The Teaching of St. Gregory of Nyssa on the Holy Spirit's Coming from the Father and His Radiance in the Son

The Teaching of St. Gregory of Nyssa on the Holy Spirit's Coming from the Father and His Radiance in the Son

4 December 2024

In his treatise Against Eunomium Saint Gregory of Nyssa specifies both the fundamental lines of the teaching of the Eastern Church regarding the Person of the Holy Spirit in His relationship with the Father and the Son and the exegesis of the biblical passage from II Corinthians 3, 17 in order to answer and correct the subordinationist interpretation of Eunomius concerning this place. According to St. Gregory, the words of the Apostle The Lord is Spirit from the mentioned biblical place identify the essence of Scripture, that is, the Lord, with the Holy Spirit. But the Holy Spirit is seen by St. Gregory in His relation to the Father and to the Son, as we see in the above-mentioned treatise as well as in other writings of his to which we refer in the present study. St. Gregory emphasizes the reality that the Eternal Son is the glory of the Father and likewise the Spirit of Christ is the glory of the Son. At the same time, he clearly distinguishes the two relationships that characterize the Holy Spirit: to have the cause in the hypostasis of the Father and to shine through the Son. According to Saint Gregory Palamas, nowhere does this bearer of God say or think that the Son is the cause.