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De perfectione Christiana ad Olympium monachum

OF GREGORY, BISHOP OF NYSSA, TO OLYMPIUS, CONCERNING PERFECTION

Befitting your purpose is the zeal to know how one might be perfected through a life according to virtue, so that blamelessness might be achieved in your life in all things. And I, for my part, would have considered it of the highest importance that the examples of the things for which you are zealous be found in my own life, so as to provide the teaching you seek by deeds rather than words. For thus the instruction in good things would be trustworthy, with one's life speaking in harmony with one's words. But since I pray that this may someday happen, yet for now do not see myself as such, as to demonstrate by my life instead of by word, so that I might not seem entirely unhelpful to you toward your goal and useless, I have resolved to set forth that toward which the disciplined life must strive, making my discourse's beginning from this point. Since our good Lord Jesus Christ has graciously given 8,1.174 us the fellowship of His worshiped name, so that we are named from nothing else concerning us—whether one happens to be rich and of noble birth or of low birth or poor, whether one has renown from certain professions or offices, with all <but> such names being set aside—there is one principal calling for those who have believed in him: to be called Christians; therefore, since this grace has been confirmed for us from above, it would be necessary first to understand the greatness of the gift, so that we may give thanks worthily to God who has bestowed such great things, and then to show ourselves through our life to be such as the power of this great name seeks. Now the greatness of the gift, by which we have been deemed worthy to share the name of the Lord of our life, would thus become clear to us, if we should recognize the very meaning of the name of Christ, so as to understand, when we call upon the Lord of all in our prayers by this title, what conception we take up in our souls, or what, by understanding through this name, we believe we piously invoke in him. And when we have understood this, then consequently we will also learn clearly what sort of people we ought to show ourselves to be through diligence in our life, using the name as a teacher and guide for our life. Therefore, by making the holy Paul our guide for these two things, 8,1.175 we shall have the surest guidance toward the clarification of the things we seek. For he, most of all, accurately understood what Christ is, and by what he did he taught what sort of person one named after him ought to be, imitating him so clearly, as to show his own Lord formed in himself, with the form of his soul having been transformed to the archetype through the most exact imitation, so that it no longer seemed to be Paul who was living and speaking, but Christ himself living in him; as he says, being well aware of his own good things, "Since you seek proof of Christ speaking in me," and, "I no longer live, but Christ lives in me."

He therefore also made known to us the meaning of the name of Christ, saying that Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God; but he also called him peace and unapproachable light, in which God dwells, and sanctification and redemption, and great high priest and passover, propitiation for souls, radiance of glory, the express image of his person and creator of the ages, spiritual food and drink, rock and water, foundation 8,1.176 of faith and chief cornerstone, and image of the invisible God and great God, and head of the body of the church and firstborn of the new creation and firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep, firstborn from the dead and

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De perfectione Christiana ad Olympium monachum

ΓΡΗΓΟΡΙΟΥ ΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΟΥ ΝΥΣΣΗΣ ΠΡΟΣ ΟΛΥΜΠΙΟΝ ΠΕΡΙ ΤΕΛΕΙΟΤΗΤΟΣ

Πρέπουσα τῇ προαιρέσει σου ἡ σπουδὴ ἡ περὶ τοῦ γνῶναι πῶς αν τις διὰ τοῦ κατ' ἀρετὴν βίου τελειωθείη, ωστε διὰ πάντων κατορθωθῆναί σου τῇ ζωῇ τὸ ἀμώμητον. ἐγὼ δὲ περὶ παντὸς μὲν αν ἐποιησάμην ἐν τῷ ἐμῷ βίῳ τῶν σοὶ σπουδαζομένων εὑρεθῆναι τὰ ὑποδείγματα, ωστε τοῖς εργοις πρὸ τῶν λόγων τὴν ἐπιζητουμένην ὑπὸ σοῦ παρασχεῖν διδασκαλίαν. ουτω γὰρ αν ἀξιόπιστος ην τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἡ ὑφήγησις, τοῦ βίου τοῖς λόγοις συμφθεγγομένου. ἐπειδὴ δὲ τοῦτο μὲν ευχομαι γενέσθαι ποτέ, νῦν δὲ ουπω τοιοῦτον ἐμαυτὸν βλέπω, ὡς ἀντὶ τοῦ λόγου προδεικνύειν τὸν βίον, ινα μὴ καθόλου δοκοίην ἀσυντελὴς ειναί σοί τις πρὸς τὸν σκοπὸν καὶ ἀνόνητος, ἐφ' ο δεῖ συντεῖναι τὸν ἀκριβῆ βίον ὑποθέσθαι διενοήθην, ἐντεῦθεν τοῦ λόγου τὴν ἀρχὴν ποιησάμενος. Τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ δεσπότου ἡμῶν ̓Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ χαρισα 8,1.174 μένου τὴν κοινωνίαν ἡμῖν τοῦ προσκυνουμένου ὀνόματος, ωστε ἡμᾶς ἐκ μηδενὸς αλλου τῶν περὶ ἡμᾶς ὀνομάζεσθαι, καν πλούσιός τις ων τύχῃ καὶ εὐπατρίδης καν δυσγενὴς ῃ η πένης, καν ἐξ ἐπιτηδευμάτων τινῶν η ἀξιωμάτων τὸ γνώριμον εχῃ, πάντων <δὲ> τῶν τοιούτων ὀνομάτων ἀργούντων μίαν ειναι κυρίαν κλῆσιν τοῖς εἰς αὐτὸν πεπι στευκόσι τὸ Χριστιανοὺς ὀνομάζεσθαι· ταύτης τοίνυν ανωθεν ἡμῖν ἐπικυρωθείσης τῆς χάριτος ἀναγκαῖον αν ειη πρῶτον μὲν τῆς δωρεᾶς νοῆσαι τὸ μέγεθος, ωστε κατ' ἀξίαν εὐχαριστῆσαι τῷ τὰ τηλικαῦτα δωρησαμένῳ θεῷ, επειτα δὲ τοιούτους ἑαυτοὺς διὰ τοῦ βίου δεῖξαι, οιους ἐπιζητεῖ ἡ τοῦ μεγάλου τούτου ὀνόματος δύναμις. τὸ μὲν ουν μέγεθος τῆς δωρεᾶς, ης διὰ τοῦ συνονομασθῆναι τῷ δεσπότῃ τῆς ζωῆς ἡμῶν ἠξιώθημεν, ουτως αν γένοιτο δῆλον ἡμῖν, εἰ αὐτὸ τὸ σημαινόμενον τοῦ κατὰ τὸν Χριστὸν ὀνόματος ἐπιγνοίημεν, ωστε συνεῖναι, οταν διὰ ταύτης τῆς φωνῆς τὸν τοῦ παντὸς κύριον ἐν ταῖς εὐχαῖς προσκα λώμεθα, ποίαν ταῖς ψυχαῖς ἡμῶν ἀναλαμβάνομεν εννοιαν η τί διὰ τοῦ ὀνόματος τούτου κατανοοῦντες εὐσεβῶς αὐτὸν ἐπικαλεῖσθαι πιστεύομεν. ἐπειδὰν δὲ τοῦτο νοήσωμεν, τότε δι' ἀκολούθου καὶ οιους προσήκει ἡμᾶς διὰ τῆς περὶ τὸν βίον σπουδῆς ἐπιδειχθῆναι σαφῶς μαθησόμεθα, διδα σκάλῳ καὶ ὁδηγῷ πρὸς τὸν βίον τῷ ὀνόματι χρώμενοι. οὐκοῦν τὸν αγιον Παῦλον πρὸς τὰ δύο ταῦτα καθηγεμόνα 8,1.175 ποιούμενοι ἀσφαλεστάτην εξομεν ὁδηγίαν πρὸς τὴν τῶν ζητουμένων σαφήνειαν. ουτος γὰρ μάλιστα πάντων ἀκρι βῶς καὶ τί ἐστιν ὁ Χριστὸς κατενόησε καὶ οιον ειναι χρὴ τὸν ἐπονομαζόμενον αὐτῷ δι' ων ἐποίησεν ὑφηγήσατο, ουτως ἐναργῶς αὐτὸν μιμησάμενος, ὡς ἐν ἑαυτῷ δεῖξαι τὸν ἑαυτοῦ δεσπότην μεμορφωμένον, διὰ τῆς ἀκριβεστάτης μιμήσεως μεταβληθέντος τοῦ τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ ειδους πρὸς τὸ πρωτότυπον, ὡς μηκέτι Παῦλον ειναι δοκεῖν τὸν ζῶντά τε καὶ φθεγγόμενον, ἀλλ' αὐτὸν τὸν Χριστὸν ἐν αὐτῷ ζῆν· καθώς φησιν ὁ καλῶς τῶν ἰδίων ἀγαθῶν ἐπαισθόμενος οτι ̓Επεὶ δοκιμὴν ζητεῖτε τοῦ ἐν ἐμοὶ λα λοῦντος Χριστοῦ, καὶ οτι Ζῶ δὲ οὐκέτι ἐγώ, ζῇ δὲ ἐν ἐμοὶ Χριστός.

Ουτος ουν καὶ τοῦ κατὰ Χριστὸν ὀνόματος ἐγνώρισεν ἡμῖν τὸ σημαινόμενον εἰπὼν οτι Χριστός ἐστι θεοῦ δύναμις καὶ θεοῦ σοφία· ἀλλὰ καὶ εἰρήνην αὐτὸν ἐκάλεσε καὶ φῶς ἀπρόσιτον, ἐν ῳ οἰκεῖ ὁ θεός, ἁγιασμόν τε καὶ ἀπολύτρωσιν ἀρχιερέα τε μέγαν καὶ πάσχα, ἱλαστήριον ψυχῶν, ἀπαύγα σμα δόξης, χαρακτῆρα ὑποστάσεως καὶ ποιητὴν αἰώνων, βρῶμα πνευματικὸν καὶ πόμα, πέτραν καὶ υδωρ, θεμέλιον 8,1.176 πίστεως καὶ γωνίας κεφαλὴν καὶ θεοῦ τοῦ ἀοράτου εἰκόνα καὶ μέγαν θεὸν κεφαλήν τε τοῦ τῆς ἐκκλησίας σώματος καὶ τῆς καινῆς κτίσεως πρωτότοκον καὶ ἀπαρχὴν τῶν κεκοιμημένων, πρωτότοκον ἐκ νεκρῶν καὶ