We do not have sufficient data about the details of his life, but we can trace its stages through information scattered in his writings, from Basil’s letters and from church historical documents. Historians have investigated the stages of his life as follows:

He is the fourth son of Saints Basil the Elder and Saint Emilia, and the brother of Saints Basil the Great, Saint Macrina, and Bishop Peter of Sebaste. He was younger than his brother Basilius by a few years. Therefore, it was said that he was born approximately in the year 331 AD, and it was also said that in the year 335 AD. Gregory grew up in a Christian family known for piety and holiness, which prepared him from an early age for clerical life. He was ordained a reader in the church while he was still a boy. However, he turned to the period of his calling and preferred to teach public speaking, then he married a girl with a distinguished religious culture, whom he loved very much. But under the influence of his brother Basil and his friend Gregory the Theologian, he left the pulpit of education, and was convinced that everything in this world is false, so he joined them in the isolation of the monastery that his family founded on the banks of the Iris River in Cappadocia. He remained in this quiet monastic atmosphere for ten years, until his brother extracted him from the monastery, where he had a good life, to impose on him the bishopric of the city of Nyssa.

We do not know anything about the fate of his marriage and his wife, but there is a statement that indicates that his relationship with his wife became only spiritual and perhaps she died before he was ordained a bishop. However, he did not accept this mission that Basil imposed on him except under compulsion.

His personality was not free from his brother's influence and he could not oppose his will. But we feel that this pastoral work did not suit his nature, as he did not have sufficient qualifications for administrative work. In his letters, Basil complained of his brother's naivety and his complete lack of experience in matters of church administration.

Saint Gregory grew up in Caesarea, Cappadocia. He studied under his father Basilius and devoted himself to his library. He studied philosophy with passion and intent. His attendance at school was sporadic. His mother's inclinations and passion for Christianity did not appeal to him. Nevertheless, he was a handsome reader and a regular visitor to church. In his youth, he was tired of long prayers and psalm recitations that lasted all night.

In his youth, Gregory learned the science of rhetoric and became a brilliant teacher, until he made him forget that he was a reader in the church. This is what prompted his friend Saint Gregory the Theologian to write to him asking him not to strive to be called an eloquent, but rather a Christian.

At the instruction of Basil the Great, brother of Saint Gregory, the latter wrote a book about virginity. The book is closer to philosophical reflections than to living. In it, Gregory highlighted that the example for him lies in theoria, in the soul’s contemplation of God after it has been stripped of worries except the love of God. He considered that marriage and engaging in worldly concerns as a result constituted a threat to the purity of the soul. He did not defend celibacy as celibacy, but rather talked about the suffering and worries that accompany marriage, and concluded that the hidden aspect of marriage is sufficient reason to turn away from it.

His bishopric:

Gregory was forcibly ordained bishop of Nysus, which is ten kilometers from Caesarea of Cappadocia to the east, by his brother Basil the Great. As a result of the conflict that took place between him and Emperor Valens, who split the Diocese of Caesarea into two parts and appointed one of his Arian followers named Anthimos in Tiana.

Therefore, the appointment of Saint Gregory came in order not to weaken the authority of Saint Basil, even though Gregory did not know anything regarding the episcopate.

Gregory had no knowledge of human behavior. He lacked tact in dealing with people, and he had no idea about financial issues and how to address them. Therefore, his enemies from the Ayusians soon brought charges against him related to using his bishopric funds and diverting them to his benefit. He was convicted and the Imperial Guard put handcuffs on his hands. But he managed to escape and hid with some of his friends. In the meantime, he was overthrown by a council that included a number of Arian bishops, and he remained in hiding for two years until the death of Emperor Valens.

Still, something about the porcupine appealed to him. The people there became very attached to him and he loved his little house there very much. He showed zeal for his people and loyalty. He would perform his duties and spend his days in prayer with his Lord, in prayer and thanksgiving.

His love for prayer:

Saint Gregory attached great importance to the life of prayer. Among his sayings are: “Prayer is the joy of those who rejoice, the consolation of the afflicted, the crown of the bride, the feast on birthdays, and the shroud that wraps us in our final resting place.”

Protector of Orthodoxy:

The ruling emperor, Valens, was inclined toward the Arian heresy, so he supported them in holding a local council in the year 376 that dismissed Gregory. He was forced to abandon his diocese for a period of time. However, after the death of the ruler, Gregory returned to the city of Nyssa victorious, was received warmly, and continued his pastoral work in peace.

After the death of Saint Basil and Saint Macrina, the source and teacher of faith and the only support for their brother Gregory, the latter felt lonely and weak, but this loneliness and isolation placed Gregory in an unenviable position of misery and sadness. From the heart of misery and sadness, our saint made his way as a result of his feeling of the great responsibility that had fallen upon him. He worked to be greater than his affliction, and to be a true shepherd faithful to the Christian message with which he was entrusted. And it was like this until all the fathers of his time and subsequent times until today bore witness to him.    

In the year 379 AD, Gregory participated in the Council of Antioch and was assigned to conduct a reconnaissance tour of the churches of Pontus. Also in the year 381 AD, he and his friend Gregory the Theologian participated in the Second Ecumenical Council in Constantinople. He delivered the inaugural sermon. The Emperor named him the guarantor of Orthodoxy in the Land of Pontus. His mission was to test the faith of its bishops, confirm the Niceneans and dismiss the Arians. Saint Gregory was assigned a number of tasks, including examining the situation of the Church in Arabia and Babylon.

His writings:

Saint Gregory wrote many books, including: “On Christian Education,” “The Life of Moses,” “On the Our Father Prayer,” “The Life of Macrina,” “On the Song of Songs,” “On Christian Institutions,” “On the Beatitudes.”

His slumber:

Saint Gregory died in the year 395 AD after participating in the council held in the year 394 AD.

His titles according to what the church described:

“The greatest spiritual theologians in the Church,” “Pillar of Orthodoxy,” “Father of the Fathers.”

Our Orthodox Church celebrates him on the tenth of January

Troparia in the fourth tune
O God of our fathers, who always works with us according to your meekness, do not turn away your mercy from us, but through their supplications, provide for our lives in safety.

Qandaq with the second tune
The high priest of the divine pledge of allegiance, and the chosen path of venerable wisdom, the watchful mind Gregory, who is in awe of the angels and basked in the divine light, intercedes without hesitation for all of us.

In the year 379, his name appears in the council held in the city of Antioch, which came together to end the problem of schism there. He was highlighted in this council due to his distinguished oratorical talent. He gained the confidence of the council and was sent on a mission to Palestine and the Arab world. Later, we meet him at the Council of Constantinople in the year 381, where those gathered saluted him as a “pillar of Orthodoxy.” We note that during this period, Basil had died, and therefore his personality emerged strongly into existence. He played an important role during the council’s session, and everyone felt that he was the heir to his brother’s thought, chosen by divine providence so that the truth could triumph through him. It seems that his eloquence later gained the admiration of the court of Constantinople. Between the years 385 and 386 we see him delivering a wonderful sermon at the eulogy of Princess Polcaria. Then, after that, he was summoned for the death of Empress Vlasilla, wife of Theodosius. His eulogy appealed to the aristocracy, his fame spread, and his influence increased. However, this matter did not affect his pride, but rather he remained humble, far from the glories of the world. Then his name was mentioned in the year 394 in a second council held in Constantinople, and then his mention disappeared from the pages of history. He probably died in the year 395.

He, along with his brother and Nazianzus, are called the Cappadocian Fathers because they come from the Cappadocian region in central Turkey. He wrote many articles, biblical interpretations, spiritual writings, and sermons. Among his most important works are: The Creation of Man, an explanation of the six days of creation, the life of Moses, an explanation of the Beatitudes (Matthew 5: 1-12) and the Lord’s Prayer... He died around the year 395, and the Church commemorates him on the tenth of January.

The Cappadocian Fathers played a major role in clarifying the theology of the Holy Trinity. They distinguished between the hypostasis (or being) and the essence (nature), and said that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are one God and one nature. They also emphasized that paternity is the advantage of the Father, birth from the Father is the advantage of the Son, and emanation from the Father is the advantage of the Holy Spirit. Our Saint Nyssa explains, in an article entitled “There Are Not Three Gods,” that every work in history carried out by the Father, the Son, or the Holy Spirit is carried out in partnership with the other two. He says: “In the divine nature, the Father does nothing except with the Son.” Likewise, the Son does not perform any work separate from the Holy Spirit. Rather, every work extends from God to creation, and we can distinguish it according to our concepts. Rather, its origin is in the Father, and it comes from the Son, and finds its completion in the Holy Spirit. Gregory's reference here to the unity of the divine nature, and to the lack of multiple gods in Christianity, is clear. Likewise, the text itself emphasizes the unity of action, as if the writer intended by this statement to point to the one divine will (or will) that unites the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

The Cappadocian fathers, including Saint Nyssa, were interested in demonstrating the divinity of the Holy Spirit against Macedonius, Eunomius, and their followers. As for Macedonius, he denied the divinity of the spirit and said that the spirit is “one of the serving spirits, and that it does not differ from the angels in terms of rank.” Therefore, his followers were called “warriors of the spirit.” As for Ephenomius, he made the Holy Spirit third in dignity, rank, and nature after the Father and the Son. Al-Nisa’i confronted these innovators and refuted their claims based on the work of the Spirit, which is inseparable from the Father and the Son. He wonders, if divine grace comes to us from the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, then how can the Spirit be a created being, when He is the one who gives us life through baptism? The spirit must, therefore, be eternal. In the same context, Gregory depicts the relationship between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit in a wonderful way, saying, “The Father is the Anointed One, and the Anointed One (or Christ) is the Son, and the anointing itself or the oil of joy is the Holy Spirit.”

In his book, “The Creation of Man,” the Bishop of Nyssa presents the position of man in creation and his relationship with God, his Creator. From the two accounts of creation in the Book of Genesis, he draws a lesson that “Adam,” meaning “the dusty one,” represents all of humanity. For the writer, this means that “Adam” is a collective designation that does not refer to a single person but rather to a group. In this, Nyssa meets the latest contemporary interpretations. He also believes that humanity together is the image of God. As for the difference between God and man, who is the image of God, it is that the former is not created and the latter is created. The basic difference is that the first exists by itself, while the second derives its existence from the first, created from nothing.

In the same book, Al-Nisi touches on the subject of evil, stressing that the freedom of man, which God placed in him, is what led man to commit sin and fall into evil. Freedom is a free gift from God that distinguishes Him from other irrational creatures. Man made a mistake in using this freedom, due to his ignorance, lack of discrimination, and lack of experience, so he deviated from following the path of holiness and chose to turn away from God. Gregory believes that lust is the root of all evil. Although he admitted that man was a victim of Satan and his machinations, he hesitated to place the responsibility for the spread of evil in the world on man.

Saint Gregory of Nyssa makes an identification between the Holy Spirit and the heavenly kingdom, as he conveys to us that the verse “Thy kingdom come” in the Lord’s Prayer was mentioned in one of the readings, “May the Holy Spirit come upon us and purify us.” This identification continued in Christian faith and tradition. Because the Holy Spirit is always present in the life of the church and believers, the Kingdom is not a future thing that we wait for, but it is also present in the life of the Christian community.