Gregory on what Christ had to assume
“What has not been assumed has not been healed; it is what is united to his divinity that is saved.”
Plain English
Gregory is answering the claim that Christ did not have a full human mind. His reply is simple: anything Christ did not take on, he did not heal.
Why it matters
This became a decisive line in later Christology and helped secure the insistence that Christ is fully human.
About Gregory
Gregory of Nazianzus gave the church some of its clearest language for the Trinity. In Constantinople in 380, with Nicene Christians still under pressure, he preached the Five Theological Orations that explained how Father, Son, and Spirit are distinct without dividing God. He did not want an imperial career and repeatedly tried to withdraw from public office, but the crisis demanded someone who could speak precisely. After Gregory, loose Trinitarian language became much harder to defend.
- Lifespan
- c. 329 – 390
- Era
- Nicene
- Born in
- Arianzus
- See
- Constantinople
- Region
- Asia Minor
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