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Gregory of Nazianzus

Christian saint and theologian (c. 329 – 390)

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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 11, 2026
Entity authorityQ44011 ↗
Source-derived summary

Gregory of Nazianzus (Koine Greek: Γρηγόριος ὁ Ναζιανζηνός, romanized: Grēgórios ho Nazianzēnós, IPA: [ɣriˈɣori.os o nazi.anziˈnos]; c. 329 – 25 January 390), also known as Saint Gregory the Theologian or Gregory Nazianzen, was an early Roman Christian theologian and prelate who served as Archbishop of Constantinople from 380 to 381. He is widely considered the most accomplished rhetorical stylist of the patristic age. As a classically trained orator and philosopher, he infused Hellenism into the early Church, establishing the paradigm of Byzantine theologians and church officials.

Gregory made a significant impact on the shape of Trinitarian theology among both Greek and Latin-speaking theologians, and he is remembered as the "Trinitarian Theologian". Much of his theological work continues to influence modern theologians, especially in regard to the relationship among the three Persons of the Trinity. Along with the brothers Basil of Caesarea and Gregory of Nyssa, he is known as one of the Cappadocian Fathers.

Gregory of Nazianzus is a saint in both Eastern and Western Christianity. In the Catholic Church he is numbered among the Doctors of the Church; in the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches he is revered as one of the Three Holy Hierarchs, along with Basil of Caesarea and John Chrysostom. Along with them and Athanasius of Alexandria he is also regarded by the Catholic Church as one of the four Great Greek Church Fathers.

He is also one of only three men in the life of the Orthodox Church who have been officially designated "Theologian" by epithet, the other two being John the Apostle, and Symeon the New Theologian.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Gregory of Nazianzus” is christian saint and theologian (c. 329 – 390). The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Gregory, Nazianzus and Christian, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA practical starting point whose main value is the path it opens into stronger specialist and primary sources. The current 266-word lead offers orientation but no explicit four-digit date, so chronology should not be assumed. The authority record carries competing date values—0329-01-01, 0330—which should remain separate until their references and qualifiers are resolved. For this dossier, Gregory, Nazianzus and Christian is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “christian saint and theologian (c. 329 – 390)” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 11, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q44011. VIAF identifies the subject as 108675755. The Library of Congress control number is n50082276. 3 of 9 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.

Critical limits

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Gregory of Nazianzus” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.