: “Give us bread” asks for necessities, not for the long list of luxuries for which people mine, trade, and sail; what nature owes the body is only bread, and luxury is the enemy’s weed among the wheat.

### Greek text

ηρεσίαν βλέπων, καὶ μηδὲν ἔξω τοῦ ἀναγκαίου δι. τῶν ματαίων φροντίδων ἐπισυρόμενος, οὑ πολὺ τῆς ἀγγελικῆς πολιτείας ἐλαττωθήσεται, τὸ ἁνενδεὲς ἐκείνων καθʼ ἑαυτὸν τῇ ὀλιγαρκίξι μιμούμενος. Διά τοῦτο ζητεῖν προσετάχθημεν τὸ πρὸς τὴν συντήρησιν ἐξ· αρκοῦν τῆς σωματικῆς οὐσίας· Τὸν ἄρτον δός, τῷ Θεῷ λέγοντες, οὐ τρυφὴν οὐδὲ πλοῦτον, οὐκ εὐανθεῖς ἁλουργίδας, οὐ τὸν ἐκ χρυσίου κόσμον, οὺ τὰς τῶν λίθων αὺγάς, οὑ τὰ ἐξ ἀργυρίου σκεύη. οὐ γῆς περιουσίαν, οὐ πρατοπέὰυν ἀρχὴν,,οὐ πολέμων τε καὶ ἐθνῶν ἠγεμονίαν, οὐχ ἵππων τε καὶ βοῶν ἀγέλας, καὶ τῶν ἄλλων βοσκημάτων πλήθη πολλὰν οὐκ ἀνδρα· ππὶδων περιουσίαν, οὐ τὴν ἐν ἀγοραῖς περιφάνειαν, οὐ στήλας, οὐκ εἰκόνας, οὐ τὰ ἐκ σηρῶν ὑφάσματα, οὐ τὰ ἐκ μουσικῆς ἀκροάματα, οὺδέ τι τοιοῦτον οὐδὲν, “δι ὧν ἀφέληται ή ψυχὴ τῆς θείας τε καὶ προτιμοτὲ· ρας φροντίδος,. ἀλλὰ τὸν ἄρτον. Ὁρᾷς τὸ πλάτος τῆς φιλοσοφίας; ὅσα δόγματα τῇ βραχείᾳ ταύτῃ φωνῇ περιείληπται ; μονονουχὶ φανερῶς βοῶντος τοῦ λόγου τοῖς ἐπαΐουσιψ ὅτι Ιίαὑσασθε,οί ἄνθρωποι, περὶ τὶ μάταια ταῖς ἐπιθυμίαις διαχεόμενον παύσασθε τὰς τῶν πόνων ἀφορμὰς καθʼ ὑμῶν αὐτῶν πλεονάζοντες, μικρόν ἐστί σοι τὸ τῆς φύσεως ὄφλημα ο τροφὴν χρεωστεῖς τῷ σαρκίῳ σου, πρᾶγμα μέτριόν τε καὶ εὐπόριστον, εί πρὸς τὴν χρείαν βλέπεις.,ιιά τί πολυπλασιάζεις κατά σεαυτοῦ τοὺς φόρους; ’Υπὲρ τίνος τοαούτοις ὀφλήμασι σεαυτὸν φέρων ὑπέζευξας; ἄργυρον μεταλλεύων, καὶ χρυσὸν ὀρύσσων, καὶ τὴν διαφαίνουσαν ὕλην ἀναζητῶνς Ὠς ἄν σοι διὰ τῶν τοιούτων ὁ διηνεκὴς οὗτος φορολόγος ἡ γαστὴρ τρυφῴη- ἧς τδ ---Ξ,,ι---μέκὶ σο \ «- ι. λ. --. τ χρέος ἀρτος ἐστὶν, ὀ ἀναπληρῶν τὸ ἐνδέον τῷ σώματι. Σὺ δέιεὶς Ἰνδοὺς ἐμπορεύῃ, καὶ βαρβαρικῇ παρακινδυνεύεις θαλάσσῃ, καὶ ἐνιαυσίοις ναυτιλίαις σεαυτὺν δίδως, ἵνα τοῖς ἐκεῖθεν ἀγωγίμοις τὴν τροφὴν ἡδύνῃς, οὐ σκοπῶν ὅτι μέχρι τῆς ὑπερῴας τῶν ἡδυσμάη των αἴσθησις τὸν ὅρον ἔχει. Ὡσαύτως δὲ τὸ εὐφανές, τὸ εὔπνουν, τὸ εὔστομον, ὠκύμορον τινα καὶ ἀκαριαίαν παρέχεται τῇ αἰσθήσει τὴν χάριν · ἀπὸ δὲ τῆς ὑπερῴας ἀδιάκριτος τῶν ἐμβαλλομένων ἡ διαφορὰ, ὀμοτίμως τὰ πάντα τῆς φύσεως πρὸς δυσωδίαν ἁλλοιούσης. Ὁρᾷς τὸ πέρας τῆς woman“ Ὁρᾷς τὸ ἀποτέλεσμα τῆς ὀψαρτυτικῆς μαγγανείας ; Τὸν ἄρτον αἴτει διὰ τὴν τῆς ζωῆς χρείαν, τούτου σε ὀφειλέτην ἐποίησεν ἡ φύσις τῷ σώματι. Τὰ δʼ ὅσα παρεύρηται ταῖς τῶν τρυφώντων ἐπινοὲαις, ταῦτα τῶν ζιζανίων ἐστὶ παρασπορᾶς. 'U σπόρος τοῦ οἰκοδεσπότου ὁ σῖτος ἐστὶν, ἐκ δέ τοῦ σίτου ὀ ἄρτος γίνεται ' ἡ δὲ τρυφὴ τὸ ζιζὰνιον ὃ παρεσπάρη παρὰ τοῦ ἐχθροῦ τῷ σίτῳ. Ἀλλʼ ἀφέντες οἱ ἅνθρωποι διὰ τῶν ἀναγκαίων λειτουργεῖν τῇ φύσει, ὅντως συμπνίγονται, καθώς φησί που ὁ Λόγος, ταῖς περὶ τὰ μάταια σπουδαῖς, καὶ ἀτελέσφόρητοι μένουσι, πρὸς ταῦτα τῆς ψυχῆς ἑαυτὴν εἰς τὸ διηνεκὲς ἀσχολούσης.

### English translation (Claude)

and drags in nothing beyond what is necessary through vain cares, will not fall far short of the angelic way of life, imitating in himself their freedom from need by contentment with little. That is why we have been commanded to seek what suffices to preserve the bodily substance, saying to God, “Give bread” — not luxury, nor wealth, nor bright purple robes, nor golden ornaments, nor the gleam of precious stones, nor silver vessels, nor abundance of land, nor military command, nor leadership in wars and over nations, nor herds of horses and cattle and great numbers of other livestock, nor an abundance of slaves, nor distinction in the marketplace, nor statues, nor portraits, nor silken fabrics, nor musical performances, nor anything else of the kind by which the soul is drawn away from the divine and more honourable care — but bread. Do you see the breadth of the philosophy, how many teachings are contained in this short phrase? The Word all but cries out plainly to those who listen: “Stop, you people, pouring yourselves out in desires for vain things; stop multiplying against yourselves the occasions of toil. Your debt to nature is small: you owe food to your flesh, a modest thing and easily provided, if you look to need. Why do you multiply the taxes against yourself? For whose sake have you yoked yourself to such debts, mining silver, digging for gold, searching for transparent stones? So that by such means this perpetual tax-collector, the belly, may live in luxury — though its debt is bread, which fills what the body lacks.” But you trade with the Indians, run risks on a barbarian sea, and give yourself to voyages that last a year, in order to sweeten your food with imports from there, not considering that the sense of seasonings ends at the palate. Likewise good looks, fragrance, and pleasant taste give the sense a brief and momentary pleasure; beyond the palate the difference between the things put in cannot be told, since nature changes them all equally into something foul. Do you see the end of luxury? Do you see the result of the cook’s trickery? Ask for bread for the needs of life; nature has made you its debtor to the body. Whatever the inventions of the luxurious have added belongs to the sowing of weeds. The householder’s seed is wheat, and from wheat comes bread; but luxury is the weed sown among the wheat by the enemy. People who give up serving nature with what is necessary are truly choked, as the Word says somewhere, by their zeal for vain things, and remain without fruit, since the soul occupies itself with these things continually.

### Scripture references

- Matt 6:11: quotation, high confidence
- Matt 13:24–30: allusion, high confidence
- Luke 8:14: allusion, high confidence

### Translation notes

- “Give us bread”: Matt 6:11; Luke 11:3. The weeds among the wheat: Matt 13:24–30. Choked by the cares and pleasures of life: Luke 8:14.

### Citation (SBL)

Gregory of Nyssa, Or. dom. 1169 (PG 44:1169a–1169d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1159/#p-1169).

## On the Lord's Prayer 1171

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1159/#p-1171
- Source: PG 44:1172a–1172c
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-14

Summary: Like a serpent that cannot be drawn back once its head is in a crevice, pleasure must be stopped at its first entry; once it enters through taste, it leads to gourmandizing, luxury, and greed that ruins others.

### Greek text

Τάχα μοι δοκεῖ τοιοῦτον τι καὶ ὁ Μωῦσῆς διʼ αξνι· γμάτων φιλοσοφεῖν, τῆς κατά τὴν γεῦσιν ἡδονῆς σύμβουλον τὸν ὅφιν παραστήσας τῇ Εὕα, Φασὶ γάρ τὸ θηρίον τοῦτο τὸν ὄφιν, εἰ τὴν κεφαλὴν ἀπαγάγῃ τῇ ἁρμονίᾳ, εἰς ἣν παραδύεται, μὴ ἂν ἐκ τοῦ οὐραίου ῥαδίως παρὰ τῶν ἀντισπώντων ἀνελκυσθῆναι, τῆς ῥαχίας φυσικῶς τῆς φολίδος είς τὸ ἔμπαλιν πρὸς τὴν τῶν ἐφελκομένων βίαν ἀντιὸαινούσης ο καὶ οὗ κατά τὸ ἔμπροσθεν ἀκώλυτός ἐστινὴ διάδοσις, τῷ λείῳ τῆς φολίόος ὀλισθαινούσης, τούτου ἀμήχανοςῆ ἐκ τῶν κατύπιν ἀνάλυσις, ταῖς τῶν λεπίδων προσβολαῖς ἁντισπωμένη · δεικνύντος, οἶμαι, τοῦ λόγου, δτι τὴν ἡδονὴν εἰσιοῦσαν καὶ παραδυομένην τῇ τῆς ψυχῆς ῥαχίᾳ, φυλάττεσθαι χρὴ, καὶ ἀποφράττειν ὡς ἔνι μάλιστα τὰς ἁρμονίαςτού βίου. Οὒτω γάρ ἂν καθαρά φυλαχθείη τῆς τῶν θηρίων ἐπιμιξίας ἀνθρωπίνη τινα καθʼ ἡμῶν λάβοι, διαλυθείσης ὲν ἡμῖν τῆς ἐναρμονίου ζωῆς, ὲμφωλεύσει διά τούτων ὁ τῆς ἡδονῆς ὄφις, τοῖς τῆς διανοίας χωρήμασι δυσέκκλητος διὰ τῶν φολίδων γινόμενος. Φολίδας δὲ ἀκούων, τὰς πολυτρόπους τῶν ἡδονῶν ἀφορμὰς διὰ τοῦ αίνίγματος νόησον. Ἕν γὰρ θηρίον τῷ γενικῴ λόγῳ, τὸ καθʼ ἡδονήν ἐστι πάθος· αι δὲ ποικίλαι καὶ πολύτροποι τῶν ἡδονῶν ἰδέαι, at διὰ τῶν αἰσθήσεων ἐμμιχθεῖσαι τῇ ἀνθρωπίνῃ ζωῇ, αὗταί εἰσιν αί περὶ τὸν ὅφιν φολίὸες, τῇ ποικιλία τῶν παθημάτων κατάστικτοι. Εἰ οὖν φεύγεις τὴν τού θηρίου συνοίκησιν, φύλαξαι τὴν κεφαλὴν, τουτέστι, τὴν πρώτην τού κακοῦ προσβολήν · εἰς τοῦτο γὰρ 9&ρει τῆς ἐντολῆς τοῦ Κυρίου τὸ αἴνιγμαο Αὐτός σου τηρήσει πτέρναν, καὶσὺ τηρ ήσεις αὑτοῦ κεφαλήν μὴ δῷς πάροδον τῷ ἐρπυστῇ πρὸς τὸ ἐνδότερον εἰσέρποντι, καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς πρώτης ἀρχῆς ὅλον ἑαυτοῦ τὸν ὁλκὸν συνεισφέροντι. Μεῖνον ἐπὶ τῇς χρείας· ὅρος ἔστω σοι τῆς τοῦζῆν φροντίδος, ήδιά τῶν ἐπιτυχόντων τοῦ ἐνδέοντος πλήρωσις. Et δὲ καί σοι ὁ τῆς Εὔας σύμβουλος διαλέγοιτο περὶ τοῦ κατά τὴν ὄψιν καλοῦ, καὶ τὴν γεῦσ.ν ἡδέος, καὶ ζητοίης ἐπὶ τῷ ἄρτῳ τὸ ὄψον τὸ τοιόνδε, καὶ τὸ διὰ τῶν τοιῶνδε ἡδυσμάτων ὀψο-ποιούμενον, εἶτα διὰ τούτων ἔξω τῶν ἀναγκαίων ὅρων τὴν ·ὲπιθυμίαν ἄγοις, τότε ὄψει τὸν ἐρπυστὴν κατά τὸ λεληθὸς πρὸς πλεονεξίαν ἀκολούθως μεοέρποντα. Ἀπὸ γὰρ τῆς ἀναγκαίας τροφῆς, ἐπὶ τὴν ὀψοφαγίαν ἓρψας, 1:95; τὸ ὲν ὀφθαλμοῖς ἡδὺ μεταβήσεται, σκεύη λαμπρὰ ζητῶν, καὶ ὑπηρέτας ἁδροὺς καὶ κλίνας ἀργυρᾶς, στρωμνὰς μαλακὰς, καλύμματα διαφανῆ καὶ χρυσόπαστα, θρόνους, τρίποδας, πλυνοὺς, κρατῆρας, ῥυτὰ, ψυκτῆρας, οίνοχοάς, χέρνιβα, λυχνίας. θυμιατήρια καὶ τά τοιαῦτα ἐπιζητῶν. Διά τοῦτο γὰρ ἡ ἐπιθυμία τῆς πλεονεξίας είσέρχεται. Ἵνα γὰρ ἡ πρὸς τά τοιαῦτα μῆ λίποι παρασκευὴ, προσόδων χρεία, διʼ ὧν οζυμζπῗρι. σθῆσεται τὰ ζητού μεναξ Οὐκοῦν κλαῦσαι χρὴ τὸν δεῖνα. καὶ οἰμῶξαι τὸν σύνοικον, καὶ πολλοὺς ἐλεεινοὺς γενέ· σθαι τῶν ἰδίων ἐκπίπτοντας, ἵνα διὰ τῶν δακρύων ὲκείο νων ἡ περὶ τὴν τράπεζαν τούτῳ τραγῳδία λαμπρύνοιτο. Ἐπειδὰν δὲ καὶ τούτοις ὁ δφις ἑαυτὸν ἑπιλλίζῃ καὶ ’.τλήσῃ τὴν γαστέρα τῶν κατά γνώμην, ἀκολούθως μιτὰ

### English translation (Claude)

Perhaps Moses too philosophizes in riddles about something of this kind, when he presents the serpent to Eve as the counsellor of the pleasure of taste. They say that this beast, the serpent, once it has thrust its head into a crevice and slipped in, cannot easily be pulled out by the tail by those who pull against it, because the ridge of its scales naturally resists the force of those dragging it backward; where the passage forward is unhindered, as the smooth scales slide along, drawing it back from behind is impossible, since the scales stand up against it. The account shows, I think, that we must guard against pleasure entering and slipping into the spine of the soul, and must block up the joints of our life as far as possible. In this way human life would be kept pure from mingling with beasts; but if pleasure gains any entrance against us, the harmony of our life within us is dissolved, and the serpent of pleasure will make its lair there, becoming hard to drive out of the recesses of the mind because of its scales. When you hear of scales, understand by the riddle the many kinds of occasions for pleasure. The passion of pleasure is, in general terms, one beast; but the varied and manifold forms of pleasure, mingled into human life through the senses, are the scales on the serpent, spotted with the variety of the passions. If, then, you would flee from living with the beast, guard the head — that is, the first attack of evil. This is what the riddle of the Lord’s command points to: “He will watch for your heel, and you will watch for his head.” Give no passage to the creeper as it crawls inward and brings in its whole coil after it from the first beginning. Stay with what you need; let the limit of your care for living be the filling of your want with whatever is at hand. But if Eve’s counsellor speaks to you too about what is beautiful to the eye and pleasant to the taste, and you look for such and such a relish with your bread, and for food cooked with such and such seasonings, and then by these lead your desire beyond the necessary limits, you will see the creeper secretly crawling on, in due order, toward greed. For having crept from necessary food to gourmandizing, it will pass on to what is pleasant to the eyes, seeking splendid vessels, sturdy servants, silver couches, soft coverlets, transparent and gold-spangled covers, thrones, tripods, basins, mixing bowls, drinking horns, wine-coolers, jugs, washbasins, lampstands, censers, and the like. For through this the desire of greed comes in: so that the supply of such things may not fail, revenues are needed by which what is sought may be provided. So so-and-so must weep, his neighbour must lament, and many must become pitiable, losing their own property, so that by their tears the tragedy of this man’s table may be made splendid. And when the serpent has coiled himself into these things too and filled the belly with what he likes, then, in due order, after

### Scripture references

- Gen 3:1–6: allusion, high confidence
- Gen 3:15: quotation, high confidence
- Gen 3:6: allusion, high confidence

### Translation notes

- The serpent and Eve: Gen 3:1–6. “He will watch for your heel, and you will watch for his head”: Gen 3:15 (LXX, τηρήσει … τηρήσεις). “Beautiful to the eye and pleasant to the taste”: Gen 3:6.
- A few words after “pure from mingling with beasts” are lost in the scan; the sense is supplied (“but if pleasure gains any entrance”).

### Citation (SBL)

Gregory of Nyssa, Or. dom. 1171 (PG 44:1172a–1172c; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1159/#p-1171).

## On the Lord's Prayer 1173

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1159/#p-1173
- Source: PG 44:1173a–1173d
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-14

Summary: Gluttony ends in licentiousness; bread is enough, seasoned by a good conscience and by hunger, and earned by the toil of keeping the commandments.

### Greek text

ιιπικ τὰς πλησμονὰς ἐπὶ τὴν ἀκόλαστον λύσσαν ίλυσπὼμενος κατασύρεται, τοῦτο δέ ἐστι τὸ ἔσχατον τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων κακῶν. Ὠς ἂν οὖν μηδὲν γένοιτο τούτων,τῇ εὐπορίᾳ τοῦ ἄρτου τὴν ζωὴν περιορίζεται, ὄψον ζητῶν τὸ παρʼ αὐτῆς ὀψοποιούμενόν σοι τῆς φύσεως. Τοῦτο δέ ἐστι, μάλιστα μὲν ἡ ἀγαθὴ συνείδησις, τῇ δικαίᾳ μεταλήψει τὸν ἄρτον ἡδύνουσα. El δὲ καὶ τὴν κατά τὸν λαιμὸν αἴσθησιν ἥδεσθαι θέλοις, ὄψον σοι γενέσθω ἡ ἔνδεια, καὶτὸ μὴ ἐπιβαλεῖν κόρον τῷ κόρῳ. μηδὲ ἀπαμᾶλῢναι τῇ κραιπάλῃ τὴν ὄρεξιν ' ἀλλά προηγείσθωσάν σοι τῆς τροφῆς τῶν ἐντολῶν οἱ ίδρῶο τες. Ἐν ἱδρῶτι καὶ πόνῳ φάγῃ τὸν ἄρτον σου. Ὁρᾷς τὴν πρώτην ὀψοποιῖαν τοῦ Λόγου.

### English translation (Claude)

his surfeits he is dragged down, wallowing, into licentious frenzy; and this is the last of human evils. So that none of these things may happen, let your life be bounded by a sufficiency of bread, seeking the relish that nature itself prepares for you. This is, above all, a good conscience, which sweetens bread when it is rightly earned. And if you want your palate also to have pleasure, let want be your relish, and do not add satiety to satiety or dull your appetite with drunkenness; let the sweat of the commandments come before your food. “In sweat and toil you shall eat your bread.” Do you see the Word’s first recipe?

### Scripture references

- Gen 3:19: quotation, high confidence
- Matt 6:11: allusion, high confidence

### Translation notes

- “In sweat and toil you shall eat your bread”: Gen 3:19 (compare 2 Thess 3:10–12).
- Only part of this page survives in the scan; the rest of it and the start of the next page are lost.

### Citation (SBL)

Gregory of Nyssa, Or. dom. 1173 (PG 44:1173a–1173d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1159/#p-1173).

## On the Lord's Prayer 1175

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1159/#p-1175
- Source: PG 44:1176a–1176d
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-14

Summary: “Today” teaches that life lasts a day and forbids anxiety about tomorrow: God who gives the day gives what it needs, as he feeds ravens and eagles, while the rich fool lost all in one night; we should ask today for bread and seek above all the kingdom.

### Greek text

ίιῖῦ Καλὴ δὲ καὶ ἡ προσθήκη τοῦ σήμερον. Τὸν αι τίον γὰρ, φησί, τὸν ἐπιούσιον δὸς ἡμῖν σήμερον. ’Ἄλλη φιλοεοεία οὗτος ὁ λόγος ἐστὶν, ὡς ἂν μάθοις διʼ ὧν λέγοις, ὅτι ἐφήμερος ἐστιν ἡ ἀνθρωπίνη ζωή. τὸ παρὸν ἴδιον ἑκάστῳ μόνονʼ· ἡ δὲ τοῦ μέλλοντος ἐλπὶς ὲ) ἀδήλῳ μένεν· οὐκ οἴδαμεν γὰρ τί τέξεται ή ἐπιοῦσα. ΤΞ προστα).αιπωροῦμεν ὑπὲρ τῶν μελλόντων φροντίσιν; Ἀρκεῖ, φησὶν, τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἡ κακία αὐτῆς, και κίαν τὴν κακοπάθειαν λέγων. Τί μεριμνῶμεν περὶ τῆς αὖριον; Δια τοῦτο, διʼ ὧν τὸ σήμερον κελεύει, ἀπαγορεύει σοι τὴν περὶ τοῦ αθριον φροντίδα, μο· νονουχί ταῦτά σοι διὰ τοῦ ῥήματος λέγων· ὅτι Ὁ τὴν ἡμέραν σοι διδοὺς, καὶ τὰ είς τὴν ἡμέραν σοι δίδωσις Τίς ἀνατέλλει τὸν ῆλιονς Τίς ὲξαφανίζει τῆς νυκτὸς τὸ σκότος; Τίς σοι δείκνυσι τοῦ φωτὸς τὴν ἀκτῖνας Τίς περιάγει τὸν οὐρανὸν, ὥστε ὑπὲρ γῆς τὸν φωστῆρα γενέσθαι; ὁ ταῦτά σοι καὶτὰ τηλικαῦτα διδοὺς, τῆς σῆς ἄρα χρῄζει συνεργείας, πρὸς τὸ πληρῶσαι τῇ σαρκί σου τὸ ὲνδέον τῆς χρείας; Ποίαν εἰσφέρεται σπουδὴν ἡ τῶν ἀλόγων φύσις πρὸς τὴν ἰδίαν ζωήνς Ποῖαι τῶν κοράκων ἄρουραι ; Ποίαι τῶν ἀετῶν είειν αἱ ἀποθῆκαι; οὐ μία πᾶσίν ἐστιν ἡ τοῦ ζῇν χορηγία τʼ) θεῖον βούλημα, ᾧ περικρατεῖται τὰ πάντα ; Εἶτα βοῦς μὲν, ἣ ὄνος, ἢ ἄλλο τι τῶν ἀλκά-,σωνκαῦτοδίδακτον τὴν ὲκ φύσεως ἔχει φιλοσοφίαν· καὶ τὸ παρὸν εὖ διατὶθεται, τῶν δὲ εἰς τὸ ἑξῆς αὐτῷ φροντὶς οὐδεμία· ἡμεῖς δὲ συμβούλων δεόμεθα πρὸς τὺ συνιέναι τὸ ἐπίκηρον τοῦτο καὶ ἐφήμερον τῆς κατὰ σάρκα ζωῆςτ Οὐ παιδευόμεθα τοῖς ἀλλοτρίοις συμπτώμασιν; 0:3 η πρὸς τὸν ἴδιον σωφωνιζόμεθα βίον ; Τί ἀπώνατο τῆς πολλῆς παρασκευῆς ἐκεῖνος ὁ πλούσιος. ὁ ταῖς ἀνυποστάτοις ἐλπίσιν ὲμματαίάζων, καθαιρῶν, οἰκοδομῶν συνάγων, τρυφῶν, μακρὰς ἐτῶν περιόδους ὲν ματαιότητι τῶν ἐλπίδων ταῖς ἁποθὴκαις συναποε κλείων ; Οὐχὶ μία νὺξ πᾶσαν ἐκείνην τὴν ὀνειροποο λουμένην ἐλπίδα διήλεγξεν, ὡς μάταιόν τι ἐνύπνιον ἐπὶ ματαίῳ συμπεπλασμένονς Ἡ κατὰ τὸ σῶμα ζωὴ, τοῦ ὲνεστῶτός ἐστι μόνουʼ ἡ δὲ διʼ ἐλπίδος ἀποκειμένη, τῆς ψυχῆς ἐστιν ἰδία ’ ἀλλʼ ἡ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἄνοια διαμαρτάνει περὶ τὴν ἐκατέρου χρῆσιν, τὴν μὲν cur ματικὴν ζωὴν ταῖς ἐλπίσι παρατείνουσα · τὴν δὲ τῆς ψυχῆς πρὸς τὴν τῶν παρόντων ἀπόλαυσιν ἐφελκομένη· διὰ τοῦτο κατʼ ἀνάγκην τῆς οὔσης τε καὶ ὑφεστώσης ἐλπίδος ἡ ψυχὴ περὶ τὸ φαινόμενον ἀσχολου μένη ἀλλοτριοῦται· τοῖς δὲ ἀστατοις διὰ τῶν ἐλπίδων ἐπερειδομένη, οὔτε τούτου περικρατὴς γίνεται, καὶ ἐκεῖνο οὐκ ἔχει. Διδαχθὼμεν τοίνυν διὰ τῆς παρούσης συμβουλῆς, τί μὲν σήμερον αἰτεῖν χρὴ, τί δὲ εἰς ὕστερον. Ὁ ἄρτος τῆς σημερινῆς χρείας ἐστίν · ἡ βασιλεία τῆς ἐλπιζομένης μακαριότητοςθ ἄρτον δι εἰπὼν, πᾶσαν τὴν σωματικὴν περιλαμβάνει χρείαν. Ἐὰν ταῦτα αίτῶμεν,δῆλον ἔσταιτ τῇ διανοίᾳ τοῦ προσ. ευχομένου, ὃτι περ) τὸ ἐφήμερόν ἐστιν ἡ ἀσχολία.ἐὰν δέ τι τῶν τῆς ψυχῆς ἀγαθῶν, ὅτι πρὸς τὺ διηνι. κές τε καὶ ἀτελεύτητον ὴ αἴτησις βλέπει, πρὸς ὃ μὰ. λιστα κελεύει τοὺς εὐχομένους ὀρᾷν* ὡς τῷ μείζονι καὶ τῆς πρώτης συγκατορθουμένης χρείας. Αίτεῖτε,

### English translation (Claude)

The addition of “today” is good too: “Give us today,” he says, “our daily bread.” This saying is another piece of philosophy, so that you may learn from what you say that human life lasts a day. Only the present belongs to each of us, while the hope of the future remains uncertain; for we do not know what the next day will bring forth. Why do we wear ourselves out with cares about the future? “Sufficient for the day,” he says, “is its own evil,” calling hardship evil. Why are we anxious about tomorrow? So by commanding “today” he forbids you to care about tomorrow, all but saying to you through the word: “The one who gives you the day also gives you what is needed for the day. Who makes the sun rise? Who dispels the darkness of night? Who shows you the ray of light? Who turns the heaven round so that the great light comes above the earth? Does the one who gives you these things, and things so great, need your cooperation to supply what your flesh lacks?” What effort does the nature of the irrational animals contribute to its own life? Where are the ravens’ fields? Where are the eagles’ storehouses? Is not the one provision of life for all the divine will, by which all things are held together? Then an ox, or a donkey, or some other of the irrational animals has its philosophy from nature, self-taught: it disposes the present well and has no care for what comes after; but we need counsellors to understand the perishable and daily character of life in the flesh. Are we not taught by the misfortunes of others? Are we not brought to our senses about our own life? What did that rich man gain from his great provision, who indulged in vain and insubstantial hopes — pulling down, building, gathering, revelling, shutting up long cycles of years in his storehouses in the vanity of his hopes? Did not one night refute all that dreaming hope, as a vain dream fashioned upon vanity? The life of the body belongs only to the present; the life laid up in hope belongs to the soul. But human folly goes wrong in using each: it stretches out the bodily life with hopes and drags the life of the soul toward the enjoyment of present things. So of necessity the soul, occupied with what appears, is estranged from the hope that truly is and abides; and leaning through its hopes on what is unstable, it neither masters this nor has that. Let us, then, learn from the present counsel what we must ask for today and what for later. Bread belongs to today’s need; the kingdom to the blessedness we hope for. In saying “bread” he includes every bodily need. If we ask for these things, it will be plain from the mind of the one who prays that his concern is with what lasts a day; but if he asks for some good of the soul, that his request looks to what is everlasting and endless. This above all he commands those who pray to look to, since with the greater the first need too is met. “Seek,”

### Scripture references

- Matt 6:11: quotation, high confidence
- Prov 27:1: allusion, high confidence
- Matt 6:34: quotation, high confidence
- Luke 12:24: allusion, high confidence
- Luke 12:16–20: allusion, high confidence

### Translation notes

- “We do not know what the next day will bring”: Prov 27:1. “Sufficient for the day is its own evil”: Matt 6:34. The ravens neither sow nor reap: Luke 12:24. The rich fool: Luke 12:16–20.

### Citation (SBL)

Gregory of Nyssa, Or. dom. 1175 (PG 44:1176a–1176d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1159/#p-1175).

## On the Lord's Prayer 1177

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1159/#p-1177
- Source: PG 44:1177a–1177d
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-14

Summary: Homily 4 ends: seek the kingdom first. Homily 5 opens on “Forgive us our debts”: forgiving belongs to God alone, so one who forgives imitates and in a way becomes like God, while one who exacts his debts harshly cuts himself off from God’s mercy.

### Greek text

φησὶ, τὴν βασιλείαν, καί τὴν δικαιοσύνην, καὶ ταῦτα πάντα προστεθήσεται ὑμῖν, ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τῷ Κυρίῳ ἡμῶν, ἡ δόξα καὶ τι κράτος, είς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αίώνων. Ἀμήν. ΛΟΓΟΣ ευ. Ἀ μσς ἡμῖν idesset} ήιιίςτα ’ἡμῶνι καθῇςι καὶ. ἡμεῖς ὂρὶέᾗεν τοῖς. ὀφειῖλέταιςῗ ῃμρνἰλίαξ μὴ sio:εἶλέγλῂς είξ πειρασμόιῖ. Ἀλλὰ ῥῦσαι ἡμᾶς ἀ.τῦ τοῦ πονηροῦ. Ἦλθε προῖὼν 6 λόγος ἐπʼ αὐτὸ τῆς ἀρετῆς τὸ ἀκρότατον ο ὑπογράφει γὰρ διὰ τῶν τῆς προσευχῆς ῥημάτων, οἷον εἶναι βούλεται τὸν τῷ Θεῷ προσερχόμενον, τὸν οὐκέτι σχεδον ἐν ἀνθρωπίνης φύσεως ὅροις δειιινύμενον, ἀλλʼ αὐτῷ τῷ Θεῴ διὰ τῆς ἀρετῆς ὁμοιούο μενον · ὥστε δοκεῖν ἄλλον ἐκεῖνον εἶναι ὲν τῷ ταῦτα ποιεῖν, ἃ. τοῦ Θεοῦ μόνου ἐστὶ ποιεῖν. Ἢ γάρ τῶν ὀφλημάτων ἄφεσις, ἴδιόν ἐστι τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ ἐξαίρετον ο εἴρηται γὰρ, ὅτι Οὐδεὶς δύναται ἀφιέναι ἁμαρτίας, εί μὴ μόνος ὁ Θεός. Εἰ τοίνυν τις ὲν τῷ ἰδίῳ βίῳ μιμήσαιτο τῆς θείαις φύσεως τά γνωρίσματα, ἐκεῖνο γίνεται τρόπον τινὰ, οὗ τὴν μίμησιν ἐναργῶς ἐνεδείξατο. Τί οὖν διδάσκει 6 Λόγος; πρῶτον διὰ τῶν ἔργων τὴν παρρησίαν λαῦεῖν, καὶ οὕτως ἁμνηστείαν διὰ τῶν ποτε πλημμελημάτων αἰτήσαθθαι. Ταῦτα γάρ ἄντικρυς ἡμῖν διαλέγεται τῇ παρέ θύσῃ φωνῇ ο ὅτι ὁ τῷ εὐεργέτῃ προσιὼν, εὐεργέτης ἔστω· 6 τῷ ἀγαθῴ, ἀγαθός· 6 τῷ δικαίῳ. δίκαιος ἀνεξίκακός τε τῷ άνεξικάκῳ· καὶ τῷ φιλανθρώπῳ φιλάνθρωπος · καὶ τὰ ἄλλα πάντα ὡσαύτως, τῷ χρηοτῴ τε καὶ ἐπιεικεῖ καὶ μεταδοτικῷ τῶν ἀγαθῶν, καὶ παντὶ τὸν ἔλεον νέμοντι, καὶ εἴ τι περ) τδΘεῖον ὁρᾶται, πρὸς ἕκαστον διὰ τῆς προαιρέσεως ὁμοιούμενος, οὕτως ἐαυτῷ τὴν τῆς προσευχῆς παρρησίαν περιποιείσθω. Ὠς οὖν οὐκ ἔστιν οὔτε πονηρὸν ἁγαθῷ προσοικειωθῆναι, οὔτε τὸν ἐν ἀκαθάρτοις λογισμοῖς κυλινδούμενον 1:96; τὸν καθαρὸν καὶ ἀκήρατον κοινωνίαν ἔχειν ο οὔτω χωρίζει τῆς φιλανθρωπίας τοῦ Θεοῦ, τοῦ προσιόντος άπήνεια ἑαυτήν. '0 τοίνυν ὲν πικρίᾳ κατέχων ὑπὲρ τῶν ὀφειλημάτων τὸν ὑποχείριον, διὰ τοῦ ἰδίου τρόπον τῆς θείας φιλανθρωπίας ἑαυτὸν ἀπεσχοινισε. Τίς γὰρ κοινωνία φιλανθρωπίᾳ τέ καὶ ὠμότητι, καὶ ἀγαπητικῇ διαθέσει πρὸς ἀγριότητα ;,καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ ὅσα ὲκ τοῦ ἐναντίου τῇ πρὸς τί κακὸν ἀντιθέσει νοεῖται, ὧν ἄμικτος ή ἐναντιότης ο ἐφʼ ὧν 6 τῷ ἑνὶ κατειλημμένος, τοῦ ἐναντίου πάντως ἀφώρισται. '0; γὰρ 6 ἐν τῷ θανάτῳ γενόμενος, ὲν ζωῇ οὐκ ἔστιν · καὶ 6 τῆς ζωῆς μετέχων τοῦ θανάτου κεχώρισται οὕτως ἀνάγκη πᾶσα τὸν τῇ φιλανθρωπίᾳ τοῦ Θεοῦ προσιόντα, πάσης ἀπηνείας ἐκτὸς γενέσθαι. '0 δὲ ἐκτὸς πάντων τῶν ἐν κακίᾳ νοουμένων γενόμενος, Θεὸς τρόπον τινὰ διὰ τῆς τοιαύτης ἕξεως γίνεται, ἐκεῖνο κατορθώσας ἐαυτῷ, ὃ περὶ τὴν θείαν φύσιν ό λόγος βλέπει. Ὁρᾷς είς ὅσον μέγεθος ὐψοῖ τοὺς ἀκούοντας διὰ τῶν τῆς προσευχῆς ῥημάτων ὁ Κύριος, αεταῦαλὼν τρόπον τινὰ τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην

### English translation (Claude)

he says, “the kingdom and the righteousness, and all these things will be added to you,” in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen. Homily 5. “And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” The discourse, advancing, has come to the very summit of virtue. Through the words of the prayer it sketches what it wants the person who approaches God to be: no longer, almost, displayed within the limits of human nature, but made like God himself through virtue, so that he seems to be another such, in doing what it belongs to God alone to do. For the forgiveness of debts is proper and peculiar to God; for it is said, “No one can forgive sins but God alone.” If, then, someone imitates in his own life the marks of the divine nature, he becomes in a way that which he has plainly displayed in imitation. What, then, does the Word teach? First to gain boldness through our works, and then to ask for amnesty for our past offences. For by the present word it tells us plainly: whoever approaches the Benefactor should be a benefactor; one who approaches the Good, good; the Just, just; the Forbearing, forbearing; the Lover of humankind, a lover of humankind; and all the rest in the same way — the Kind and Gentle, who shares good things and dispenses mercy to all, and whatever else is seen in the Divine — let him be made like each of these by his own choice, and so win for himself boldness in prayer. As the wicked cannot become akin to the good, nor can one who wallows in unclean thoughts have fellowship with the pure and undefiled, so the harshness of one who approaches separates him from God’s love for humankind. So whoever bitterly holds a dependant to account for debts has cut himself off from the divine love for humankind by his own conduct. For what fellowship has love for humankind with cruelty, or a loving disposition with savagery, and the other things understood as opposites in their contrast with evil, whose opposition admits no mixture? In these, whoever is held by one is entirely separated from its opposite. As one who has come into death is not in life, and one who shares in life is separated from death, so it is wholly necessary that whoever approaches God’s love for humankind be free of all harshness. And whoever has come to be free of everything understood as vice becomes in a way a god by such a disposition, having achieved for himself what the Word sees in the divine nature. Do you see to what greatness the Lord raises his hearers through the words of the prayer, changing in a way human

### Scripture references

- Matt 6:33: quotation, high confidence
- Matt 6:12–13: quotation, high confidence
- Mark 2:7: quotation, high confidence
- 2 Cor 6:14: allusion, medium confidence

### Translation notes

- “Seek first the kingdom …”: Matt 6:33. Homily 5 on the Lord’s Prayer begins here: Matt 6:12–13. “No one can forgive sins but God alone”: Mark 2:7; Luke 5:21.
- “Becomes in a way a god”: Gregory’s language of likeness to God (deification) through virtue; translated as written.

### Citation (SBL)

Gregory of Nyssa, Or. dom. 1177 (PG 44:1177a–1177d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1159/#p-1177).

## On the Lord's Prayer 1179

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1179/#p-1179
- Source: PG 44:1180a–1180d
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-14

Summary: The petition gives the one who prays boldness and makes him his own judge: if we forgive, God has already forgiven; daringly, Gregory says the order is reversed, and we may ask God to imitate our forgiveness, in proportion to his greater power.

### Greek text

φύσιν πρὸς τὸ θειότερον, καὶ θεοὺς γίνεσθαι τοὺς τῷ Θεῷ προσιόντας νομοθετῶνς Τί δουλοπρεπῶς. φησιν, ὲν φόβῳ κατεπτηχὼς, καὶ τῷ συνειδότι τῷ ἑαυτοῦ μαστιζόμενος προσέρχῃ Θεῷ; Τί ἀποκλείεις σεαυτῷ τὴν παρρησίαν, τὴν τῇ ἐλευθερίᾳ τῆς ψυχῆς ἐνυπάρχουσαν, τὴν ἐξ ἀρχῆς συνουσιωμένην τῇ φύσει; Τί κολακεύεις ὲν ῥήμασι τὸν ἀθώπευτον; Τί προσάγεις τοὺς θεραπευτικούς τε καὶ θωπευτικοῦς λόγους τῷ πρὸς τὰ ἔργα βλέποντι ; Ἔξεστί σοι πᾶν ὅτι πέρ ἐστιν ὲκ Θεοῦ χρηστὸν, κατʼ ἐξουσίαν ἔχειν ὲλευθεριάζοντι τῷ φρονήματι ο αὒτδς γενοῦ σεαυτῷ ’δικαστής · δὸς σεαυτῷ τὴν σώζουσαν ψῆφον · ἀφεθῇναί σοι ζητεῖς παρά τοῦ Θεοῦ τά ὀφλήματας σὺ ἄφες. καὶ ὁΘεδς ὲψήφισεν. Ἥ γὰρ ὑπὲρ τοῦ ὁμοφύλου κρίσις, σὺ κύριος, ἴση γίνεται ψῆφος 9 οἶα δʼ ἂν ᾖ σεαυτοῦ γνῷς, ταῦτά σοι διὰ τῆς θείας κρίσεως ὲπεκυρώθη. Ἀλλά πῶς ἄν τις πρὸς ἀξίαν τὸ μεγαλοφυὲς τῆς θείας φωνῆς ὲκκαλύῷειεκ ’Υπερὸαίνει τὴν ἐκ τῶν λόγων ἑρμηνείαν τὸ ὄνομα· Ἀφες ἡμῖν τὰ ὀφειλήματα ἡμῶν, ὡς καὶ ἡμεῖς ἀφήκαμεν τοῖς ὀρεία λουσιν ἡμῖν. Ἃ γάρ ἐπέρχεταί μοι περὶ τούτου. νοεῖν, τολμηρὸν μέν ἐστι καὶ τῷ νῷ λαβεῖν, τολμηο ρὸν δὲ καὶ λόγῳ διακαλύψαι τὸ νόημα. Τί γάρ ἐστι τὸ λεγόμενον ; Ὠσπερ ὀ Θεὸς πρόκειται τοῖς τὸ ἀγαο om κατορθοῦσιν είς μίμησιν, καθὼς εἶπεν ὁ ’Λπόστολος Μιμηταί μου γίνεσθε, καθὼς κάγὼ Χρι· στοῦ· οὕτως τὸ ἔμπαλιν τὴν σὴν διάθεσιν ὑπόδειγμα τῷ Θεῷ πρὸς τὸ ἀγαθὸν γενέσθαι βούλεται, ἀντιμεθε ίσταται τρόπον τινὰ ή τάξις, ὥστε τολμῆσαι, καθάπερ ὲν ἡμῖν τὸ ἀγαθὸν ἐπιτελεῖται τῇ πρὸς τὸ Θείον μιμήσει, οὕτως ἐλπίσαι μιμεῖσθαι τὸν Θεὸν τὰ ἡμέτερα, ὅταν τι τῶν ἀγαθῶν κατορθώσωμεν, ἵνα εἴπῃς καὶ σὺ τῷ Θεῷ, ὅτι "0 ἐγὼ πεποίηκα, ποίησον ο μίμησαι τὸν δοῦλόν σου, ό Κύριος, τον πτωχὸν καὶ πένητα, ὁ τοῦ παντὸς βασιλεύειν, ἀφῆκα τά ὀφειλήματα, μηδὲ σὺ ἀπώσῃ τὸν ἱκετεύοντα ο φαιρ δρὲν ἀπέπεμψα τὸν ἐμὸν ὀφειλέτην, τοιοῦτος καὶ ὁ σὸς γενέσθω · μὴ ποιήσῃς τὸν σὺν χρεώστην τοῦ ἐμοῦ σκυθρωπότερονι ἴσως οἱ δύο τοῖς ἀπαιτοῦσιν εὐχαριρ στείτωσαν ' ἴση παρʼ ἀμφοτέρων κυρωθήτω τοῖς συναλλάκταις ἡ ἄφεσις, τῷ ἐμῷ καὶ τῷ σῷ. '0 ἐμὸς ὀφειλέτης ὁ δεῖνα, ὁ σὸς δε ἐγώ· ἣν ἔσχον ἐπὶ τούτου γνώμην ἐγὼ, αὕτη παρὰ σοι κρατησάτω ἔλυσα. λῦσονο ἀφῆκα, ἄφες ° πολὺν ἐπεδειξάμην ἐγὼ τῷ ὁμοφύλῳ τὸν ἔλεον ο μίμησαι τὴν τοῦ δούλου σου φιλανθρωπίαν,ὁ Κύριος. Ἀλλά βαρύτερά μου τὰ είς σὲ πλημμελήματα τῶν είς ἐμὲ παρὰ τούτου γεγενηο μένων ° φημὶ κάγὼ, καὶ τοῦτο λόγισαι ὅσον ὑπερέχεις ὲν παντὶ ἀγαθῷ ’ δίκαιος γὰρ εἱ τῇ ὑπερβολῇ τῆς σῆς δυνάμεως ἀναλογοῦντα ἡμῖν τοῖς ἡμαρτηκόσι τὸν ἔλεον δωρεῖσθαι · ὀλίγην τὴν φιλανθρωπίαν ἐπεδειξάμην ἐγώ · οὐ γάρ ἐχώρει τὸ πλέον ἡφύσις·

### English translation (Claude)

nature into something more divine, and laying down that those who approach God should become gods? “Why,” he says, “do you approach God like a slave, cowering in fear and scourged by your own conscience? Why do you shut yourself out of the boldness that belongs to the freedom of the soul, which was part of our nature from the beginning? Why do you flatter with words the One who cannot be flattered? Why bring servile and flattering speeches to the One who looks to deeds? You may have whatever good comes from God by your own authority, with a free mind. Become your own judge; give yourself the saving verdict. Do you seek to have your debts forgiven by God? Forgive, and God has given his vote. For the judgment about your fellow, in which you are master, becomes an equal verdict; whatever you decide about yourself has been ratified for you by the divine judgment.” But how could anyone worthily unveil the greatness of the divine voice? The word goes beyond interpretation in words: “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” What occurs to me to think about this is bold even to grasp with the mind, and bold to unveil in words. For what is being said? As God is set before those who achieve the good as a model to imitate, as the Apostle said, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ,” so, conversely, he wants your disposition to become an example for God in doing good. The order is in a way reversed, so that we dare to hope that, as the good is accomplished in us by imitating the Divine, so God imitates what is ours when we achieve some good, so that you too may say to God: “What I have done, do. Imitate your servant, Lord — the poor and needy one, you who reign over all. I have forgiven debts; do not you reject your suppliant. I sent my debtor away cheerful; let yours be so too. Do not make your debtor gloomier than mine; let both alike give thanks to their creditors; let equal forgiveness be confirmed by both of us for those in our debt, mine and yours. So-and-so is my debtor, and I am yours. The judgment I made about him, let it prevail with you. I have released; release. I have forgiven; forgive. I have shown great mercy to my fellow; imitate the love of your servant, Lord. But my offences against you are heavier than those he committed against me — I say so too; but consider this also, how far you surpass me in every good. It is just that you should bestow on us sinners a mercy proportioned to the excess of your power. I have shown little love, for my nature could hold no more;

### Scripture references

- Matt 6:12: quotation, high confidence
- 1 Cor 11:1: quotation, high confidence
- Matt 6:14–15: allusion, medium confidence
- Ps 86:1 (85:1 LXX): allusion, low confidence

### Translation notes

- “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors”: Matt 6:12. “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ”: 1 Cor 11:1. The poor and needy: Ps 86:1 (LXX 85:1).
- Gregory’s daring idea that God “imitates” the forgiving human being is presented by him as bold; translated as written.

### Citation (SBL)

Gregory of Nyssa, Or. dom. 1179 (PG 44:1180a–1180d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1179/#p-1179).

## On the Lord's Prayer 1181

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1179/#p-1181
- Source: PG 44:1181a–1181c
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-14

Summary: Gregory lists humanity’s debts to God — desertion from its Maker, slavery to sin, the ruin of the divine image, the prodigal’s squandering — so that no one should pray as though his conscience were clean; he raises the question how the blameless can ask for forgiveness.

### Greek text

σὺ δὲ ὅσον ἐθέλεις, ού κωλύει τὴν μεγαλοδωρεὸω ἡ δύναμις. Ἀλλὰ φιλανθρωπότερον τὴν προκειμένην τῆς προσευχῆς ῥῆσιν κατανοήσωμεν, εἰ γένοιτό τις καὶ ἡμῖν διά τῆς τοῦ νοήματος θεωρίας πρὸς τὸν ὑψηλὸν βίον χειραγωγία. Ἐξετάσωμεν τοίνυν ποῖα μέν ἐστιν οἷς ὑπόχρεως ἡ ἀνθρωπίνη φύσις ’ ποῖα δὲ πάλιν ἐκεῖνα, ὧν ἡμεῖς ὲσμεν τῆς ἀφέσεως κύριοι. Ἐκ γὰρ τοῦ ταῦτα γνῶναι, γένοιτʼ ἂν ἡμῖν τῆς ὑπερβολῆς τῶν θείων ἀγαθῶν μετρία τις κατανόησις. Οὐκοῦν ἐντεῦθεν ποιησώμεθα τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν πλημμελημάτων τὴν ἀπαρίθμησιν. Πρώτην ὤφλησεν τῷ Θεῷ τιμωρίαν 6 ἄνθρωπος, ὅτι ἀπέστησεν ἑαυτὸν τοῦ ποιήσαντος, καὶ πρὸς τὸν ἐναντίον ἀπηυτομόλησεν, δραπέτης τοῦ κατά φύσιν δεσπότου καὶ ἀποστάτης γενόμενος · δεύτερον ὅτι τὴν πονη ράν τῆς ἁμαρτίας δουλείαν, ἀντὶ τῆς αὐτεξουσίου ἑλευθερίας ἠλλάξατο, καὶ προετίμησε τοῦ συνεῖναι Θεῷ, τὸ τυραννεῖσθαι παρά τῆς καταφθειρούσης δυνάμεως. Ἀλλά καὶ τὸ μὴ πρὸς τὸ κάλλος τοῦ πεποιηκότος βλέπειν, πρὸς δὲ τὸ αἶσχος τῆς ἁμαρτίας ν ἐπιστρέψαι τὸ πρόσωπον, τινος ἂν δεύτερον τῶν κακῶν κριθείη; Ἣ τε τῶν θείων ἀγαθῶν ὑπεροψία, καὶ τῶν τοῦ πονηροῦ δελεασμάτων προτίμησις, είς ποῖον μέρος τιμωρίας ταχθείη; Ὅ τε τῆς εἰκόνος ' ἀφανισμὸς, καὶ ἡ λύμη τοῦ θείου χαρακτῆρος, τοῦ παρὰ τὴν πρώτην κτίσιν ἐν ἡμῖν μορφωθέντος, καὶ ἠ τῆς δραχμῆς ἀπώλεια, καὶ ἡ τῆς τραπέζης τοῦ πατρὸς ἀναχώρησις, καὶ ἡ πρὸς τὸν δυσώδη τῶν χοίρων βίον οἰκείωσις, καὶ ἡ τοῦ τιμίου πλούτου διαφθορά, καὶ ὅσα τοιαῦτα διά τε τῆς Γραφῆς. καὶ τῶν λογισμῶν ίδεῖν ἔστι πλημμελήματα, τίς ἂν ἐξ-” αριθμήσαιτο λόγος ; Ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν ὲν τοιούτοις ὑπόδικόν ἐστι πρὸς τιμωρίας ἔκτισιν τὸ ἀνθρώπινον τῷ θεῷ, διά τοῦτό μοι δοκεῖ παιδεύειν ἡμᾶς τῇ διδασκαλία τῆς προσευχῆς 6 λόγος, μηδαμῶς έν τῇ πρὸς Θεὸν ἐντεύξει, ὡς ἐπὶ καθαρῴ τῷ συνειδότι παρρησιάζεσθαι, κᾶν ὅτι μάλιστα τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων πλημμελημάτων κεχωρισμένος τις Ἴσως γάρ τις κατά τὸν νεανίαν ἐκεῖνον τὸν πολυκτήμονα ταῖς ἐντολαῖς τὴν ζωὴν ἑαυτοῦ παιδαγωγήσας, ἔχει τὸ τοιοῦτον ἐπὶ τοῦ ίδίου καυχήσασθαι βίου, καὶ εἰπεῖν τῷ Θεῷ, ὅτι Ταῦτα πάντα ἐφυλαξάμην ἐκ νεότητός μου, καὶ ὑπηλειφέναι αὐτῷ, διὰ τὸ μηδὲν εἰς τὰς ἐντολὰς πλημμελῆσαι, μὴ λίαν ἁρμόζειν τὴν ὑπὲρ τῶν ὀφλημάτων παραίτησιν, ῶς μόνοις τοῖς, ἐξημαρτηκόσιν ἀρμόζουσαν. Καί φησι τῷ μολυνθέντι διὰ πορνείας τὴν τοιαύτην πρέπειν φωνὴν, ἢ τῷ διὰ πλεονεξίας είδωλολατρήσαντι, ἀναγκαίαν τὴν αἴτησιν τῆς συγγνώμης εἶναι, καὶ παντὶ ὅλως τῷ διά τινος πλημμελείας τὸ συνειδὸς τῆς ψυχῆς καταστίξαντι, καλὸν καὶ ἁρμόδιον εῐναι τὸ καταφυγεῖν πρὸς ἔλεον. Εἰ δὲ Ἠλίας ἐκεῖνος ὸ πολὺς εῖη, ἢ 6 ὲν πνεύματι καὶ δυνάμει ῖίίλίου δ μὲν ὲν γεννητοῖς γυναικῶν,ἢ Πέτρος, ἢ Παῦλος, ἢ Ἰωάννης, ἦ τις ἀλλος τῶν πρὸς τὸ κρεῖτέ

### English translation (Claude)

but you may show as much as you wish, for your power does not limit your generosity.” But let us consider the saying of the prayer before us with more care, in case the contemplation of its meaning may also guide us toward the lofty life. Let us examine, then, what the things are for which human nature is liable, and what again are those whose forgiveness lies in our power. For from knowing these we may gain some modest understanding of the surpassing greatness of the divine goods. Let us begin, then, by counting the offences of human beings against God. First, the human being owed God punishment because he removed himself from his Maker and deserted to the opposite side, becoming a runaway and a rebel against his natural Master. Second, because he exchanged his freedom of self-determination for the evil slavery of sin, and preferred being tyrannized by the corrupting power to being with God. And not to look to the beauty of the Maker but to turn one’s face to the shame of sin — what evil could be judged second to that? The contempt for divine goods and the preference for the enticements of the evil one — in what degree of punishment would they be ranked? The obliteration of the image and the ruin of the divine character formed in us at the first creation, the loss of the drachma, the departure from the father’s table, the familiarity with the foul-smelling life of the swine, the squandering of the precious wealth, and all such offences as can be seen through Scripture and through reasoning — what word could count them? Since, then, humanity is liable to God for paying the penalty for such things, the Word seems to me to teach us by the instruction of the prayer never to be bold in our approach to God as though our conscience were clean, even if one is as far removed as possible from human offences. For perhaps someone, like that young man with many possessions, has trained his life by the commandments and can boast of his own life and say to God, “All these I have kept from my youth,” and may suppose that, because he has offended in nothing against the commandments, the plea for the remission of debts does not quite fit him, since it fits only those who have sinned. He says that such a word befits one defiled by sexual immorality, or that for one who has committed idolatry through greed the request for pardon is necessary, and that it is right and fitting for everyone at all who has stained the conscience of his soul by some offence to take refuge in mercy. But if one were that great Elijah, or the one who came in the spirit and power of Elijah, the greatest among those born of women, or Peter, or Paul, or John, or any other of those attested as better

### Scripture references

- Matt 6:12: allusion, high confidence
- Luke 15:8–10: allusion, high confidence
- Luke 15:13–16: allusion, high confidence
- Matt 19:20: quotation, high confidence
- Col 3:5: allusion, medium confidence
- Luke 1:17: allusion, high confidence
- Matt 11:11: allusion, high confidence

### Translation notes

- The lost drachma: Luke 15:8–10. The prodigal: Luke 15:13–16. “All these I have kept from my youth”: Matt 19:20; Mark 10:20. Greed as idolatry: Col 3:5. “In the spirit and power of Elijah”: Luke 1:17; the greatest among those born of women: Matt 11:11.

### Citation (SBL)

Gregory of Nyssa, Or. dom. 1181 (PG 44:1181a–1181c; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1179/#p-1181).

## On the Lord's Prayer 1183

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1179/#p-1183
- Source: PG 44:1184a–1184d
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-14

Summary: Even the saints must pray for forgiveness, as sharers in Adam’s nature and fall; praying toward the east recalls the lost paradise, and like the prodigal we confess our condition, clothed in garments of skin and fig leaves instead of the divine robe.

### Greek text

ιεκι :ov μεμαρτυρημένων ὑπὸ τῆς θεὲας Γραῖδῆςο εἰς τί χρήσαιτο τῇ τοιαύτῃ φωνῇ, τῇ παραιτουμένῃ αὖ· 1 τὸν ἀπὸ τῶν όφλημάτωνς ᾯ τι οὐδὲν ἑξ ἁμαρτίαι, ὄφλημα; Ὠς ἂν μή τις πρὸς τά τοιαῦτα βλέπων ἁπαυθαδιάζοιτο κατὰ τὸν Φαρισαῖον ἐκεῖνον, τὸν οὐδʼ ὃ τι ἦν κατὰ τὴν φύσιν ἐπιγινώσκοντα, εἰ γὰρ ἑτνώκει ὅτι ἄνθρωπος ἦν, πάντως ἂν τὸ μὴ καθαρεύειν ἀπὸ ῥύπου-τὴν φύσιν παρὰ τῆς ἁγίας ἐδιδάχθη Γραφῖκ, ἦ amst- Μηὸεμιᾶς ἡμέρας ζῇν δυνατὸν εἶναι δίκα κηλῖδος ἐπʼ ἀνθρώπῳ εὑρεῖν. Ὠς ἂν οὖν μηδὲν τοιοῦτον περὶ τὴν ψυχὴν τοῦ διὰ προσευχῆς τῷ θεῷ προσιόντος ἐγγένοιτο, μὴ πρὸς τά κατορθώματα. βλέπειν ὁ λόγος παρεγγυᾷ, ἀλλʼ ἐπαναλαμὸάνειν τὴν μνήμην τῶν κοινῶν τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης φύσεως ὀφληο μάτων, ὧν πάντως τις καὶ αὐτὸς μετέχει, τὸ μέρος συμμετέχων τῆς φύσεως καὶ παρακαλεῖν τόν xpeτὴν ἀμνηστίαν τῶν πλημμελημάτων χαρίσασθαι. Ὠς γὰρ ζῶντος ὲν ἡμῖν τοῦ Ἀδὰμ πάντες oi καθʼ ικαι στον ἄνθρωποι ἓως τοὺς δερματίνους τούτους χιτῶνας περὶ τὴν ἑαυτῶν βλέπωμεν φύσιν, καὶ τὰ πρόσκαιρα φύλλα τῆς ὑλικῆς ταύτης ζωῆς, άπερ ’τῶιι ίδίων τε καὶ λαμπρῶν ἐνδυμάτων γυμνωθέντες. κακῶς ἑαυτοῖς συνερράψαμεν, τρυφὰς καὶ δόξας, καὶ τὰς ἐφημέρους τιμὰς, καὶ τὰς ὠκυμόρους τῆς ααρι κὸς πληροφορίας, ἀντὶ τῶν θείων περισοὶῶν μετενδυσάμενοι · καὶ μέχρις ἂν τὸν τῆς σαρκώσεως βλέπωμεν τόπον, ὲν ᾧ κατεδικάσθημεν παροικεῖν ο tntδᾶν πρὸς ἀνατολὴν ἑαυτοὺς τρέφωμεν · οὐχ ὡς μόνον ἐκεῖ τοῦ Θεοῦ θεωρουμένου ὁ γὰρ πανταχοῦ ῶν κατʼ οὐδὲν μέρος ἰδιαζόντως καταλαμβάνεται · αὐτὸς γὰρ περιέχει τὸ πᾶν ’ ἀλλʼ ὡς ὲν ἀνατολαῖς τῆς πρώτης ἡμῖν πατρίδος οὔσης · λέγω δὲ τῆς ’ἐν παραδείσῳ διαγωγῆς. ἦς ἐκπεπτώκαμεν* Ἐςεύτεςυσενό θεὸς παράδεισον ἐν Ἐδὲμ κατὰ ἀνατολάς · ὃταν τοίνυν πρὸς τὰς ἀνατολὰς βλέπωμεν, καὶ τῆς ἐκπτώσεως τῶν φωτεινῶν τε καὶ ἀνατολικῶν τῆς μακαριότητος τό· πων, τῇ διανοίᾳ τὴν μνήμην λάβωμεν, εἰκότως τὴν τοιαύτην ερωνὴν προσβαλλόμεθα, οἱ ὑπὸ τῆς πονηρᾶς τοῦ βίου συκῆς σκιαζόμενοι, oi ἐξ ὁςρθαλμῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ ῥιφέντες, οἱ πρὸς τὸν ὅφιν αὐτομολήσαντες, ἐσθίοντα καὶ είς γῆν ἰλυσπώμενον, καὶ ἐπὶ τὸ στῆθος καὶ τὴν κοιλίαν ἑαυτοῦ πορευόμενον, καὶ ἡμῖν τὰ ἶσα ποιεῖν συμβουλεύοντα, περὶ τὴν miqu ἁπόλαυσιν ἔχειν, καὶ τοῖς χαμαιζήλοις καὶ χαμερπέσιτ τὴν καρδίαν ἑαυτῶν ἐπισύρειν νοήμασι. καὶ ἐπὶ κοιλίαν πορεύεσθαι. τουτέστι, περὶ τὸν ἀπολαυστικὸν ἀσχολεῖσθαι βίον· ἐν τούτοις οὖν ὄντες κατᾶ τὸν ἄσωτον ἐκεῖνον, μετὰ τὴν μακρὰν ταλαιπωρίαν ἢν τοὺς χοίρους ποιμαίνων ὑπέμεινεν, ἐπειδάν είς ἑαυτοὺς ἐπανέλθωμεν ὥσπερ κάκεῖνος, καὶ τοῦ ούρανίου Πατρὸς ἔννοιαν λάβωμεν, καλῶς κεχρήμεθα ταῖς τοιαύταις φωναῖς, ὅτι ’Ἄφες ἡμῖν τὰ ὀφειλήματα ἡμῶν · ὥστε κάν Μωῦσῆς τις, καὶ Σαμουὴλ, κᾶν ἕτερός τις τῶν διʼ ἀρετῆς ἐξεχόντων, οὐδὲν ἦττον ἁρμόζουσαν ἡγεῖται ταύτην, καθὰ ἄνθρωπός ἔστιν, ἑαυτῷ τὴν φωνὴν, ό κοινωνῶν τῆς φύς-τως τοῦ Ἀδὰμ, κοινωνῶν δὲ καὶ τῆς ἐκπτώσεως.

### English translation (Claude)

by divine Scripture — what use would he have for such a word, which asks for release from debts, when he has no debt from sin? So that no one, looking to such things, may grow arrogant like that Pharisee, who did not even recognize what he was by nature — for if he had known that he was a man, he would surely have been taught by holy Scripture that our nature is not pure of filth, since it says that one cannot find a human being living even one day without stain — so that nothing of this kind may arise in the soul of one who approaches God in prayer, the Word bids us not to look to our achievements, but to recall the memory of the debts common to human nature, in which everyone certainly shares himself, since he shares in the nature, and to beseech the Judge to grant an amnesty for our offences. As long as Adam lives in us, in all human beings individually; as long as we see these garments of skin about our nature, and the passing leaves of this material life, which, stripped of our own bright garments, we wrongly sewed together for ourselves — luxuries and glories, passing honours and short-lived satisfactions of the flesh, put on instead of the divine robes; and as long as we look at the place of our condemnation, where we were sentenced to live as strangers — whenever we turn toward the east (not as though God were seen only there, for he who is everywhere is not grasped in any particular part, since he contains the universe, but because our first fatherland is in the east, I mean the life in paradise from which we fell: “God planted a paradise in Eden toward the east”) — when, then, we look toward the east and call to mind our fall from the bright, eastern places of blessedness, we rightly use such a word. We are shaded by the evil fig tree of this life; we have been cast out from God’s sight; we deserted to the serpent, which eats earth and crawls on the ground, going on its breast and belly, and counsels us to do the same: to have our concern with earthly enjoyment, to drag our hearts after lowly and creeping thoughts, and to go on the belly, that is, to be occupied with the life of enjoyment. Being in this state, then, like that prodigal after the long misery he endured feeding the swine, when we come to ourselves as he did and take thought of the heavenly Father, we rightly use such words: “Forgive us our debts.” So even a Moses or a Samuel, or anyone else eminent in virtue, regards this word as no less fitting for himself, insofar as he is a human being, sharing in the nature of Adam and sharing also in the fall.

### Scripture references

- Luke 18:11–12: allusion, high confidence
- Job 14:4–5: allusion, high confidence
- Gen 3:21: allusion, high confidence
- Gen 3:7: allusion, high confidence
- Gen 2:8: quotation, high confidence
- Gen 3:14: allusion, high confidence
- Luke 15:17: allusion, high confidence
- Matt 6:12: quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- The Pharisee: Luke 18:11–12. No one pure of filth even if his life be one day: Job 14:4–5 (LXX). Garments of skin: Gen 3:21. Fig leaves: Gen 3:7. “God planted a paradise in Eden toward the east”: Gen 2:8. The serpent on its belly eating earth: Gen 3:14. The prodigal comes to himself: Luke 15:17.
- Gregory refers to the custom of praying facing east.

### Citation (SBL)

Gregory of Nyssa, Or. dom. 1183 (PG 44:1184a–1184d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1179/#p-1183).

## On the Lord's Prayer 1185

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1179/#p-1185
- Source: PG 44:1185a–1185d
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-14

Summary: All die in Adam and so share his need of forgiveness; but each person’s own conscience suffices, for no one is sinless in sight, hearing, taste, or touch, the “windows” through which death enters the soul.

### Greek text

Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ, καθώς φησιν ό Ἀπόστολος, ἐν τῷ Ἀδὰμ πάντες ἀποθνήσκομεν, εἶναι προσήκει τῷ Ἀδὰμ ἐπὶ τῇ μετανοίᾳ πρέπουσαν φωνὴν πάντων τῶν ἐκείνῳ συντεθνηκότων, ὼς ἂν τῆς ἀμνηστίας ἡμῖν τῶν πλημμελημάτων δοθείσης, χάριτι πάλιν ὑπὸ τοῦ Κυρίου σωθείημεν, καθώς φησιν ό Ἀπόστολος. Ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν εἴρηται, ὡς ἄν τις τὸν κοινότερον ἐπισκοπῶν λόγον, τὸ προκείμενον θεωρήσειεν. Ei δέ τις τὴν ἀληθῆ τοῦ ῥήματος ζητοίη διάνοιαν· οὐκ οἶμαι χρείαν ἐφʼ ἡμῖν εἶναι, πρὸς τὸ κοινὸν τῆς φύσεως ἀναφέρειν τὴν ἔννοιαν - ἱκανὴ γὰρ ἡ συνείςεησις ὲκ τῶν ἑκάστῳ βεβιωμένων ἀναγκαίαν ποιήσασθαι τοῦ ὲλέου τὴν αἴτησιν. Πολυειδῶς γὰρ κατά τὸν βίον τοῦτον τῆς ζωῆς ἡμῖν ἐνεργουμένης τῆς μὲν κατά ψυχὴν καὶ διάνοιαν, τῆς δὲ κατὰ τάς αἰσθήσεις τοῦ σώματος · δύσκολον, ἢ καὶ παντάπασιν ἀμήχανον εἶναι, μὴ ἑνί τινι πρὸς ἁμαρτίαν πάθει συνενεχθῆναι, οἷόν τι λέγω· Τῆς ἀπολαυστικῆς ταύτης τῆς κατά τὸ σῶμα ζωῆς ἑπιμεριζομένης ἡμῶν ταῖς αίσθήσεσι, τῆς δὲ κατὰ ψυχὴν, ἐν τῇ τῆς διανοίας ὁρμῇ θεωρουμένης, καὶ ἐν τῇ κινήσει τῆς προαιρέσεως· τίς οὗτος ὑψηλός τε καὶ μεγαλοφυὴς τῷ φρονήματι, ὡς διʼ ἀμφοτέρων ἔξω γενέσθαι τοῦ κατὰ κακίαν μολύσματος; Τίς κατὰ τὸν ὀφθαλμὸν ἀναμάρτητος ; Τίς κατὰ τὴν ἀκοὴν ἀνυπεύθυνος; Τίς τῆς βοσκηματώδους ταύτης κατὰ τὸν λαιμὸν ἡδονῆς ἀλλότριος; Τίς τῇ ἁφῇ τῆς κατὰ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν λασῆς καθαρεύει; Τίς οὐκ οἶδεν τὸ αἴνιγμα τῆς Γρας φῆς λεγούσης · Διὰ τῶν θυρίδων εἰσεληλυθέναι τὸν θάνατον; Τὰς γὰρ αἰσθήσεις, διʼ ὧν ἐκπίπτουσα ἡ ψυχὴ πρὸς τὰ ἔξωθεν πράγματα τῶν κατά γνώμην ἀντιλαμβάνεται, θυρίδας ἠ Γ ραφὴ προσηγόρευσεν, ἃς ὁδοποιεῖν τῷ θανάτῳ τὴν εἴσοδον ὁ Λόγος φησί. Τῷ δντι γὰρ πολλῶν θανάτων εἴσοδος γίνεται πολλάκις ὁ ὀφθαλμὸς, ὁ θυμούμενον βλέπων, καὶ πρὸς τδ ἴσον πάθος ἀντεγειρόμενοςʼ ἢ εὐημεροῦντα παρʼ ἀξίαν, καὶ εἰς φθόνον φλεγόμενος · ἢ ὐπερηφανούμενον, καὶ πρὸς μῖσος ἑκπίπτωνʼἧ τινα εὐχροοῦσαν ὓλην, ἦ ἐπὶ μορφῆς εὐφυεστέραν διάπλασιν, καὶ ὅλος πρὸς τὴν τοῦ ἀρέσαντος ἐπιθυμίαν κατολισθαίνων. Οὕτως ἀνοίγει τῷ θανάτῳ τὰς θυρίδας τὸ οὖς, διʼ ὧν ἀκούει, πολλά πάθη ἐπὶ τὴν ψυχὴν παραδέχεται, φόβον, λύπην, θυμὸν, ἡδονὴν, ἐπιθυμίαν, διάίχυσιν γέλωτος, καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα. Ἦ δὲ κατὰ τὴν γεῦσιν ἀπόλαυσις, μήτηρ, ὡς ἂν εἴποι τις, τῶν καθʼ ἕκαστόν ἔστι κακῶν · τίς γὰρ οὐκ οἶδεν, ὃτι ῥίζα σχεδόν ἐστι τῶν περὶ τὸν βίον πλημμελημάτων, ή περὶ τὸν λαιμὸν ἀσχολία; Ταύτης γὰρ ἐξήρτηται ή τρυφὴν ἡ μέθη, ἡ γαστριμαργία, ή περ) τὴν δίαιταν ἀσωτία, ἡ πληθώρα, ὁ κόρος, ὀ κῶμος, ἡ κτηνώδης καὶ ἄλογος περὶ τά πάθη τῆς ἀτιμίας καταφορὰ. Ὁμοίως ἡ κατά τὴς) ἁφὴν αἴσθησις, πάντων ἔσχατον τῶν ἁμαρτανομένων ἐστί · πάντα γὰρ ὅσα τῷ σώματι παρὰ τῶν φιληδόνων ἐπιτηδεύεται, τῆς ἀντιλήψεως τῆς ἀπτικῆς ἐστιν ἀρρωστήματα, ὧν τὰ καθʼ ἕκαστον διηγεῖσθαι μακρὸν ἂν εἴηʼ καὶ οὐδὲ πρέπον ἅμα τοῖς σεμνοτέροις τῶν λόγων παραμιγνύειν, ὅσα τῆς ἁφῆς ἐστι κατηγορήματα.

### English translation (Claude)

For since, as the Apostle says, in Adam we all die, it is fitting that the word of repentance suited to Adam should be the word of all who died with him, so that, when an amnesty for our offences has been granted, we may be saved again by grace by the Lord, as the Apostle says. But these things have been said as one might view the subject when considering the more general sense. If one seeks the true meaning of the saying, I do not think we need to refer the thought to what is common to our nature; for each person’s conscience, from the life he has lived, is enough to make the request for mercy necessary. Since our life is active in many forms in this world — partly in the soul and mind, partly in the senses of the body — it is difficult, or rather altogether impossible, not to be carried into some passion that leads to sin. I mean something like this. The life of bodily enjoyment is distributed among our senses, while the life of the soul is seen in the impulse of thought and in the movement of choice. Who is so lofty and great-minded as to remain outside the defilement of vice in both? Who is sinless in the eye? Who blameless in hearing? Who a stranger to this brutish pleasure of the throat? Who is pure from the touch that leads to sin? Who does not know the riddle of Scripture which says that death has come in through the windows? Scripture called the senses windows, through which the soul goes out to external things and lays hold of what it wishes; and the Word says that they make a road for the entry of death. For truly the eye often becomes the entrance for many deaths: when it sees someone in a rage and rises up in the same passion; or someone prospering undeservedly and is inflamed with envy; or someone arrogant and falls into hatred; or some bright-coloured material, or a finer shape of form, and slides wholly into desire for what has pleased it. So the ear opens the windows to death: through what it hears it admits many passions into the soul — fear, grief, anger, pleasure, desire, bursts of laughter, and the like. The enjoyment of taste is, one might say, the mother of every evil. For who does not know that preoccupation with the throat is nearly the root of the offences of life? On it depend luxury, drunkenness, gluttony, profligacy in diet, surfeit, satiety, revelling, and the brutish and irrational rush into the passions of dishonour. Likewise the sense of touch is the last of all the sins; for everything the lovers of pleasure practise with the body is a sickness of the sense of touch, which it would take long to recount in detail; and it is not fitting to mix with more dignified words the charges that belong to touch.

### Scripture references

- 1 Cor 15:22: quotation, high confidence
- Eph 2:5: allusion, high confidence
- Jer 9:21 (9:20 LXX): quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- “In Adam all die”: 1 Cor 15:22. “By grace you have been saved”: Eph 2:5, 8. “Death has come up through our windows”: Jer 9:21 (LXX 9:20).

### Citation (SBL)

Gregory of Nyssa, Or. dom. 1185 (PG 44:1185a–1185d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1179/#p-1185).

## On the Lord's Prayer 1187

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1179/#p-1187
- Source: PG 44:1188a–1188d
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-14

Summary: Sins of thought and will are countless, and no one is pure; so all must ask for forgiveness, but the prayer is useless unless we forgive others, since the creditor who imprisons his debtor and charges interest condemns himself.

### Greek text

Α ν Τῶν δὲ κατὰ τὴν ψυχήν τε καὶ προαίρεσιν πλημμελουμένων τὸν ὲσμὺν, τίς ἂν ἐξαριθμήσαιτο λότᾷ; Ἔσωθεν, φησὶν,-ὲκπορεύονται διαλογισμοὶ πονηροί· καὶ προσέθηκε τῶν ἐνθυμήσεων τῶν κοινούντων τὸν κατάλογον. Et τοίνυν οὕτω πανταχόθεν ἡμῖν τὰ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν δίκτυα περικέχυται, διὰ πάντων τῶν αἰσθητηρίων, διὰ τῶν ὲγκαρδίων τῆς ψυχῆς κινημὰ· των · τίς καυχήσεται, καθὼς Σοφία φησὶν, ἁγνὴν ἔχειν καρδίαν; Τίς κεκαθάρισται ἀπὸ ῥύπους ὡςό ’1ὼὸ τὸ τοιοῦτον μαρτύρεταιδ Ῥύπος ἐστὶ τῆς κατὰ ψυχὴν καθαρότητος ἡδονὴ ἡ πολυμερῶς καὶ πολυτρόπως τῷ ἀνθρωπίνῳ καταμιγνυμένη βίῳ, διὰ φυχῆς τε καὶ σώματος, διʼ ἐνθυμήσεων, διʼ αἰσθήσεων, διὰ τῶν κατά πρόθεσιν κινημάτων, διὰ τῶν supra; κῶν ὲνε ργη μάτων. Τίς οὖν καθαρὰν τῆς κηλῖδος ταῦτης τὴν ψυχὴν ἔχεις Πῶς οὐκ ἐπλήγη τῷ fias: Πῶς οὐκ ἐπατήθη τῷ ποδὶοτῆς ὑπερηφανίας, avi ἀμαρτωλὴ χεὶρ οὐκ ὲσάλευσενς Οὗ ό ποῦς εις και κίαν οὐκ ἔδραμεν ; Ὃν ὀφθαλμὸς ἀτακτῶν οὒκ ἐμόλυνεν, καὶ ἀπαίδευτος ἀκοὴ οὐκ ἑῤῥύπωσεν, καὶή γεῦσις πρὸς ἑαυτὴν οὐκἢσχόλησεν, καὶ fingit: πρὸς ματαίας κινήσεις ἀνενέργητος ἔμεινεν. Ἐπὶ οὖν τὰ περὶ ἡμᾶς χείρω μὲν καὶ χαλεπωδέστερὰ τοῖς κτηνωδεστέροις· πάντη δὲ καὶ πάντως ἐν ττᾶὴ τοῖς κοινωνοῦσι τῆς φύσεώς ἐστι καὶ ἡ κοινωνία τῶν πλημμελημάτων τῆς φύσεως· διὰ τοῦτο προσπίπτοντες διὰ προσευχῆς τῷ Θεῷ ἀφεθῆναι ἡμῖν τὰ δεινειλήματα παρακαλοῦμεν. θΛλλʼ ἄπρακτός ἐστιν ἡτοιαύτη φωνὴ, καὶ εἰς ἀκοὰς θείας φθᾶνουσα, μὴ τῆς συνείδήσεως ἡμῖν σαμὸοώσης, ὅτι καλόν ἐστιν ἠ τοῦ ἐλέους C μετάδοσις. Ὀ γʼὰρ Θεῷ πρέπειν τὴν φιλανθρωπίαν κρίνωνʼ οὐ γὰρ ἂν εἰ μὴ πρέπειν ᾤετο, πρὸςύ ἀπρεπές τε καὶ ἀνάρμοστον ἐλθεῖν ἠξίου · δίκαιος ἂν εἴη τοῖς ἰδίοις ἔργοις τὴν περὶ τοῦ καλοῦ βεβαιῶσαι κρίσιν, ὡς ἂν μὴ τὸ τοιοῦτον ἀκούσειεν παρὰ τοῦ κριτοῦ, ὅτι Ἰατρέ, θεράπευσον σεαυτόὲʼ ἐμὲ apt; κ φιλανθρωπίαν πᾶρακαλεῖς, ἧς τοϊς πέλας αὐτὸς σὺ μετέδωκας; ’ίΑφεσιν ὀφλημάτων αἰτεῖς· πῶς οὖν κατάγχεις ob τὸν ὑπόχρεωνς Ἐξαλειφθῆναι τὺ κατὰ σοῦ χειρόγραφον εὔχῃ, ό διδ ἐπιμελείας φυλάσσων τὰ τῶν ὑπευθύνων συμβόλαια · χρεῶν αἰτεῖς demutat. ό τρέφων διὰ τῶν τόκων τδ δάνειον · ό σὸς ὀφειλέτης ὲν δεσμωτηρίῳ, καὶ σὺ ἐν εὐκτηριφ · ἐκεῖνος ὲῒὶ τοῖς ὀφλήμασιν όδυνᾶταιο και σὺ ἀφεθῆναί σοι τὴν ὀφειλὴν ἀξιοῖς· ἀνήκοός ὲστί σου ήπροσευχὴ,ιῖπερηχεῖ γὰρή τοῦ ὀδυνωμένου φωνή ’ ἐὰν λύσῃςτὺ ματικὸν χρέος, λυθήσεταί σοι τῆς ψυχῆς τά δεσμά· ἐὰν συγχωρήσῃς, συγχωρηθήσεται ί σταυτῷ δικάσεις, σεαυτῷ νομοθετήσεις, τῇ πρὸς τὸν ὑποκείμενον διαθέσει τὴν ἄνωθεν ψῆφον ἐπὶ σεαυτοῦ φέρων.

### English translation (Claude)

And who could count the swarm of sins committed in the soul and the will? “From within,” he says, “come evil thoughts”; and he added the list of the thoughts that defile. If, then, the nets of sin are spread around us on every side, through all the senses and through the movements of the soul in the heart, who will boast, as Wisdom says, of having a pure heart? Who has been cleansed from filth, as Job testifies? The filth of the soul’s purity is pleasure, mixed into human life in many parts and many ways, through soul and body, through thoughts, through the senses, through deliberate movements, through bodily actions. Who, then, has a soul pure of this stain? How was he not struck by the eye? How was he not trampled by the foot of arrogance, he whom the sinner’s hand has not shaken? Whose foot has not run to evil? Who is the one whom an unruly eye has not defiled, whom an untrained ear has not soiled, whom taste has not occupied with itself, and whose touch has remained inactive toward vain movements? The worse and harsher of these sins belong to the more brutish; but in all who share in our nature there is, altogether and in every way, a sharing also in the offences of that nature. Therefore, falling down before God in prayer, we beseech him that our debts may be forgiven. But such a word is ineffective, even when it reaches the divine ears, unless our conscience cries out to us that the sharing of mercy is good. For whoever judges that love for humankind befits God — and he would not ask him to come to what is unfitting and inappropriate unless he thought it fitting — should confirm by his own works his judgment about the good, so that he may not hear from the Judge: “Physician, heal yourself. You beg me for love of humankind — have you shared it with your neighbours? You ask forgiveness of debts — how, then, do you throttle your debtor? You pray that the bond against you may be blotted out, you who carefully guard the contracts of those who owe you. You ask for the cancelling of debts, you who feed your loans with interest. Your debtor is in prison, and you are in the house of prayer; he is in anguish over his debts, and you ask that your debt be forgiven you. Your prayer is not heard, for the voice of the one in anguish drowns it out. If you release the debt of money, the bonds of your soul will be released; if you pardon, you will be pardoned. You will judge yourself, you will legislate for yourself, bringing the verdict from above upon yourself by your disposition toward the one under you.”

### Scripture references

- Mark 7:21: quotation, high confidence
- Prov 20:9: allusion, high confidence
- Job 14:4: allusion, high confidence
- Ps 36:11 (35:12 LXX): allusion, high confidence
- Prov 1:16: allusion, medium confidence
- Luke 4:23: quotation, high confidence
- Matt 18:28: allusion, high confidence
- Col 2:14: allusion, high confidence
- Matt 6:12: allusion, high confidence
- Matt 6:14–15: allusion, medium confidence

### Translation notes

- “From within come evil thoughts”: Mark 7:21; Matt 15:19. “Who will boast of having a pure heart?”: Prov 20:9. Job on filth: Job 14:4. The foot of arrogance and the sinner’s hand: Ps 36:11 (LXX 35:12). Feet running to evil: Prov 1:16; Isa 59:7. “Physician, heal yourself”: Luke 4:23. The unforgiving servant throttles his debtor: Matt 18:28. The bond blotted out: Col 2:14.
- Two words naming the senses are unreadable in the scan (OCR debris) and are supplied by sense (“eye,” “touch”). Gregory’s condemnation of lending at interest is translated as written.

### Citation (SBL)

Gregory of Nyssa, Or. dom. 1187 (PG 44:1188a–1188d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1179/#p-1187).

## On the Lord's Prayer 1189

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1179/#p-1189
- Source: PG 44:1189a–1189d
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-14

Summary: The parable of the unforgiving servant shows how small our neighbours’ debts are beside ours to God; the master who rages at a slave should remember that slavery comes from power, not nature, since God gave humans dominion only over animals, and that he himself has deserted his own divine Master.

### Greek text

ΗΒΘ σκειν 6 Κύριος διηγηματικῶς τδ δόγμα τοῦτο παρα τιθέμενος, ἔνθα βασιλεύς τίς ἐστιν ὲν τῷ διηγήματι, φοβερῶς προκαθήμενος καὶ τοὺς οἰκέτας είς κρίσιε ἄγων, καὶ τῶν οἰκονομηθέντων παρʼ ἑκάστου τὴν γνῶσιν ἐπιζητῶν, Προσαχοέντος δέ τινος τῶν χρε ωφειλετῶν, καὶ φιλανθρωπίας τετυχηκότος, ἐπειδὴ προσπεσὼν ἀντὶ τῆς τῶν χρημάτων ὲκτίσεως τὴν ἱκετηρίαν προσήγαγεν. εἶτα κατά τοῦ ὁμοδούλου ἐπιμετρίῳ ὀφλήματι πικρῶς τε καὶ ἀπηνῶς διατεθέντος, ὀργιζόμενον ἐποίησε τῇ πρὸς τὸν ὁμόδουλον ἀπηνεία τὸν βασιλέα· καὶ προσέταξε τοῖς βασανισταῖς πάγχυ αὐτὸν τῆς τοῦ βασιλέως οἰκίας ἀλλοτριῶσαι, ἐπὶ τοσοῦτόν τε παρατεῖναι τὴν κόλασιν, ἓως ἂν τὴν ἀξίαν τιμωρίαν ἀναποπληρὼσῃ. ’Δληθῶς γὰρ όβολοί τινές εἰσιν ἀτελεῖς τε καὶ εὐαρίθμητοι πρὸς μυριάδας ταλάντωνπαρατιθέμένοι, ’τάπῶν ἀδελφῶίήμῶν είς ἡμᾶς ὀφλήματα συγκρίσει τὸν Θεὸν τῶν ἡμετέρων πλημμελημάτων. Ζημία πάντως ἐστὶν ή ὕβρεως ἀφορμὴ παρά τινος γεγενημένη, ἢ οἰκέτου κακία, ἢ καὶ εἰς σωματικὸν θάνατον ἐπιβουλήο εἶτα σὺ πρὸς τὴν ἄμυναν τούτων ὲν φλεγμονῇ καρδίας ὲξερεθίξῃ, καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν ὲπίνοιαν είς τήν τῶν προλελυπηκότων τιμωρίαν ἀναζητεῖς, ού λογίζῃ εἰ μὲν πρὸς οἰκέτην ό θυμὸς φλεγμαίνοι· ὅτι ού φύσις, ἀλλά δυναστεία πρὸς δουλείαν τε καὶ κυριότητα τὸ ἀνθρώπινον έσχισεη Τῷ γάρ ἀνθρώπῳ δουλεύειν 6 τοῦ παντὸς οἰκονόμος τὴν ἄγονον φύσιν μόνην ἐνομοθέτησε, καθώς φησιν ό Προφήτης, ὄτι Πάντα ὑπέταξας ὑποκάτω τῶν ποδῶν αὐτοῦ. πρόβατα καὶ βόας ἁπάσας, καὶ τὰ πετεινὰ καί τὰ κτήνη, καὶτοὺς ιχθύας. Ταῦτά τε καὶ δοῦλα προσαγορεύει, φησάσης ἑτέρωθι τῆς προφητείαςοδιὸόντι τοῖς κτήνεσι τροφὴν αὐτῶν, καὶ χλόην τῇ δουλείᾳ τῶν ἀνθρώπων. Τὸν δὲ ἄνθρωπον τῇ αύτεξουσίᾳ χάριτι κατεκόσμησεν. ’Ὥστε ’τὸ ἴσον ἔχει σοι τῷ τῆς φύσεως ἀξιώματι, 6 ὑπεζευγμένος συνηθείᾳ καὶ νόμῳ, οὔτε παρά σοῦ γέγονεν, οὔτε ὲν σοὶ ζῇ. οὔτε τὰς σωματικάς τε καὶ τὰς ψυχικάς τῆς ψυχῆς ἐνεργείας παρά σοῦ λαβὼν ἔχει. Τί οὗν τδσοῦτον ὲπιζέεις κατʼ αὐτοῦ τῷ θυμῷ, ῥᾳθυ μή σαντός τινος, ἢ ἀποστήσαντος, ἢτάχα καταφρόνησιν ἐνδειξαμένου σοι κατά πρόσωπον; Δέον πρὸς ἑαυτὸν βλέπειν, οἷος σὺ γέγονας τῷ Δεσπότῃ τῷ πλάσαντι σε καὶ παρἀγαγόντι διὰ γενέσεως, καὶ κοινωνόν σε τῶν ὲν τῷ κόσμῳ θαυμάτων ποιήσαντι; Τῷ προθέντι τὸν ἥλιον εἰς ἀπόλαυσιν, καὶ πάσας τὰς τοῦ ζῇν ἀφορμὰς ὲκ τῶν στοιχείων χαρισαμένφς ὲκ γῆς τε καὶ πυρδῖν καὶ ἀέρος, καὶ ὖδατος; Τῷ παρασχομένῳ τὴν διανοητικὴν χάριν, τήν ἀντιληπτικὴν αἴσθησιν, τὴν διακριο τικήν καλοῦ τε καὶ χείρονος ἐπιστήμην; Πῶς σὺ πρὸς τὸν τοιοῦτον Δεσπότην ἔσῃ καταπειθὴς καὶ ἀπρόσκοπτος ; Ούκ ἀπέστης τῆς δεσποτείας ; Οὐκ ἐδραπέτευσας πρὸς τὴν ἀμαρτίαν; Οὐκ ἀντηλλάξω τήν πονηράν δεσποτείαν ; Οὐ τό γε ἐπὶ σοι ἔρημον τὴν τοῦ Δεσπότου κατέλιπες οἰκίαν, ὲν ᾧ ἐτάχθης ἐργάζεσθαι καὶ φυλάσσειν, τούτου ἀπεφοίτησαςς Τὰ δὲ καταλελεγμένα πλημμελήματα, οὐχ ὑπὸ μάρτυρι τῷ Θεῷ τῷ πανταχοῦ δντι, καὶ πάντα ἐφορῶντι, ἢ πράττεις,

### English translation (Claude)

… the Lord teaches, setting out this doctrine in the form of a story. In the story there is a king, seated fearsomely, who brings his servants to judgment and asks to know what each has managed. One of the debtors was brought in and received kindness, because he fell down and offered supplication instead of paying the money; but then he treated his fellow servant bitterly and harshly over a small debt, and so made the king angry by his harshness toward his fellow servant. The king ordered the torturers to cut him off altogether from the king’s household and to prolong the punishment until he should pay the penalty he deserved. For truly the debts of our brothers to us, compared with our offences against God, are like a few incomplete obols set beside tens of thousands of talents. The occasion of loss is certainly an insult received from someone, or a servant’s wickedness, or even a plot against one’s bodily life; then you are provoked to retaliate for these with an inflamed heart, and search out every device for punishing those who have grieved you. If your anger flares up against a servant, do you not reckon that it was not nature but power that split humanity into slavery and lordship? For the steward of the universe ordained that only the irrational nature should serve the human being, as the Prophet says: “You have put all things under his feet, sheep and all oxen, and the birds and the beasts and the fish.” These he even calls slaves, when the prophecy says elsewhere, “giving the beasts their food, and grass for the service of human beings.” But the human being he adorned with the grace of self-determination. So the one who is yoked to you by custom and law is equal to you in the dignity of nature: he was not made by you, he does not live in you, and he has not received from you the activities of body and soul. Why, then, do you boil over so with anger against him, when someone has been lazy, or has run away, or perhaps has shown you contempt to your face? Should you not look at yourself, and at what you have been toward the Master who formed you, brought you into being by birth, and made you a sharer in the wonders of the world — who set the sun before you for your enjoyment, and granted you all the means of life from the elements, from earth and fire and air and water; who gave you the gift of understanding, perceiving sense, and the knowledge that distinguishes good and worse? How have you been obedient and blameless toward such a Master? Did you not desert his lordship? Did you not run away to sin? Did you not take the evil lordship in exchange? Did you not, as far as it lay with you, leave deserted the Master’s house in which you were appointed to work and to guard, and run away from it? And the offences we have listed — do you not do, or

### Scripture references

- Matt 18:23–35: allusion, high confidence
- Ps 8:6–8 (8:7-Ps LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Ps 104:14 (103:14 LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Gen 1:26: allusion, medium confidence
- Gen 2:15: allusion, high confidence

### Translation notes

- The opening continues after a short gap in the scan (marked …). The unforgiving servant: Matt 18:23–35. “You have put all things under his feet …”: Ps 8:6–8 (LXX 8:7–9). “Grass for the service of human beings”: Ps 104:14 (LXX 103:14). Appointed to work and guard the garden: Gen 2:15.
- Gregory’s statement that “not nature but power” divided humanity into slaves and masters, and that a slave is equal to his master in the dignity of nature, is translated as written.

### Citation (SBL)

Gregory of Nyssa, Or. dom. 1189 (PG 44:1189a–1189d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1179/#p-1189).

## On the Lord's Prayer 1191

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1179/#p-1191
- Source: PG 44:1192a–1192d
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-14

Summary: We must be able to say truly that we have forgiven; “temptation” and “the evil one” are names for the same enemy, who rules the world, so to pray against temptation is to ask to be kept apart from the world, as one who fears war or the sea keeps away from them.

### Greek text

ἢλέγεις, ἢ φρονεῖς τΞι μὴ ῑέοντα; Εἶτα τοιοῦτος ὢν, και τοσούτοις ὑπόχρεως, μέγα τι οἴῃ τῷ ὁμοδούλῳ χαρίζεσθαι, εἴ τι τῶν εἰς σὲ πλημμεληῡὲντων παρέὸοις; Εἰ τοίνυν μέλλοιμεν προσάγειν τῷ Θεῷ τὴν ὑπὲρ τοῦ ἐλέους καὶ τῆς συγγνώμης παράκλησιν, παρασκευάσωμεν τῷ συνειδότι τὴν παρρησίαν, ὼς τον βίον συνήγορον τῆς φωνῆς ταύτης προστήσασθαι, καὶ εἰπεῖν ἀληθῶς· ὅτι Καὶ ἡμεῖς ἀφήκαμεν τοῖς 6;; ίλουσιν ἡμῖν. Τί βούλεται τὸ ἑφεξῆς τοῖς εἰρημένοις agenda:νονς ’Λναγκαιως οἶμαι, μηδὲ τοῦτο παραδραμεῖν ἀθεώρητον, ὡς ἃνεὶδότεςῷ προσευχόμεθα ψυχῇ καὶ μὴ σώματι ἱκεσίαν προσάγωμεν· Μὴ ἐσενέγκῃς ἡμᾶς εἰς πειρασμόν· ἀλλὰ ῥῦσαι ἡμᾶς ἀπὶ τεῦ πονηροῦ. Τίς, ἀδελφοὶ, τῶν εἰρημένων ἡ δύναμιςς Δοκεῖ μοι πολυτρόπως τε καὶ διαφόρως 6 Κύριπ τὸν κακὸν ὀνομάζειν, κατὰ τὰς τῶν πονηρῶν ἐνεργειῶν διαφορᾶς πολυωνύμως αὑτὸν ἀποκαλῶν, διάβολον, Βεελζεβοὺλ, Μαμ-μωνὰν, ἄρχοντα τοῦ κόσμον, ἀνθρωποκτόνον, πονηῷν, πατέρα ψεύδους, καὶ ἄλλα τοιαῦτα. Τάχα τοίνυν ἒν τῶν περὶ αὑτὸν νοουμένων ὖνομόι τί ἐστι καὶ 6 πειρασμὸς, καὶ βεῦλιοῖ τὴν τοιαύτην ἡμῖν ὑπόνοιαν ἡ τῶν εἰρημένων σύστασις. Εἰπὼν γὰρ, Μὴ εἰσενέγκῃς ἡμᾶς εἰς πειἳιίασμῶν, ἐπήγαγεν τὸ Ῥυσθιῆναι ἀπὸ τοῦ πονηροῦ. Ὠς τοῦ αὐτοῦ διʼ ἑκατέρων τῶν ὀνομάτων σημαινομένου. Εἰ γὰρ 6 μὴ εἰσελθὼν εἰς πειρασμὸν, ἔξω πάντως ἐστὶ τοῦ πονηροῦʼ καὶ ὁ -ἐν τῷ πειρασμῷ τεο νόμενος, ὲν τῷ πονηρῷ κατʼ ἀνάγκην γίνεται ἄρα 6 πειρασμὸς τε καὶ 6 πονηρὸς ἓν τι κατὰ τὴν σημασίαν ἐστι. Τί οὖν ἡμῖν ἠ τοιαύτη διδασκαλία τῆς πρεσευχῆς ὲγκελεύεται; Τὸ ἔξω γίνεσθαι τῶν κατὰ τον κόσμον τοῦτον Θεωρουμένων, καθώς φησιν ἑτέρωθι πρὸς τοὺς μαοητὰςο ὅτι Ὄλος ό κόσμος ἐν τῷ.70νηρῷ κεῖται. Οὐκοῦν 6 ἐκτὸς γενέσθαι τοῦ ποετ,μῦ θέλων, ἐξ ἀνάγκης τοῦ κόσμου ἑαυτὸν dammis-at. Οὐ γὰρ ἔχει χώραν ὁ πειρασμὸς τῆς ψυχῆς ἅψασθαι, εἰ μὴ καθάπερ τι δέλεαρ τὴν κοσμικὴν ταύτην ἀσκολξαν τῷ πονηρῷ ἀγκίστρῳ τοῖς λιχνοτέροις προέτεινεν. Μᾶλλον δὲ σαφέστερον ἂν ἡμῖν διʼ ἑτέρων ὑποδειγμάτων τὺ νόημα γένοιτο. Χαλεπὴ πολλάκις ἐκ τρικυμίας ἐστὶν ἡ θάλασσαʼ ἀλλʼ ούχὶ καὶ τοῖς πέρρωοεν ἁποικιζομένοις αὐτῆς. Φθαρτικδν τὸ πῦρ, ἀλλὰ τῆς ὑποπεσούσης ὕλης. Δεινὸς ὀ πόλεμος, ἀλλὰ μάνοις τοῖς κοινωνοῦσι τῆς παρατάξεως. Ὥσπερ δὲ ὁ τὰς συμφορὰς τῶν ὲκ τοῦ πολέμου ςρεύγων κακῶν, εὔχεται, μὴ ἐκπεσεῖν πολέμι;›’ καὶ 6 τὸ πῦρ δεδοικὼς τὸ μὴ ἐν αὑτῷ γενέσθαι· καὶ ὁ φρίττων τὴν Θάλασσαν, τὸμὴ εἰς ἀνάγκην ναυτιλίας ἐλθεῖνο οὕτω καὶὸ τοῦ πονηροῦ τὴν προσὸολὴν δεδοικὼς, εὐχέσθω τὸ μὴ ὲν αὕτῷ γενέσθαι. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ, καθὼς προειρήκαμεν, ἐν τῷ πονηρῷ κεῖσθαι τὸν κόσμον ὁ λόγος φησὶν, ἐν δὲ τοῖς κοσμικοῐς πράγμασιν αἰτῶν πειρασμῶν decpμαί· καλῶς καὶ apsumi; ὀ ῥυ σθῆναι ἀπὸ τοῦ πονηροῦ

### English translation (Claude)

say, or think what you ought not, under the witness of God, who is everywhere and oversees all things? Being such a one, then, and liable for so much, do you think you are granting your fellow servant some great favour if you overlook one of the offences committed against you? If, then, we are to bring God our plea for mercy and pardon, let us prepare boldness for our conscience, so as to set our life forward as the advocate of this word and to say truly, “as we also have forgiven our debtors.” What does the next part of the words mean? I think it necessary not to pass this by without contemplation either, so that we may pray knowingly with the soul and not merely offer supplication with the body: “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” What, brothers, is the force of these words? It seems to me that the Lord names the evil one in many and various ways, calling him by many names according to the differences in his evil activities: devil, Beelzebul, mammon, ruler of the world, murderer, the evil one, father of lies, and the like. Perhaps, then, “temptation” too is one of the names understood of him, and the structure of the words confirms this supposition for us. For having said, “Lead us not into temptation,” he added, “deliver us from the evil one,” as though the same thing were signified by both names. If one who has not entered into temptation is certainly outside the evil one, and one who has come into temptation necessarily comes into the evil one, then temptation and the evil one are one in meaning. What, then, does this teaching of the prayer command us? To be outside the things seen in this world, as he says elsewhere to his disciples, “The whole world lies in the evil one.” So whoever wishes to be outside the evil one must of necessity separate himself from the world. For temptation has no room to touch the soul unless it holds out this worldly preoccupation to the greedier, like bait on the evil hook. The thought might become clearer to us through other examples. The sea is often harsh with great waves, but not to those who live far away from it. Fire is destructive, but only of the material that falls into it. War is terrible, but only to those who take part in the battle. As one who flees the misfortunes of war prays not to fall into war, one who fears fire prays not to be in it, and one who shudders at the sea prays not to be forced to sail, so let one who fears the attack of the evil one pray not to be in it. And since, as we said before, the Word says that the world lies in the evil one, and the occasions of temptation are in worldly affairs, the one who prays to be delivered from the evil one rightly also

### Scripture references

- Matt 6:12–13: quotation, high confidence
- Matt 12:24: allusion, medium confidence
- Matt 6:24: allusion, medium confidence
- John 12:31: allusion, medium confidence
- John 8:44: allusion, medium confidence
- 1 John 5:19: quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- “As we also have forgiven our debtors … Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one”: Matt 6:12–13. Names of the devil: Matt 12:24 (Beelzebul); Matt 6:24 (mammon); John 12:31 (ruler of this world); John 8:44 (murderer, father of lies). “The whole world lies in the evil one”: 1 John 5:19 (Gregory ascribes it to the Lord).
- Gregory reads τοῦ πονηροῦ as “the evil one,” the devil.

### Citation (SBL)

Gregory of Nyssa, Or. dom. 1191 (PG 44:1192a–1192d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1179/#p-1191).

## On the Lord's Prayer 1193

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1179/#p-1193
- Source: PG 44:1193a
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-14

Summary: Gregory closes the fifth homily and the series with the prayer to be kept from the evils of life and delivered from the evil one, and a Trinitarian doxology.

### Greek text

εὐχόμενος, ἔξω τῶν πειρασμῶν γενέσθαι παραι καλεῖ. Οὐ γὰρ ἄν τις καταπίῃ τὸ ἄγκιστρον, μὶ κατασπάσας ὲν λιχνείᾳ τὸ δέλεαρ. Ἀλλʼ εἴπωμεν κα ἡμεῖς ἀναστάντες τῷ Θεῷ, ὅτι Μὴ εἰσενέγκῃς ἡμᾶς εῑς πειρασμὸν (τουτέστιν, εἰς τὰ τοῦ βίου κακὰ) ἀλλὰ ῥῦσαι ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ τοῦ πονηροῦ, τοῦ ὲν τῆ κόσμῳ τούτῳ τὴν ἰσχὺν κεκτημένου, οὗ ῥυσθείημεη χάριτι τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ὅτι αὐτῷ ἡ δύναμις καὶ ἡ δόξα ἅμα τῷ Πατρὶ, καὶ τῷ ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι, νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.

### English translation (Claude)

beseeches to be outside temptations. For no one would swallow the hook without greedily gulping down the bait. So let us too rise up and say to God: “Lead us not into temptation” — that is, into the evils of this life — “but deliver us from the evil one,” who holds power in this world. May we be delivered from him by the grace of Christ, for to him belong the power and the glory, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and always and for ever and ever. Amen.

### Scripture references

- Matt 6:13: quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- End of the homilies on the Lord’s Prayer. The doxology echoes the ending of the prayer found in later manuscripts of Matt 6:13.

### Citation (SBL)

Gregory of Nyssa, Or. dom. 1193 (PG 44:1193a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1179/#p-1193).